#new-york-rangers

#new-york-rangers

Live From the Blue Seats is back-recorded on Wednesday night (Dave forgot to post to ask for questions), before last night's loss to San Jose-as Rob and Dave discuss the Rangers biggest needs amid their inconsistent start to the season. The Vincent Trocheck injury hurts, but the Rangers scoring depth was absolutely gutted last season and in the offseason and simply hasn't been replaced. The top-six isn't scoring consistently and both Will Cuylle and Alexis Lafreniere look lost.

The Rangers played their second clunker on Monday night, losing to Minnesota and again struggling for consistency on offense. They now hit a soft spot in the schedule with San Jose tonight before traveling to Calgary, two very winnable games before a mini gauntlet next month. No game in October is a must win, and this is no different in the grand scheme of things. I'm calling it a must win because, to be direct, I don't want to deal with the negativity if they lose.

The Rangers lines tonight will remain largely unchanged, but the Blueshirts will welcome back defenseman Carson Soucy, who has been on IR for a week with a suspected concussion. Soucy's return seemed imminent, and there were rumblings that Matthew Robertson could find himself back on the bench despite solid play. Mike Sullivan surprised us though, as Urho Vaakanainen will sit, and Robertson will stick in the lineup.

Somehow the New York Rangers have found themselves with no goals at MSG through their first three home games. It's like they've been watching the New York Jets and have been trying to figure out how to one up the most hopeless franchise in the tri-state area. Now, after watching three games at the Garden I have a much different feeling despite the Blueshirts 0-3 record on home ice and their inability to convert, there's hope.

NEW YORK -- Mika Zibanejad was at a loss for words after he and the New York Rangers made history Tuesday night by becoming the first team in NHL history to get shut out in each of its first three home games of the season. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry," Zibanejad said after a 2-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. "I honestly don't know."

After three consecutive scoreless losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden, the Broadway Blue Shirts broke the league record for the longest time being shut out at home to start a season. According to the Athletic's Peter Baugh, the Rangers' 180 minutes without a goal at home to start the year surpassed the previous record holder - the 2001-02 Florida Panthers (155 minutes and 17 seconds).

It's an incredible honor to be the head coach of the New York Rangers, a franchise that has such history to it. For me, it's just a privilege that I don't take for granted. To get the first win, it means a lot to me. J.T. gave me the game puck, which was nice," he continued. "He made a joke about how long our video meetings are. They'll continue to be long until we get on the right page.

The Rangers lost and looked lost offensively, but did a decent job defensively, allowing just one goal with a goalie in net. The slow start was expected, and while there's no need to rush to conclusions just yet, there is one certainty that most can agree on: The Rangers left defense problem can get ugly fast. Beyond Vlad Gavrikov, the Rangers have two bottom pair defensemen (at best) and one C-prospect to fill out the depth.

Even in today's practice, the Rangers have 5 forward lines that could feasibly be NHL lines to start the season. The answers on defense are pretty much set, and as long as the Rangers remain injury free, they have an opportunity to make October an extended look for the forwards. This means the Rangers could break camp with 15 forwards.

Live From the Blue Seats is back as Dave is joined by a returning Rob to discuss which Rangers prospects make the team. From Brennan Othmann to Scott Morrow, there are a number of prospects vying for spots, and not all of them have necessarily played their way into a role. There's also a good chance the Rangers send more kids back to Hartford to start the season as some of the other players (Juuso Parssinen) get extended looks.

Wrapping up our 2024-2025 report cards is Chris Drury and the Rangers front office. To put it mildly, many of the Rangers issues last year started with Drury's summer roster management, which he tried to rectify with a flurry of midseason trades. As such, his report card grade is a tale of two Drury's.