In what amounted to a heartless effort, the Rangers managed to achieve a new low in what’s been a tire fire of a season. Facing the Penguins without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, they lost 3-2 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

It didn’t matter that Crosby missed his first game in almost three years. The Pens simply outworked, outhustled, and out-grinded the Rangers in as frustrating a loss as possible. In finding a new way to lose to an opponent that was without its best players, they played a vanilla game that was indicative of what kind of team they truly are. One that lacks the ingredients necessary to be successful. It’s why I’ve never believed in them. They have the look of the most disappointing roster since the pre-lockout era.

Even the addition of J.T. Miller can’t mask how flawed the roster is. He can’t do everything. There were too many lost battles in the trenches against a more determined opponent who has changed their identity. The Pens played a similar defensive style in a recent shootout loss to the Devils. In that one, the Devils also struggled with the more structured system the Pens are playing. They’re protecting Alex Nedeljkovic, who after making 19 saves on 21 shots, stopped 22 on 24 to lead the Pens to victory.

Despite Vincent Trocheck scoring his 17th off a takeaway from Alexis Lafreniere for the only goal in the first period, the Rangers were dominated by the Pens. They managed only nine total attempts in a period controlled by their feistier opponent.

A poor second period was their undoing. The Pens outscored them 3-1 to take control of the game. Blake Lizotte evened the game when he cruised in to beat Igor Shesterkin at 2:25. The gritty fourth line veteran gave an honest effort which included some strong work on the penalty kill. His hustle was noticeable when the Rangers were desperate late in regulation.

With the game tied at one, the Rangers replied back 74 seconds later when Adam Fox got just his fourth of the season. After receiving a nice pass from Trocheck at the dot, Fox wired a shot past Nedeljkovic with Lafreniere in front to make it 2-1. Ryan Lindgren picked up a secondary assist on the goal.

But before the game reached the halfway point, the Pens took advantage of a lazy shift from Lafreniere. In what’s been an underwhelming season, he has struggled mightily defensively. After staying on the ice for a long shift, he got victimized by Rickard Rakell who scored the game-tying goal at 9:07. After receiving a pass from Anthony Beauvillier, Bryan Rust gained the Rangers’ zone and found the open trailer in Rakell, who dusted Lafreniere for his 25th. Lafreniere got lost in coverage while both K’Andre Miller and Will Borgen were back. It was his responsibility. He missed a few shifts for that defensive gaffe.

The Pens went ahead on the power play. With Will Cuylle off for tripping Beauvillier, Michael Bunting and Rust combined to set up a wide-open Philip Tomasino in front for an easy put away that gave them a 3-2 lead with 8:01 remaining.

By that point, Peter Laviolette had started putting his lines in a blender. With the exception of the fourth line, he tried to spark something by mixing and matching. It didn’t help matters. They were outshot 15-9 in a lackluster second that saw them hear some jeers when the period concluded. It was well deserved.

In the third, the Pens were content to sit back and protect a one-goal lead. Astonishingly, they didn’t record a single shot-on-goal and weren’t credited with a single shot attempt in the final period. Despite that, they only allowed the Rangers to get seven shots on Nedeljkovic, who was never seriously tested.

Even a couple of late power plays didn’t flip the script. Pierre-Oliver Joseph took a dumb interference minor for hitting Jimmy Vesey high. The Rangers proceeded to do nothing on the five-on-four.

With time winding down rapidly, the fourth line nearly created a tying goal. But with Cuylle on in place of Matt Rempe, he sent the puck just wide from the slot. That summed up a frustrating night for him. It was his penalty that led to the game-winning goal from Tomasino, who was a waiver pickup from the Predators. If you looked at the lineups for each roster prior to the game, you would’ve thought it would be an easy win for the Rangers. That’s why they play the game.

With just over two minutes left, Bunting took another bad penalty when he grabbed hold of Fox and spun him around to give the Rangers their second power play of the game. Both came in the third period, which pretty much explains how lifeless they were.

Rather than go with a conventional five-on-four, Laviolette pulled Shesterkin for a six-on-four advantage. All it led to was a bunch of attempts getting blocked by the more desperate Pens, who looked like they were playing for their playoff lives. They finished the game with 22 blocks. That included a key one from Noel Acciari, who got just enough of an Artemi Panarin shot to send it over the top. Chris Kreider got the only shot right on Nedeljkovic with 37 seconds left in regulation. He also made a critical stop on Mika Zibanejad and covered the loose puck before Miller could jar it in.

Nedeljkovic was called on to make one more stop on Panarin, with the Pens then icing the puck. But after a faceoff win, Panarin had a last second desperation attempt blocked by Joseph as time wound down. The Rangers were greeted with more boos as they skated off the ice in disgust. It was about as putrid a performance as they could have given the importance of the game.

This team shows no heart or guts. They are severely lacking in grit even after Chris Drury added Miller to Borgen, who certainly plays with gumption. There aren’t enough players who are willing to battle in the corners and in front to get the jersey dirty. Trocheck will do it as will Miller and Cuylle. Rempe and Sam Carrick will because that’s their job. Vesey will as well when he plays. The problem is with most of the stars. The Pens took away everything in the middle of the ice and kept the Rangers to the outside. There wasn’t enough pushback.

Now, it’s onto Columbus for what’s a must win game on Saturday night before the break. Do they even have it in them to get a victory in a back-to-back situation? The Blue Jackets will likely be without top forward Kirill Marchenko. But Zach Werenski will play. They’re coming off a tough overtime loss. They have a lot more speed and grit than the Rangers do. If they really want to give themselves a chance after the break, then they need to win this game in regulation.

At this point, I’m not betting on it.