History was made at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. For the New York Rangers, it wasn’t the kind of history they wanted to make in their centennial season.

In an alarming trend that continues to plague them, the Rangers got shut out for the third straight home game by the Edmonton Oilers. By failing to score a single goal in their first three home games at MSG, they made NHL history by becoming the first ever team to achieve that record – breaking the previous mark held by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1928.

In falling to the Oilers 2-0, most astonishing is that Rangers’ goalies have only allowed four goals over the first five games. However, all 10 of their goals have come on the road where they’ve had more success.

At least they next visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. In my favorite Dumb and Dumber quote from Jim Carrey’s Lloyd character, “So, you’re telling me there’s a chance.”

If you can’t make light of this start, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s one thing to lose and get outplayed. Since dropping the season opener 3-0 to the Penguins, the Rangers have been the better team against both the Capitals and Oilers at The Garden. It hasn’t mattered. If you can’t score a goal, you can’t win.

On Sunday, the Caps made an Anthony Beauvillier goal stand up in a 1-0 shutout. In that one, Charlie Lindgren was the best player, finishing with 35 saves to steal a win. Last night, it was Stuart Skinner who got stronger as the game went on, going on to make 30 saves for the third shutout by an opposing goalie at MSG. If you add Arthur Silovs from last week, that’s three goalies who aren’t household names.

It’s become a comedy in record fashion. The Rangers have rolled out the welcome mat for journeymen. They’ve accomplished something significant by turning these guys into Vezina winners. You’d think they faced Dryden, Brodeur, and Hasek.

Even better, they’ve gone 0 for 90 in 180 minutes at the World’s Most Expensive Arena. The 90 represents the total amount of shots they’ve had in the three losses. With a 0-for-3 effort on the power play, they’re now a perfect 0-for-6 at MSG. It’s hard to win hockey games when you can’t take advantage.

Trailing 1-0 in the third period, their best chances came on their final power play. Following a Skinner save on Adam Fox from long distance, Mika Zibanejad missed wide from in front. J.T. Miller followed that up by having his tip miss the mark. After making another stop on Fox, Skinner got over to deny Artemi Panarin twice.

Panarin can’t buy a goal. He had his most shots (5) so far. The Rangers’ best offensive player has two assists in five games. He still hasn’t looked like the same player. Whether the injury he had his limited him doesn’t matter. He’s paid top dollar to carry the offense. At least in the third, his line with Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere was buzzing. They’re getting closer.

If there’s an issue beyond the top line not scoring, it’s Mike Sullivan’s insistence on playing Conor Sheary in the top six. I have nothing against Sheary, who gives an honest effort. His hustle is noticeable. However, he’s being overused by Sullivan, who loves him. Newsflash to Sully: It isn’t 2016-17 or 2017-18 anymore.

The last time Sheary was a solid contributor was with the Caps three years ago. He scored 15 goals and had 22 assists for 37 points in 2022-23. Since then, he’s totaled 16 points (4-12-16) in 67 games. He was so bad for the Lightning that he only got into five games last season. Astonishingly, he’s already matched that with the Rangers.

Even more absurd is how many minutes he’s getting. Sheary is averaging 15:23 of ice time a game. That included 18:13 last night. That’s more than Will Cuylle (17:19 TOI) had. They play on the same line. Cuylle’s the much younger player.

What’s even more mind-numbing is how little use Sullivan has for Noah Laba. After he notched two assists last Saturday, his ice time has gone dramatically down with linemates Jonny Brodzinski and Taylor Raddysh. All three received under eight minutes against Edmonton. That’s not ideal for Laba, who’s shown the ability to make plays due to his size and speed. He hardly touched the ice in the third.

The line of Sam Carrick, Adam Edstrom, and Matt Rempe continues to play well in an increased role. Carrick created chances for both Edstrom and Rempe. Edstrom just missed on a wide open opportunity.

If there’s a dilemma, it’s the lack of finish on the line. They can’t count on Rempe for more than a few goals. Carrick scored six last year. Edstrom had five in his rookie year. He has the most skill of the three. But how many can Edstrom get while playing with those two? Their chemistry has never been better. But they flub a lot of point blank chances.

Edstrom should play with Laba. Neither Brodzinski nor Juuso Parssinen have shown enough to stay on that line. Elevating the more capable Edstrom makes sense. At least he can use his big body to forecheck and get in front. He’s a good skater who puts himself in position. If they’re not going to recall Brett Berard anytime soon, I’d like to see Edstrom play with Laba and Raddysh. To be honest, Sheary fits that line better.

The problem is for how well they’ve played over the last two games. The Rangers are offensively challenged. Without Vincent Trocheck, it puts a lot of pressure on Panarin, Zibanejad, Lafreniere, Miller, and Cuylle to carry the offense. It’s not happening so far.

While the Zibanejad line had more opportunities, the Miller line was matched against McDavid, who played most of the game with Leon Draisaitl. Along with Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov, who had his best game, they did a superb job stifling McDavid. So much so that Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch split them up for most of the third.

By doing that, the Blueshirts didn’t have enough offense to seriously threaten Skinner, who was dialed in. When told after the game about the Rangers’ offensive woes at home, he said he had no idea about it until Calvin Pickard told him following the win. Skinner had high praise for the effort the Rangers gave.

As it turned out, even on an off night for McDavid and Draisaitl, who were pinned in their end more often than usual, all Edmonton needed was a lucky bounce to grab the lead.

On a strange play in the neutral zone, the puck took a funny bounce off a linesman right to Kasperi Kapanen, who moved the puck up for Trent Frederic. He then got behind Urho Vaakanainen to beat Igor Shesterkin on a breakaway with 9:38 left in the second period.

Vaakanainen tried to make a pass up. However, the puck hit a linesman to give the Oilers an opening. They took advantage. Vaakanainen lost Frederic rather quickly. Partner Braden Schneider was too far up ice, leaving a gap.

From seeing him play, Vaakanainen struggles defensively. He doesn’t win any battles in his end and is frequently caught out of position. It’s hard to believe he was re-signed. He isn’t a top six defenseman.

Sullivan again played Matthew Robertson with Will Borgen, who had a strong game. Robertson is better in his end than Vaakanainen. He’s only played four career games. If they played together, it wouldn’t work. Maybe that’s why Schneider has remained with Vaakanainen. There are still instances when he should be moved up.

The Rangers hit two goalposts. Schneider and Carrick just missed ending the scoreless streak at home. There were other close calls. Rempe fanned on a shot right in front. He was set up by Sheary, who had an open net until an Oilers defenseman recovered in time to prevent him from putting it in.

Afterward, Zibanejad was left speechless at the Rangers’ ineptitude.

He’s correct about how they’re playing. They’ve been much better defensively than at any point last year. However, they are offensively challenged. If the top players aren’t scoring, they’re going to continue to struggle.

It doesn’t matter if Shesterkin is playing well. If he allows a goal, they can lose. That’s how bad they are offensively. They could use Chris Kreider right now. He’s in Anaheim. Chris Drury didn’t improve the roster. Until Gabe Perreault is ready, they’re stuck.

Brett Berard should be playing with Laba. He isn’t because Drury spent too much money on vets. They’re up against the cap. At least they made history.