The season series against the Islanders so far has been a microcosm of much of the regular season for the Rangers.
That is to say a low-scoring, unwatchable disaster.
After getting shut out twice by their Long Island rivals in each of the first two head-to-head meetings earlier this season, Mike Sullivan’s last-place team will look to get onto the scoreboard and perhaps into the win column with a home-and-home set against the Islanders beginning Wednesday night at UBS Arena.
In fact, the sleepy 2-0 loss to Islanders backup goalie David Rittich in Elmont out of the Christmas break began the current tailspin, a 3-9-2 stretch that has sent the Rangers spiraling to the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Ilya Sorokin had blanked them in a 5-0 rout at the Garden in November.
“I don’t know if there’s a common thread,” Sullivan said after practice Tuesday in Tarrytown. “We played them early in the season, and I feel like we went through a stretch of games where we were producing offense, we just weren’t scoring. I don’t think it was just against the Islanders.”
Indeed, the Rangers (22-25-6 overall) had been zipped a league-high eight times over the first 41 games of the season through their most recent loss to the Islanders, which put them on pace at the time to equal the NHL record of 16 shutouts in one season by the 2006-07 Blue Jackets.
Despite winning just three of their next 14 games, the Rangers at least haven’t added to the shutout skein thereafter, including a 4-3 overtime win against the Bruins on Monday night at the Garden.
“I think our team has done a better job scoring goals at 5-on-5 and on the power play,” Sullivan added. “I think we’ve got to continue to work at getting better on the defensive side of the puck, and being stingier defensively.
“I think that’s an aspect of our game, where for a long stretch of the season, we were pretty good and we valued it, and we were committed to it. I think that’s something that we’ve gotta continue to work at.”
One defenseman no longer with the Rangers is veteran Carson Soucy, who was dealt to the Islanders for a 2026 third-round pick after sitting out Monday’s game against Boston.
Interestingly, his first two games with his new team could come against his old one.
“Those aren’t situations you draw up, but I think we have a job to do and have to stay focused and these are really gonna be two fun games to play in,” captain J.T. Miller said. “Obviously we’ll worry about [Wednesday’s game first, and we’re gonna try to keep it going with some of this good energy from last game.”
Still, barring a dramatic turnaround on either side of the upcoming Olympic break, the Soucy trade figures to be the first of many moves made by general manager Chris Drury ahead of the March 6 trade deadline, with big names such as leading scorer and pending free agent Artemi Panarin potentially on the move.
“It’s not what our standards are here. We want to win. We want to be competing in the playoffs every year, so it’s tough,” winger Will Cuylle said. “We just have to try to come to the rink and worry about the things you can control and make sure you’re bringing the best version of yourself.
“I try to focus on the present. Try to stay focused; not look too far ahead. I try to concentrate on one game at a time.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
