Following a woeful display in a mind-numbing 3-0 loss to the NHL worst Canucks on Tuesday night, the Rangers made some changes. Brett Berard and Jaroslav Chmelar were sent back down to the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault returned to the struggling Blueshirts, who have already set a franchise record for most times shut out at home in a season. By losing to an opponent that was without their leading scorer Elias Pettersson, and playing for the second time since former captain Quinn Hughes was traded to the Wild, the Rangers’ offensive futility at MSG hit rock bottom. Thatcher Demko stopped all 23 shots to shut them out for the sixth time on home ice. That included another collar on the power play with them going 0-for-4.

Even the return of Mika Zibanejad, who sat out against the Ducks due to getting stuck in traffic due to an accident on Monday, wasn’t able to make a difference. For some reason, the Rangers don’t score goals at home, which is what made the 5-4 come from behind win over the Canadiens so rare. They have won a league low four games at MSG. Now 4-10-3, they’ve been outscored by opponents 53-30. Nobody has scored less goals at home than these Blueshirts, who are the gang that can’t shoot straight.

By sending down Berard and Chmelar, they’re obviously searching for more scoring. Despite doing some good things early in his recall, Berard failed to record a point and only had 10 shots. After getting seven shots in his first three games, he only totaled three over the last eight, which included none in his last three. A good skater who brings energy and hustle, the 23-year-old Berard needs to regain his confidence in Hartford. He can’t stay up if he’s unable to contribute on the third line.

For Chmelar, it was his second brief stint with the big club. He got into four games while bringing some physicality to the fourth line, which looked more in sync with the return of Matt Rempe. Chmelar has no points in six games this season. If he can continue to develop nicely in the American Hockey League (AHL), it probably won’t be the last time we see him.

Once Rempe was activated off long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on Monday with Zibanejad missing the game against the Ducks, it was a matter of time before some roster moves were made. Especially with the offense reverting back to what it’s been for most of the first half.

With Perreault continuing to prove himself in the AHL by pacing the Wolf Pack in scoring with 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points over 20 games, he earned another chance to come up. In three games, he recorded his first career point by assisting on a power-play goal. Now, the 20-year-old will have another opportunity to show what he can do with the Rangers, whose offense ranks near the bottom of the league entering tonight’s match at St. Louis. Ironically, it’s a matchup between two of the worst scoring teams. At the very least, Perreault will be featured on the second power play unit.

Artemi Panarin is sick, which means he’s a game-time decision. The Rangers could very well be without their leading scorer. If he can’t go, someone else will have to step up.

Othmann is finally back up for another chance. After having a rough outing in a blowout loss at Calgary, he never played another game earlier this season. Eventually, he was sent down to Hartford. It took a while for the 2021 first round pick to regain his confidence. Something he didn’t shy away from when speaking to reporters.

The question for Mike Sullivan is, why is Othmann playing with Carrick and Rempe on the fourth line? What’s he going to prove playing with two grinders who have a combined two goals and seven points? It doesn’t make any sense for him to not at least be on the third line with Noah Laba. Conor Sheary could easily slide down to play on the fourth line. They can’t ever have vets on PTO’s doing that. Especially when they’re family, for Christ sake.

This is how the Rangers operate. Why mess with success? They’re masters at getting the most out of their first round picks. Excuse me if I don’t have much excitement for the game. If it’s anything like the last two, I’ll change the channel.

At this point, they have to earn my respect.