Every game the Rangers have played recently has come with seismic implications.
With the season already hanging in the balance with 48 games still left on the schedule, each time the Blueshirts step on the ice, it has felt like the biggest game of the year.
And yet, day after day, the severity of their situation seemingly does nothing but weigh the Rangers down.
Monday afternoon’s 5-0 disaster against the Devils at Prudential Center was no outlier.
Will Cuylle #50 of the New York Rangers moves the puck behind the net as Brenden Dillon #5 of the New Jersey Devils defends.
“We’ve got to show more heart,” said Vincent Trocheck, who dropped the gloves with Paul Cotter early in the game to try to inject some life into his team. “To a man, everybody has got to look himself in the mirror and dig deeper.”
Head coach Peter Laviolette agreed with the assessment. He has been harping on the Rangers’ effort for weeks, and it prompted the veteran coach to bench Chris Kreider on Monday in the name of needing more from the team’s longest-tenured player.
At this point, it has become expected of this Rangers team, which goes into the holiday break five points out of a playoff spot before Monday night’s slate of games.
“Every game it feels like it has to happen that night,” said Trocheck. “Just seems like we get down early or we get down at any point in the game and we just fold. That can’t happen.”
Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers checks Jonas Siegenthaler #71 of the New Jersey Devils into the boards.
Jacob Markstrom #25 of the New Jersey Devils defends the net as Will Cuylle #50 of the New York Rangers looks for the rebound.
The Devils and fans clad in red at The Rock were salivating over the Rangers’ arrival in Newark.
After their 5-1 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden earlier this month, the Devils seemed to relish a chance to rout their cross-Hudson rivals a second time.
They’ll venture to the Garden on Jan. 9 ready to do it again, and then once more in April, when a playoff bid may not even be in play for the Rangers if they continue down this road.
Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates with his teammates after he scores a goal.
Reveling in the Rangers’ poor performance, Devils fans taunted Igor Shesterkin on the bench while their team lit up Jonathan Quick (24 saves) in net.
The jumbotron trolled the Rangers organization by playing a clip of MSG cheering for the Devils’ first-overall selection of Jack Hughes, which allowed the club to take Kaapo Kakko at No. 2.
The Rangers, of course, shipped the Finnish wing to Seattle last week after a disappointing end to his tenure in New York, while Hughes has flourished into an All-Star.
It was a humiliating scene for the Rangers, who have now been outscored 10-1 in their two games against the Devils this season.
“We know it needs to be there,” Ryan Lindgren said of a sense of urgency. “Why we’re not playing with it? I don’t know. We certainly know we got to turn this around in a hurry. We got to figure it out.”
For a team that’s always been lauded for its high-end talent, the Rangers couldn’t hold a candle to Hughes.
Brett Berard #65 of the New York Rangers passes the puck in the first period.
The 23-year-old scored twice in his team’s fifth victory in its past six, once on a 4-on-3 power play and another at even strength.
It helped push the Devils ahead of the Capitals into first place in the Metropolitan Division standings with 49 points before Washington played the Bruins on Monday night.
For the Rangers, one step forward has consistently been followed by two steps back.
The fire needed to push through has never burned strong enough, if at all.
Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers checks Timo Meier #28 of the New Jersey Devils into the boards.
The result is the Rangers’ second shutout loss in four games, which had not happened since the 2020-21 season, when they were blanked twice in the span of three contests in February.
“I don’t like how we finished the game today,” Laviolette said. “The purpose with which we play the game has got to be better. We need more from everybody.”
The penalty kill has been the strongest aspect of the Rangers’ game all season, but it’s caved the last couple contests.
After giving up their first power-play goal in six games to the Hurricanes on Sunday, the Blueshirts gave up three to the Devils — two in the second period alone for the 3-0 lead and another in the third from Dawson Mercer.
The Rangers put up five shots in the first period, just four in the second, and three in the third.
Finishing the game on the wrong end of a 12-6 edge in high-danger chances, the Rangers barely mustered a fight as the Devils easily put the game away with two more scores in the final frame.
The Rangers enter their holiday break losers of 13 of their past 17 games.
There isn’t much cheer, just seismic implications.
