Rangers struggle to find answers for flop versus Flames they are refusing to dwell on

It’s a pressing question as the Rangers are now back on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.

For a game of such importance, why was their effort and intensity so lacking during their 2-1 loss to the Flames on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden?

But after a night to reflect on arguably their worst loss of the season, the Rangers still don’t have any good answers or insight.

“I don’t know,” Will Cuylle said after an optional practice on Wednesday, taking a long pause to think but failing to pinpoint anything specific. “I don’t really have an answer for that.”

That mirrored his teammates and head coach Peter Laviolette.

The Rangers recorded just 13 shots on goal — their second lowest of the season.

They committed a plethora of unforced errors, giving the puck away on both sides of the ice.

Their forecheck was absent, and they can thank Igor Shesterkin that the score wasn’t as lopsided as it should have been.

They surrendered 35 shots on goal along with 15 high-danger chances. They only had four high-danger chances themselves.

“Honestly, I don’t know what happened,” Braden Schneider said. “We were just off our mark. It was a disappointing game for us. Obviously a big two points that we missed out on. All we can do is turn the page and look to tomorrow.

Peter Laviolette said he is moving past the Rangers’ ugly loss to the Flames and is looking ahead to their game against the Maple Leafs on Thursday.

“It was just, we came out a little flat and we just weren’t executing the way we wanted to. I think everyone in our room is disappointed.”

Most of the team leaders, including Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin, did not participate in Wednesday’s optional practice.

The loss marked their sixth in the past eight games (2-4-2), dropping them out of the second wild-card spot with 13 games left.

By Wednesday, Laviolette was not particularly interested in discussing why the energy was so low on Tuesday, other than recognizing it has to be better.

Braden Schneider said he “didn’t know” why the Rangers played so poorly against the Flames, and that they now just have to move past that and focus on there match against the Maple Leafs.

It can’t be much worse.

“We’ve moved on from last night,” Laviolette said. “Everything’s been on the table this morning, so we’re now focusing on the next one which we gotta be better [in]. We acknowledge that.”

A pressing question, no good answer. Is there anything specific Laviolette wants to hone in on?

“We gotta work better than we did last night,” he said. “We gotta lead with more speed and attitude than what we did last night. We weren’t good enough. We addressed those things and we’re moving on.”

Speed and attitude, that’s a start. But Tuesday’s loss wasn’t an outlier — the Rangers have produced a handful of listless losses throughout this up-and-down season, particularly at crucial moments.

They don’t see it as a thematic issue, however.

Will Cuylle battles with Martin Pospisil during the Rangers’ loss to the Flames on March 18, 2025. Cuylle said he “didn’t know” why the Blueshirts were so listless in the defeat.

“The team we’ve been since the calendar turned, that wasn’t us last night,” Adam Fox said. “There’s no time to dwell on it, especially with the few games we have left. Just turn the page and bring good effort [Friday].”

Schneider concurred.

“We just gotta make sure that we’re playing the way we need to play,” he said. “We’ve been playing really good defense the games prior and I think we’ve been really good. I think if we can get back to that and get back to a game that we can be proud of, it was an off game for us and we’re looking forward to getting the two points tomorrow.

“Very confident [in restoring their intensity]. We know the position we’re in right now. I think it doesn’t sit well with you when you have a game like that. We were just playing [with intensity] not too long ago, so I don’t think it’s anything that’s a big issue, we just gotta make sure we’re bringing it for the next one.”