The holiday break did nothing to cure the issues facing the Rangers. Instead, they continued to struggle in a 6-2 loss to the Lightning this past Saturday, Dec. 28.

Despite playing a better first period, they found themselves trailing the Lightning 2-1. Former Blueshirt Ryan McDonagh’s shorthanded goal was the latest example of Igor Shesterkin not being able to come up with a big save. The shot went right through him. It was part of a frustrating game that saw the Bolts get five goals on thirteen shots to chase Shesterkin from the net. After Jake Guentzel made it 5-1 to end his night, a furious Shesterkin left the Rangers bench for the locker room. The less said about it, the better.

Once again, the Rangers were blanked on the power play, going 0-for-4. Even worse, they allowed the Lightning to score two shorthanded goals. The second one came due to Mika Zibanejad fanning on a one-timer. That led directly to Brandon Hagel setting up Anthony Cirelli to make it 4-1. Following that sequence, Zibanejad was demoted to the second power play unit. It’s where he’ll be for the Rangers’ final game of 2024 when they visit the Panthers tonight.

Once a team strength, they’ve gone seven consecutive games without a power-play goal. In fact, it’s sunk all the way to 23rd in the league. Without a successful man-advantage, the Rangers are finding it challenging to produce consistent offense. Their five-on-five struggles haven’t helped. Even though they were better against the Lightning, the only goal at even strength came from Artemi Panarin. Unlike his counterpart, Andrei Vasilevskiy made some key saves in the first period when the Rangers created scoring chances.

Since a 3-2 win over the Sabres on Dec. 11, they haven’t scored three goals in a game without the benefit of an empty netter. That came from Chris Kreider in a 3-1 win over the Stars on Dec. 20. Entering play on Monday, they’ve lost six of their last seven. By continuing to lose in regulation, they now find themselves in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Even worse, the Rangers have fallen behind the Canadiens in the standings. In fact, their 33 points are only better than the Red Wings and Sabres in the East. Both won last night to get to 32. Detroit replaced Derek Lalonde with Todd McLellan. The Sabres have won three in a row.

The crazy aspect is that despite trailing the Senators by seven points for the second wildcard, the Rangers still have two more regulation wins (16). None of the teams in front of them have that many wins in regulation, which is the first tiebreaker. If they were able to stop the bleeding, it wouldn’t take long for them to get back in it. Given how bad they’ve looked, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll turn it around.

Zibanejad Officially on the Second Unit

By continuing to add nothing to the suddenly struggling top unit, Zibanejad is officially on the second unit. Coach Peter Laviolette confirmed the change after yesterday’s practice.

“It’s not working,” Laviolette told reporters on Sunday. “We’re working on things, we’re trying things. If eventually they’re not working, you have to move things around a little bit. I don’t know if it’s permanent or not, but right now it’s where it’s at.”

In his place will be Alexis Lafreniere. Earlier in the season, he scored two power-play goals. That’s when things were going well for him and the team. Lafreniere remains stuck on nine goals in 35 games. He’s been astonishingly bad since signing a contract extension on Oct. 26. Since then, he has five goals, with four coming before Thanksgiving. Lafreniere has lit the lamp just once over the last 17 games. He enters tonight’s game with no goals and one assist in the last nine.

Giving Lafreniere a chance on the first power play isn’t a bad idea. Unlike Zibanejad, Lafreniere looks to shoot the puck quickly when there’s an opportunity. He also will win battles in the corners and drive to the net. However, that shouldn’t be his role on the top unit. Kreider remains the net front presence. They haven’t been looking for him enough during a slump that’s seen them go 0-for-20. If Adam Fox can get his shot through, Kreider is one of the game’s best at redirecting shots for goals. Vincent Trocheck also provides that in the slot.

By having Zibanejad work with Filip Chytil, Will Cuylle, Reilly Smith, and K’Andre Miller, he can provide the right-handed shot from the left circle. Before, the second unit featured all left-handed shots. He was philosophical when asked if he was disappointed about the change.

“I don’t think there’s time for that right now. This has nothing to do with me personally or something that I’m going to make about myself. We’re not in a place in our season to feel sorry for yourself…It’s a different opportunity, it’s another opportunity for that unit with Laffy coming up — and deservedly so. Honestly, just for me, to help the unit that I’m playing on and we go from there.”

If he was performing up to expectations, the Rangers wouldn’t be where they currently are. Zibanejad has six goals and fifteen assists this season. He hasn’t been getting it done at five-on-five or on the power play. Defensively, there’s been a dramatic drop-off, with his minus-21 rating ranking worst on the team. Ironically, Lafreniere has the second worst with a minus-14.

Will the change work? That remains to be seen. They’re going up against the defending champs. The Panthers just were shut out by the Canadiens 4-0 on Dec. 28. So. They should be in a foul mood. Despite not playing their best hockey, they are tied with the Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division. Unlike the last game, Sergei Bobrovsky will be in net when they face the Rangers.

No Lineup Changes for Blueshirts

Similar to the last game when they outshot the Lightning 44-25 despite another lopsided defeat, there will be no lineup changes for the Blueshirts. Just the switch on the power play with Lafreniere replacing Zibanejad on the number one unit.

That means Zac Jones will again be a healthy scratch. Miller just returned upper-body injury two days ago. He will play on the second pair with Will Borgen for a second straight game. Urho Vaakanainen remains with Braden Schneider on the third pair. Fox and Ryan Lindgren are the top pair. For Jones, he’s fallen out of favor since a 5-0 loss to the Devils on Dec. 23. He wasn’t even on for a goal against. At some point, something has to give. Jones could be playing elsewhere. He’s continued to be treated with kid gloves by Laviolette.

The lines remain intact. With Zibanejad and Kreider back together with Smith, that means that Brett Berard is now playing on the third line with Chytil and Cuylle. They looked good against Tampa Bay. I’d like to see what they can do together. Essentially, Berard’s replaced Kaapo Kakko. He’s a faster skater and feistier.

With Matt Rempe continuing to serve his eight-game suspension for boarding and elbowing Miro Heiskanen from behind on Dec. 20, the fourth line consists of Sam Carrick, Jimmy Vesey, and Adam Edstrom. That line got victimized by the Lightning. They’ll look to bounce back.

RANGERS LINES

Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafreniere

Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Reilly Smith

Will Cuylle-Filip Chytil-Brett Berard

Adam Edstrom-Sam Carrick-Jimmy Vesey

DEFENSIVE PAIRS

Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox

K’Andre Miller-Will Borgen

Urho Vaakanainen-Braden Schneider

SCRATCHES

Jonny Brodzinski, Zac Jones, Matt Rempe