It’s hard to believe the Rangers were competing against the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final just six months ago.
There was barely any competition then, despite the facade of a 2-1 Rangers series lead.
And even their most valiant effort in weeks still resulted in an empty-net abetted 5-3 loss for the Blueshirts on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
President and general manager Chris Drury ran it back anyway this past summer.
The Panthers celebrate a goal during their win against the Rangers on Dec. 30.
Filip Chytil tries to move the puck during the Rangers’ loss to the Panthers on Dec. 30.
And now the Rangers are here, sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division, losers of four straight games and 15 of 19, with the follow-up campaign to a Presidents’ Trophy-winning season on the brink of devastation.
It wasn’t enough then, and it still isn’t enough now.
In the 182 days since they last competed in Sunrise, the Rangers have gone from Eastern Conference finalists to 26th in the NHL.
Or the laughingstock of the league. Under the circumstances, they are one in the same.
“We did enough to win the game, we did enough to lose the game,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after his team fell to 16-19-1 before the new year. “It is frustrating because you feel like you’re doing more good than you are bad out there. At the end of the day, it’s not showing on the scoreboard. That’s the business, it’s winning. It’s not good enough.”
Even though the Rangers clawed back with two quick goals from Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren in the second period, they found themselves in a multi-goal hole in the first place after giving up two within 2:17 for the seventh time in their past 18 games.
Not to mention the fact that it was also the 11th time they’ve allowed their opponent to score twice in the span of 4:00.
The Panthers are still the blueprint for a hard team to play against. Despite getting outshot 13-9 in the middle frame, it took Florida all of 38 seconds to respond to the Rangers’ push and regain the lead.
Jesper Boqvist scores for the Panthers during their win against the Rangers on Dec. 30.
Chris Kreider celebrates his goal during the Rangers’ loss to the Panthers on Dec. 30.
A keep-in at the blue line from the Panthers led to some chaos around the Rangers net, before Jesper Boqvist cleaned up a loose puck and buried it into a wide-open net for the 3-2 lead.
The Rangers power play snapped an 0-for-22 skid over the past eight games on a goal from Chris Kreider in order to even the score at three-all just over five minutes into the final frame.
Boqvist notched his second of the game, however, on a gritty sequence around the net later in the period to take a 4-3 lead at the 11:38 mark.
Failing to capitalize on a gift of a power play with 2:50 left in regulation, when Matthew Tkachuk took a seat in the box for delay of game, the Rangers were finished after Aleksander Barkov scored an empty-net goal.
The Panthers avoided a third-straight loss as a result, and leapfrogged the Maple Leafs to take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.
“I feel like we came out of this break looking to use it as a reset,” Adam Fox said. “Last game was really special teams that killed us. Special teams were obviously much better today. It kind of feels like we’re repeating the same stuff at this point. At some point, it’s got to be wins. It’s not just, ‘Yeah, did better five-on-five.’ It’s got to be wins.”
“It’s extremely frustrating. If we keep playing games like that, we will get wins. I think that’s really all it is.”
Jesper Boqvist scored two goals for the Panthers during their win against the Rangers on Dec. 30.
There’s no question the Rangers’ efforts have been better. Monday night was probably one of their best in the last month and a half.
Though the gauntlet of a schedule they’ve run into has been unforgiving.
Plus, the team’s repeated inability to measure up to the top-tier clubs they’ve faced is only further confirmation that the way they’re currently constructed is simply not going to cut it.
The Rangers have stayed easy to knock off the puck.
There’s zero resistance in the neutral zone.
First periods have been like “Groundhog Day” for the Rangers lately: same story, different day.
Several Rangers whiffed trying to clear the puck before Mika Zibanejad’s attempt went right to the stick of Gustav Forsling, whose shot was tipped by Eetu Luostarinen for the 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the game.
A mere 2:15 later, the Rangers were hemmed in their zone before Mackie Samoskevich got a stick on Dmitry Kulikov’s shot.
Laviolette challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal ultimately stood.
Zibanejad’s minus-22 rating on the season is officially the third worst in the NHL.
“We got to build on the game,” Chytil said. “But clean up the things which cost us the game. It’s a lost four points on this trip, so it’s not that positive. We have another day tomorrow and we play a game in three days, so we got to focus on that right now.”
