Rangers vs. Predators: Straight to Jail
Even with every built-in excuse on the board, the Rangers’ lifeless loss in Nashville felt depressingly familiar—and reinforced why trusting this team remains impossible.
- I would love to give you all the reasons and all the excuses for why a game like this was (sort of) "okay" for the New York Rangers to lose. Adam Fox is still out. J.T. Miller is hurt. Gabe Perreault and Matt Rempe (one of those matters more than the other) were out sick. The Rangers had to run 11F/7D because they literally didn't have enough forwards to ice. The Rangers were on the second game of a back-to-back with travel, and it was their FIFTH game in SEVEN days. So, yeah, in a normal situation this is the throwaway game of throwaway games.
- The problem, dear reader, is the Rangers could have very easily lost this game this way against this opponent with a fully healthy team. Want to know how I know? Because they've done that before this year.
- In general the Rangers don't have enough high-end talent. Without Fox or a healthy Miller, they're down to literally one star in Artemi Panarin. That said, a group with Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafrenière, and Vincent Trocheck should be able to hold their own against a very poor Nashville Predators team. That was embarrassing.
- The East sucks in general, so the Rangers are somehow still only a point away from a playoff berth. They're also six points ahead of the last place spot in the East (Columbus). It's worth noting the Rangers have played two games more than the Devils (who hold the last Wild Card spot) and three games more than Columbus in last place.
- Which returns us to something I have been saying since the year started: You cannot bet on this team. You can't assume they're going to find a way to win a single game—let alone four—in a playoff series. So, why bet on them at all?
