3 hours Ago By Mollie Walker
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Just when you think the Rangers have hit rock bottom, the team proves that new depths can always be achieved. The Blueshirts suffered their second loss to a last-place club in just over a week Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena, where they were shut out for the first time this season in a 2-0 loss to the basement-dwelling Predators after dropping one against the then-32nd-ranked Blackhawks on Dec.
9. Prior to this win, the Predators had not only lost nine of their past 10, but they were the only remaining NHL team that hadn’t reached double digits in the victory column yet. Nashville is on a very short list of teams in worse shape than the Rangers right now, and yet, it was the same old, same old for a Blueshirts team that can’t seem to get up for any game right now.
It’s the second time in 31 contests the Rangers have lost three in a row, with the last stretch coming at the end of November in the form of a five-game losing skid. Not only that, but this defeat officially tipped the Rangers into a losing record at 15-15-1, which is a mark that is generous for the club’s body of work this season. The discontent in the Rangers locker room has been playing out on the ice this season.
Tuesday was just another instance, after Kaapo Kakko unleashed his frustration with serving as a healthy scratch in the previous game in St. Louis. The 23-year-old Finn essentially expressed that he didn’t believe he deserved to be the odd man out, noting that it’s easier to scratch a young guy like him rather than a struggling veteran.
Kakko could become the second disgruntled player to be traded from the Rangers this season, after captain Jacob Trouba was shipped out anyway despite the captain blocking a trade in the offseason for family reasons. Peter Laviolette has actively tried to divide the ice time up differently, but the Rangers head coach has not gotten the results he’s looking for. A little over halfway through December, Laviolette is already fielding questions about his job security.
The 60-year-old veteran coach of 1,543 NHL games did not flinch at the inquiry. It is something that has to be asked amid all the conversation surrounding what the organization is going to do, but there is no indication that changes are being contemplated behind the bench or in management. The Rangers came out hunting pucks, but their pursuit diminished as the first period wore on before it completely vanished.
Blocking 10 shots through the opening 20 minutes, the Predators also opened the scoring at the 13:37 mark. Chad Ruhwedel’s keep-in attempt deflected off Jonathan Marchessault before the Predators forward buried a pretty passing sequence with his linemates, Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg, to take a 1-0 lead. From there, the free-for-all that has been the middle of the Rangers zone continued.
Outshooting the Rangers 14-8 in the second period, the Predators also benefited from some strong goaltending from Juuse Saros, who recorded his third shutout of the season with 23 saves on 23 shots. Adam Wilsby gave Nashville some insurance with eight minutes left in regulation, when the Predators forward scored his first NHL goal from the high slot to double the home team’s score. The Rangers have been running out of answers as their season slips further and further away.
Two losses to two of the worst teams in the NHL is just one of the myriad of problems this team is facing. The only direction for the Rangers to go is up, but it’s just a matter of when they’ll start on that trajectory..
