A year ago, the New York Rangers got off to a fast start by winning five out of their first six games (5-0-1). Despite relying heavily on both Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, they jumped out to a 12-4-1 start before the season collapsed in epic proportion. The less said about it, the better.

Unlike last season’s team that underachieved despite being able to score goals, the current roster seems incapable of finding the back of the net with any regularity. Instead, they are a miserable offensive team that lacks finishers. Top stars Artemi Panarin, J.T. Miller, and Mika Zibanejad aren’t getting it done. Entering Saturday’s featured game versus the Montreal Canadiens on Hockey Night In Canada, they’ve combined for only two goals and four assists in the Rangers’ first six games. Counting Alexis Lafreniere, who scored the first goal of the season in a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 9, the top four forwards have totaled three goals and are a minus-11.

Without key center Vincent Trocheck, who looks like he’ll be out a long time due to the mysterious upper-body ailment he sustained against the Sabres, it’s forced Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan to move Zibanejad back to center so he can play with Panarin. Unfortunately, the results haven’t been there. For whatever reason, they’ve never clicked when used together.

Even with Zibanejad having more jump so far, he’s not burying his chances. Despite leading the team in shots (17) and scoring chances (9) at five-on-five according to Natural Stat Trick, he’s only scored once. It was a shorthanded goal in a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If you’re wondering about Panarin, who only has totaled six shots at five-on-five, he’s created seven scoring chances and has eight giveaways. The Rangers’ best offensive player needs to start getting more shots through. He paced them in goals the past two seasons with a career-high 49 in 2023-24 and 37 in 2024-25. They need him desperately.

By continuing to play them together now with Will Cuylle, who’s also started off slowly with just one goal and three minor penalties, Sullivan’s looking for answers. Cuylle was one of their best forwards in last night’s 2-1 overtime defeat at the Toronto Maple Leafs. He led the Blueshirts in shots with five and had eight attempts. Most of it came following Sullivan’s decision to switch Cuylle onto the top line, and shift Lafreniere to the second line with Miller and Conor Sheary.

Speaking of which, Sheary is a hard-working player who always gives maximum effort due to his skating and hustle. However, it’s hard to justify Sullivan playing him in the top six after making the team on a PTO. Sheary is better suited for a supporting role. With the Rangers already thin without Trocheck and still waiting on top prospect Gabe Perreault, who will play his second game tonight for the Hartford Wolf Pack in their home opener, there aren’t many options. Unless something unforeseen happens, this is it for the time being.

Interestingly, Sheary is married to Sullivan’s niece. So, he’s part of the family. I can understand why Sullivan likes him. He had Sheary in Pittsburgh where they went back-to-back last decade. Of course, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had a lot to do with it.

An undrafted free agent that the Pens signed on July 2, 2015 following a season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Sheary played a nice role for the Pens as a rookie in helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2015-16. When they repeated in 2016-17, he had his best season – setting career bests in goals (23) and assists (30) for a total of 54 points and a plus-24 rating. He spent three seasons in Pittsburgh before moving around.

After nearly two years in NHL purgatory with the Buffalo Sabres, the Pens brought him back for the conclusion of 2019-20. But their stay in the playoffs was short-lived. Sheary found some success playing in DC for the Washington Capitals. His best season came in 2021-22 when he had 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points. After another solid year in 2022-23, he was signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He wasn’t used as frequently by Lightning coach Jon Cooper, leading to a drop in production. Not surprisingly, he wound up playing for the Syracuse Crunch last season. He paced the Crunch in scoring with 61 points (20-41-61).

An unrestricted free agent this summer, Sheary was hoping for one more shot at the NHL. He got his wish when Sullivan gave him an opportunity to make the Rangers out of training camp. He’s definitely still a roster player capable of contributing. However, he is ill-suited to play the minutes Sullivan is having him play.

It reminds me of when former Rangers coach Gerard Gallant kept playing Dryden Hunt in the top six during 2021-22. At the time, he couldn’t find the right fit for Panarin and Ryan Strome. So, the gritty Hunt was plugged in. He certainly provided energy, but lacked scoring punch. At least he was only 25 when Gallant tried that experiment until Chris Drury went out and acquired Andrew Copp at a busy trade deadline that saw him add Frank Vatrano and Justin Braun. That team made it all the way to the Conference Finals before losing to the Lightning. As for Hunt, he only played in three playoff games during that run.

What should be done moving forward? I wish I knew the answer. If we conclude that rookie Noah Laba looks better playing with last night’s goal scorer Juuso Parssinen and Taylor Raddysh on what looks like the fourth line, then none of them are candidates to replace Sheary. If you saw how Parssinen played on Thursday night, that’s exactly what’s been missing from that line since Sheary got moved up. Parssinen is a big body who can forecheck and make plays with the puck in both ends. He should remain with Laba and Raddysh for now.

Obviously, Sullivan isn’t breaking up the third line. Yes. For as well as they’ve played thus far, the cohesive trio of Sam Carrick, Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe can be trusted by the coaching staff to provide consistent energy while creating chances in the offensive zone. They won’t always have good analytics. But the remarkable improvement from Rempe along with the noticeable change in Carrick’s game is why they’re no longer incapable. Having Edstrom back has really provided a boost. He’s a more skilled player and a strong skater who helps create plays in transition. They’re clearly feeding off him.

The dilemma for the Rangers is that none of the bottom six are capable of scoring many goals. We saw Rempe fan on a glorious chance in a recent game. Raddysh came in on a two-on-one rush and set up Carrick, who was denied by Anthony Stolarz. Edstrom had a shot go off Rempe for a goal last weekend. Somehow, Rempe has one more goal than Panarin, or as many as Cuylle, Lafreniere, Miller, and Zibanejad. Only Adam Fox has more than a goal with three. He doesn’t have much help on the blue line.

Somehow, the Blueshirts have outscored opponents 11-9 in their first six games. The trouble is the offense. They still haven’t scored at MSG, setting an NHL record to start a season at home by not getting a single goal in their first nine periods on home ice. They lit up the Sabres and Pens with nine of the 10 coming without an empty net. Then, they only got one against the Leafs.

Shesterkin can’t play any better. He’s allowed five goals on 130 shots yet has a 2-2-1 record. That’s absurd. Igor likes to move the puck up when he can to help the offense. It’s not like he can play forward. His defense has been much better due to more structure. He’ll likely get his sixth start tomorrow night at Bell Centre.

Entering tomorrow’s match, the Rangers rank second to last in offense, averaging a paltry 1.83 goals-per-game. Only the Calgary Flames are worse. They’re ranked 26th on the power play, converting twice in 17 opportunities (11.8 percent). By comparison, the Anaheim Ducks are tied for fifth in the league, clicking at 26.7 percent with three of their four power-play goals coming from Chris Kreider. So far, Kreider has four goals and an assist for the Ducks. It’s safe to say the change is working out so far.

When Drury dumped Kreider’s salary, he didn’t get any roster players in return for a player who became a consistent finisher on Broadway. He wasn’t healthy last season. The way he was handled was the end for Kreider, who knew it was time to move on.

The Rangers were able to pry Carey Terrance and a 3rd round pick in exchange for Kreider and a fourth round pick. Terrance is a former 2023 second round pick who wasn’t a big scorer for the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League. Ironically, younger teammate Malcolm Spence was. The Rangers selected him with the second round pick they received from the Colorado Avalanche for Ryan Lindgren. Spence is off to a good start with Michigan, entering the weekend with three goals and three assists.

When it comes down to it, the organization is being patient with Perreault and Brett Berard, who could easily fill a role right now. He’s got a lot of edge to his game. Berard was more impressive than Brennan Othmann, who looks like he’s on the way out if you believe the report from Elliotte Friedman. It is what it is.

The Rangers have always put their trust in veterans. So, Drury went out and signed Raddysh. Then, Sullivan got his wish and Sheary made the roster. That prevented Berard from getting an opportunity to start the season with the big club. He can easily bring what Raddysh does. But the organization thinks its best for him to develop more defensively. A similar reason Othmann looks like a bust. Yet another first round pick wasted.

Basically, they have two checking lines right now. That puts so much pressure on the top two lines. Opponents know it. They aren’t game-planning to shut down Carrick, Edstrom, or Rempe. It’s all about focusing on limiting Panarin, who isn’t up to speed yet.

It doesn’t look like there will be any solutions coming anytime soon. Have a book ready or your favorite series.