On Tuesday, Mar. 18, the schedule said that the Rangers were taking on the Flames at Madison Square Garden. Someone forgot to tell them. In what can be best summed up as a no show, they suffered a 2-1 humiliation to the Flames before less than a capacity crowd that let them hear it throughout the game.

The game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. Following Artemi Panarin getting his 30th goal just 73 seconds in, the Rangers got severely outplayed and outskated by a more determined opponent who were playing the second game of a back-to-back. You would have thought the Flames were the more rested team despite having to travel from Toronto after a 6-2 shellacking on St. Patrick’s Day. They won all the battles and outhustled a lethargic Blueshirts who looked like they were hungover.

It was the Flames who took advantage of sloppy turnovers to get dangerous chances on Igor Shesterkin, who did his best by making some big saves. Despite stoning Jonathan Huberdeau, he had no chance on a rebound Nazem Kadri converted with the Rangers scrambling around. Urho Vaakanainen was beaten on the tying goal.

Calgary continued to expose the Rangers, who had 11 giveaways and no takeaways in a lackluster first period that saw them muster only four more shots after Panarin’s first one went in. The lack of cohesiveness was mind numbing. For a team that’s fighting for the postseason, there wasn’t any effort.

“No execution. I thought we were slow. I think we got away from the things that we did well in the previous games. We were just slow executing, slow moving the puck, slow getting open. We’re just standing still in the neutral zone, we get pucks deep, we have one guy going. Just break it out, very, very easy. We can’t get anything going and that’s on us,” Mika Zibanejad told reporters in the locker room.

There also was a loss of discipline from Matt Rempe that led to Matt Coronato scoring on the power play to put the Flames ahead with 1:57 left in the period. Rempe took an ill-advised elbowing minor when it came up on Jake Bean, catching his chin with 2:14 remaining. Rempe has been the victim of some bad calls going against him, including one at Winnipeg in a tough 2-1 loss on Mar. 11. The penalty he took last night was atrocious. It cost the Rangers dearly.

The disturbing part is that after getting lambasted by Steve Valiquette during the first intermission on MSG Networks, they were even worse in the second period. Instead of responding, it was more of the same. After outshooting them 9-4 in the first, the Flames held a 10-3 edge in the second. For a long time, the Rangers were stuck on six shots. They didn’t establish anything. There was as Joe Micheletti pointed out to Sam Rosen on the broadcast, no forecheck.

Undisciplined penalties continued to plague the Rangers. Braden Schneider airmailed a clearing attempt for a delay of game less than two minutes into the period. As usual, the best chance came while on the penalty kill. Zibanejad got a tough one-handed shot on Flames backup Dan Vladar, which he turned away. That was the only opportunity of the period.

It basically was all about Shesterkin who kept coming up with difficult stops to keep his team down a goal. They couldn’t or wouldn’t be bothered. After having 11 giveaways in the opening stanza, they had six more in the woeful second.

Alexis Lafreniere took a bad tripping minor to put the Flames back on the power play. Following a successful penalty kill, Chris Kreider replaced him on the second line with Zibanejad and J.T. Miller. Speaking of Miller, he took a slash to the midsection at the conclusion of the first that went undetected. A furious Zibanejad had some choice words for the refs mouthing, “That’s your fault.” Miller didn’t miss a shift. However, it was another frustrating game for him. He’s now gone eight games without a goal.

Since being acquired on Jan. 31 for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a first round pick that now belongs to the Penguins (Canucks traded it for Marcus Pettersson), Miller has still performed at near a point-per-game clip with 18 points in 19 games. But he has a penchant for taking bad penalties that affect his play. When Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury made the trade for the recently turned 32-year-old center, it came with a risk. Miller’s signed through 2030. As good as he is, you do have to worry about when he’ll decline. Even if they fail to qualify for the postseason, the Rangers made the move to improve the roster moving forward. Miller will be front and center along with Panarin next season. They’ll need the good version.

Still trailing the Flames by a goal, the Rangers finally got a call when Martin Pospisil interfered with Vaakanainen. Instead of taking advantage, they didn’t do anything. The Flames penalty kill took away the blue line and kept clearing the zone. Disgusted fans who pay a lot of money to watch this pathetic team promptly booed. It was well-deserved. They stunk it up.

After the penalty expired, Pospisil was sent in on a breakaway. He had Shesterkin down but sent his backhand wide of an open net. The puck was then put back in front in a wild sequence, which somehow the Rangers survived. If any play typified their lack of effort, it was that one. Had the Flames scored on that folly, it would have been replayed all over social media.

The third period was unwatchable. With the lone exception of Miller setting up a Kreider shot that Vladar stopped, the Rangers managed to do nothing. It was so bad that I put the Senators and Canadiens on my laptop. While our team’s game was on the TV, I was more locked in on two Canadian rivals battling it out in a big game that had playoff implications. The Canadiens rallied from a one-goal deficit by scoring four straight to earn a huge 6-3 win on home ice that vaulted them into the second wild card ahead of the Rangers.

Montreal has 73 points and are one up on the Rangers. But the Habs have 15 games left while the Rangers have 13 remaining. Combined with the Islanders rallying for four goals in the third period to defeat the Pens 4-2, they’re locked in a three-way tie with the Blue Jackets and Red Wings. All three teams have 70 points. Both the Islanders and Jackets have 15 games remaining while the Wings have 14 left. If you want to include the Bruins, they have 69 points with 13 games left. Even the Pens aren’t out of it yet. But they only have 66 points with just a dozen games to go. It’s a longshot that Sidney Crosby can drag them into the playoffs.

If you’re wondering about the Rangers, where do they go from here? K’Andre Miller, who struggled with turnovers yesterday, admitted that they didn’t show up in the biggest game of the season to date.

That’s a damning statement. While I appreciate his honesty, it begs one question that wasn’t asked. Why weren’t they ready to play? If coach Peter Laviolette acknowledged that the compete wasn’t there and that the Flames were more ready, how does he still have a job? They’ve played 69 games. Even now, there doesn’t seem to be an identity. How did they go from winning the Presidents’ Trophy to this in a year?

A harder look must be taken at both the general manager and coach. Drury went out and got two experienced defensemen. Calvin de Haan was effective when he played with Zac Jones. Once they acquired Carson Soucy, de Haan came out of the lineup. Soucy has struggled immensely. Laviolette isn’t playing either. He’s been using Vaakanainen with Adam Fox. Jones remains in the lineup with Schneider despite some issues.

The coach also reinserted Juuso Parssinen so he could play a whopping seven-plus minutes on the mismatched third line centered by Sam Carrick. Brennan Othmann was a healthy scratch. Brett Berard played on the fourth line with Rempe and Jonny Brodzinski, who eventually was moved up in the third period. Brodzinski with Carrick and the demoted Lafreniere made up the third line. Parssinen was with Berard and Rempe before Laviolette predictably cut down his rotation. These were the final ice times for those three:

Berard 6:21

Rempe 7:29

Parssinen 7:44

How does that help? It’s bad enough that Laviolette buried Kreider with Carrick, who as honest an effort as he gives isn’t a third line center. He hardly used Arthur Kaliyev before his season ended with an upper-body injury due to absorbing a big hit from Luke Schenn on Mar. 11. Kaliyev was in and out of the lineup. That was another move by Drury, who claimed Kaliyev off waivers from the Kings. He finished with three goals and one assist in 14 games. His appearance last week was his first since Feb. 23.

When he opted to load up by moving Zibanejad off center to play with Miller, Laviolette weakened the third line. Neither Carrick nor Brodzinski are top nine forwards. Zibanejad should be centering a line. Even if his production came back due to having less responsibility. He makes $8.5 million. A top three lines that have Trocheck, Miller, and Zibanejad would have more balance. The real issue has to do with Laviolette who doesn’t show enough trust in a few of the younger forwards to play in the top nine.

Will Cuylle has replaced Lafreniere on the Panarin line centered by Trocheck. Zibanejad knows Kreider well with them forming a dynamic duo while shorthanded. Their struggles at five-on-five led to Laviolette splitting them up and prompted Drury to make the trade for Miller. The underachieving Lafreniere only having 15 goals has really hurt the offense. Following the contract extension, he was being counted on for consistent production. There was no reason to believe he wouldn’t perform. He spent most of the year with Panarin and Trocheck, who’s also struggled with consistency.

Kreider is a big part of the problem. He went from scoring close to 40 goals last season to 18 in 55 games due to injuries being a factor. The all-time franchise record holder in power-play goals (116) still is tied for third in goal scoring with Cuylle. Trocheck ranks second with 20 goals. Zibanejad and Lafreniere are tied for fifth with 15. Sadly, Chytil would still place seventh with 11. His career is now in jeopardy following the latest concussion he suffered due to a dirty hit from behind from Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson. Of course, he wasn’t suspended.

Even after adding Miller, the offense is lacking. The power play remains an issue. Even since Adam Fox returned, they’re 0-for-5 dropping all the way down to 25th (18.5 percent) in the league. Similar to his predecessor, Laviolette has leaned heavily on his top unit. Perhaps it’s too easy to give in due to the personnel that features Panarin, Fox, Zibanejad, Miller, and Kreider. There’s still an overreliance on the Rangers’ best players on the power play. This isn’t the Oilers, who are led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

The same applies to the offense. By continuing to play Zibanejad and Miller together, it limits the bottom six. To their credit, both Brodzinski and Carrick have chipped in. Usually, when either is cast in a fourth line role. Most recently, Brodzinski had some success with Othmann and Rempe. Carrick had similar success when he played with Rempe and Adam Edstrom, who’s been missed since sustaining a lower-body injury on Feb. 1. If he returned now, he’d likely play on the third line.

Gabe Perreault a Possibility

If they’re looking for a spark, perhaps the Rangers can find it by signing Gabe Perreault. The 2023 first round pick’s sophomore season ended for Boston College. He tied for the team lead in scoring with 47 points (15-32-47). Perreault will turn 20 in May. A playmaking pivot who has excellent vision, he certainly would be an upgrade over Carrick on the third line. That assumes a lot. Would they consider it? That remains to be seen.

The organization signed former fourth round pick Noah Laba. He tied for the team lead with 10 goals for Colorado College. In 29 games, Laba totaled 26 points and was a plus-10. The 21-year-old forward will make his pro debut soon for the Hartford Wolf Pack.