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The New York Rangers suffered yet another loss at home to the New York Islanders on Sunday. That had extended their losing streak at home to six games. However, they were able to bounce back Monday, with a convincing 6-3 downing of the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden. With a road record of 6-1-1, one would think the Rangers would have a much better record at home. Their home record currently sits at 1-6-1. So, just what exactly is causing the Rangers home problems and how can it be fixed?<\/p>\n
To get a clearer picture on how bad the Rangers have been playing at home this year, let\u2019s take a look at some statistics. Before the win over the Predators, the Rangers top scorer at home so far was\u00a0Taylor Raddysh, who scored three points in seven games on home ice. All three of those points came in one game, a 6-5 loss to the Sharks, who hadn\u2019t won a single game at that point. New York has been shut out five times at home, and top line players like\u00a0Mika Zibanejad\u00a0and\u00a0J.T. Miller\u00a0have been horrible defensively. Winger\u00a0Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re\u00a0had only one assist at home before bouncing back with a three point game against Nashville.<\/p>\n
Comparing them to stats when the Rangers are off of MSG\u2019s seemingly cursed ice, and the stats completely flip-flop. The scoring stats are not that much better, there is an improvement versus at home.\u00a0Adam Fox\u00a0is the team\u2019s leading scorer on the road, tallying 10 points in nine games.\u00a0Artemi Panarin\u00a0tallied nine points in the same amount of games, and\u00a0William Cuylle\u00a0and Lafreni\u00e8re are tied with seven. Not mind blowing, and the Rangers are slightly better defensively on the road as well. New York has given up 26 goals at home, compared to 17 on the road.<\/p>\n
When looking at both home and away, the Rangers advanced stats show a much better team than what their record represents. As a team, the Rangers have a CORSI percentage of 52.8. Anything over fifty percent shows that the team in question holds possession of the puck more often than the team they\u2019re playing against. But do fans, analysts, and writers really see that play out when they watch a game?<\/p>\n
When the Rangers play at home, the stats don\u2019t really show up in how they play. Most nights, the Rangers are solid defensively, especially against the rush, which they struggled with as a team last year.\u00a0 It seems to be much more of a mental game with them. The Rangers seem to be having a hard time scoring, but it\u2019s not for lack of trying. New York finds plenty of high-quality chances on great plays, the power play gets looks and the Rangers are as dangerous on the penalty kill as they have been the last few years. They just can\u2019t seem to finish the plays they need to, and now the frustration is building in the locker room.<\/p>\n
The frustration and tense energy the locker room is giving off shows on the ice as well. Players hanging heads after missing a shot, bad passes leading to turnovers. Every game, every lead lost and every opposing goal scored seems to just be devastating, as though the game is already over after a 1-0 deficit. Even though it\u2019s the same group of players, this team has completely changed. Just two years ago, the Rangers were Presidents\u2019 Trophy winners and were the comeback kings. New York had 28 come-back wins in 2023-2024. That mindset just seems to have completely disappeared.\u00a0Now, it\u2019s affecting how the team plays.<\/p>\n
Zibanejad\u2019s quote after a home loss to the\u00a0 New York Islanders on Saturday from this story by Howie Kussoy of the NY Post is a perfect illustration of how the team is playing. The Rangers are playing with so much anxiety that it\u2019s almost like they\u2019ve forgotten how to play hockey. The issue is mental, but how do the Rangers go about fixing it?<\/p>\n
The Rangers need to take a hard look into themselves and find some way to be confident in how they\u2019re playing again. The Rangers have the ability to win games, to get back to the playoffs, to push for a Stanley Cup. They just need to believe it. That starts with the leadership. J.T. Miller was made Rangers captain for a reason. The coaching staff believes in his no-nonsense approach, but it just hasn\u2019t shown yet. These issues will not be fixed unless Miller finds a way to get through to his teammates.<\/p>\n
Some leadership has been missing from the locker room as well. The Rangers have\u00a0been without forward Vincent Trocheck, who has missed about a month with an upper-body injury. Trocheck is a key part of the team both on offence and defence, and he is no doubt a big part of the leadership unit in the locker room.\u00a0Trocheck returned in Monday\u2019s game\u00a0against the Nashville Predators, bringing a big boost back to the lineup, especially for struggling star\u00a0Artemi Panarin, who scored two goals.<\/p>\n
Getting Panarin going again is also vital to the Ranger\u2019s potential success.\u00a0He has been rumoured to be on the trade block this year, and with his contract expiring, one would expect Panarin to be raring to prove himself. So far, he\u2019s been just okay. There has been some good games, including a four-point performance against the Montreal Canadiens. It just isn\u2019t consistent yet, and the Rangers will need him to find that consistency in order to be competitive.<\/p>\n
There are plenty of good things for this team to hang their hat on. Defensively, minus a few games here and there, the team has been very good. Building on that mindset of being a defence-first team that only needs to score two goals to win could be a cure to get the pucks in the back of the net. Getting just one or two goals is something most, if not all, of the teams in this league are capable of. Start small, and build back up to bigger and better. Overall, while the season isn\u2019t quite over yet, the Rangers need to find a way to get going at home. Once they do that, New York should find themselves near the top of the Metropolitan Division once again.<\/p>\n
“Buffalo’s offense is sputtering, and some fans are wondering if Brian Daboll could be the cure for what ails them.”<\/p>\n\n