Here we are again. Another regulation loss, another low-scoring game, another bad team effort, and with 25% of the season complete, now is the time where the early season questions can start to become concerns. For the majority of October, it was “Just wait until the team has Trocheck back in the lineup, everything will rebound then.” The wins have not come in bunches, the goaltending is being hung out to dry by questionable efforts in the defensive zone, particularly by the captain last night, and the offense is as stale as communion bread.
JT Miller might actually be a problem now. On the Golden Knights second goal, he puck watched. There’s no other explanation needed.
With just 4 goals and 6 assists through 21 games, Miller is on pace for roughly 37 points. If he is injured, he has to be a true leader and get healthy. He cannot lead while looking this bad out there. A goal was disallowed because he skated at a beer league pace through the neutral zone with the puck while Mika Zibanejad and Jonny Brodzinski were absolutely flying up to the ice. Had it stood, it would have been a one goal game with a little under half the third period to play. Miller’s been a breath of fresh air with his honesty with the media, but he has to get healthy, and play JT Miller hockey, or this team is going nowhere fast.
The stinker Igor Shesterkin allowed in the second period will catch eyes, but he was also the only reason why the Rangers were truly in this game. It makes it the second game in a row where the goalie bailed the team out and saved them from themselves. There is no reason why the Rangers structure should have deteriorated as quick as it has, and it’s clear there are perhaps more growing pains we must witness before it’s habit for this team. Until then, it’s an unfair ask, but the Rangers must lean on Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick. Story of our lives, eh?
There are still 60+ games remaining in the season, but it’s hard to be optimistic about this club right now. They are a poorly constructed team with $41,217,857 tied up into 5 top-six players who don’t have top-six production, and the impact is clear. The underlying numbers may tell a certain story, that the team can only get better, but those were some dejected faces shown on the bench after putting up over 50 shot attempts and only 19 went on net being tended by Akira Schmid.
Are we still in that systems adjustment grace period? Or is the core simply aging much faster than many hoped and anticipated?
More About: Game Wrap-ups