Rangers vs. Blue Jackets: Y U No Tank Right?
A shocking four-goal comeback gave the Garden life for one night, but the real story might be Gabe Perreault’s surge, Adam Fox’s ambiguity, and J.T. Miller testing fans’ patience.
- I've said before that within the confines of any given game, I can't cheer for the Rangers to lose—even when losing would be the best outcome for the team. Like, you know, right now. In that sense, when they fall behind 4-0 a little more than halfway through the game, there's a touch of relief. I don't have to root for them to lose, because there's no way that this offensively-starved team is going to fight their way back from a 4-0 deficit in this year, and in this economy. Right?
- Right?!?
- Well, wrong, apparently.
- Raise your hand if you had a four-goal rally in the third period from the 2025-26 New York Rangers in even the back of your mind as a possibility. Okay, now all of you who raised your hands: Put them down, you liars.
- On one hand, it's great to see. The building (what fans there were even there by that point) was alive when Gabe Perrault buried the tying goal (more on him in a second). In a season that has been so collectively miserable, this game was exciting for at least a period of hockey.
- But, on the other hand? The Rangers don't need these points. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see this kind of productivity from some of the players who (we presume, at least) will be here next year and beyond. As bad as the Rangers are, there's almost no way that they "catch" the Vancouver Canucks for the worst record in the league and, thus, the best draft lottery odds. But, still, points aren't what they need right now. And if they're going to lose, it's better if they don't take home the loser point.
- I think this is the best hockey that we've seen from Gabe Perrault. Since the Olympic break ended, he's looked like a different, more confident player. He's said that the game is starting to slow down for him. These are all good things, of course. But wouldn't it just be the most Rangers thing ever for Perrault to actually start developing properly ... and screw up the tank.
- I'll leave most of the commentary about this for Joe on the podcast this week, but as I said on a previous episode, I wasn't going to throw a fit about Scott Morrow being left out of the lineup for one game prior to the Olympic break, especially when it was defensible to say you want to get Vincent Iorio in a game to see something from him. It's far less defensible now than it was then. And it'll be even less defensible after Friday, assuming that at least one of the Rangers' blueliners is sent packing.
