WASHINGTON (AP) — How the New York Rangers stay positive as the losses pile up is “the million-dollar question” to $8.5 million center Mika Zibanejad.
“What’s our option?” Zibanejad said after the Washington Capitals beat the Rangers 7-4 on Saturday. “What’s our option? Just say, ‘We’re done with the season?’ No, we can’t.”
There are far more questions than answers now that the Rangers’ struggles have dragged on for far longer than a month. They’ve lost 16 of their past 21 games to go from solidly in a playoff position in mid-November to tied with the Islanders for last place in the Metropolitan Division.
“You cannot drag yourself down just because you lose a game,” said Filip Chytil, who along with Zibanejad scored in the third period against the Capitals. “At some point, it must turn around because last year we won the Presidents’ Trophy, and we can play hockey. We know that. … So, it must turn at some point, but we don’t know when.”
Time is running out.
General manager Chris Drury has already made two moves in an attempt to get his should-be contender out of this tailspin. He traded captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim on Dec. 6 after the veteran defenseman said he accepted the move following the threat of going on waivers and sent winger Kaapo Kakko to Seattle on Dec. 18 to end the 2019 No. 2 pick’s tumultuous tenure with the organization.
Even if the coaching of Peter Laviolette is not to blame for top players from Zibanejad to Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox underperforming, his job may still be in jeopardy given that it’s one of the few logical buttons left to push. He said starting well and then breaking down defensively at Washington was a frustrating turn of events.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Laviolette said. “It’s not just the power-play goals. It was the even-strength goals as well. We gave up four of them. So, we score four and we give up four and that’s too much.”
New York’s downturn is baffling after not only winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best regular-season team in 2023-24 but going to the Eastern Conference final with nearly the same roster. The Rangers have not won consecutive games since winning three in a row from Nov. 14-19.
Back then, they were on track to get back to the playoffs. Now, they’re trying to salvage their season.
“That’s an attitude and mindset thing,” Fox said of staying confident. “Coming out of (the Christmas) break, we’ve been playing a lot better hockey. Obviously not the points to show for it, but there’s still those breakdowns and chances that (opponents are) capitalizing on that we still have to clean up a little bit more.”
Players believe there’s still plenty of faith in each other to turn things around.
“From the top down, we have to work — we have to keep working,” Zibanejad said. “That’s the only way we’re going to get forward. Yes, it’s not easy. Yes, it’s not going to happen overnight. But if it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. We have a challenge, and we just got to accept it and keep working. We have no other option.”
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