It doesn’t matter who was out for the Rangers. Their listless performance was inexplicable in a 2-1 loss to the Predators in Music City.

Even if they were without Gabe Perreault and Matt Rempe, who were both ruled out by Mike Sullivan before the game due to falling ill, there aren’t any excuses for their play. For the fourth time this season, the Rangers lost to the 32nd overall team in the standings.

So much for building on an emotional home win over the Flyers the day before. In a nutshell, this is who they are. They can go out and beat good teams. But in the same sentence, they can lose to the worst teams the NHL has to offer. Mediocre is what they are, and there doesn’t seem to be any solutions coming that’ll fix a roster devoid of top tier talent as Christmas approaches. If they lose tomorrow’s game to the Capitals, there should be coal in their stockings. Of course, that’s assuming the same team doesn’t pull a 180 and beat one of the best teams in the league.

To hear Vincent Trocheck put it, they lacked pride when asked about the team’s record in the second game of back-to-backs. By losing to the Predators, the Rangers fell to 0-6-1 in such situations.

“Sucks not having everybody. Obviously, tough spot back-to-back, and then guys are getting sick and guys go down. But, I mean, that doesn’t affect how we play with pride. If there’s anything to take away from today, we didn’t play with pride,” Trocheck told Mollie Walker of the NY Post following the mind-numbing defeat that nearly was a shutout for Nashville backup Justus Annunen before Jonny Brodzinski scored with 36.2 seconds left following a Steven Stamkos empty netter that wound up as the game-winner.

What made it even worse is that none of the Rangers’ best players had good games. Both Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere were held to one shot while Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad didn’t register a single one. Will Cuylle had a night to forget as well.

Without captain J.T. Miller, who was placed on the injured reserve on Monday due to the upper-body injury he suffered following a hit from Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler, the Rangers played a forward short due to the illnesses of Perreault and Rempe. Sullivan went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Urho Vaakanainen taking some shifts. He only received 3:59 of ice time.

Despite that, there’s no reason they couldn’t have scored at least one goal prior to Stamkos finishing them off at 19:12 to give the Predators enough cushion to get the win. The Rangers have nobody to blame but themselves for not generating enough offense. It wasn’t like they faced a rested opponent, either. Nashville also played the night before. They found a way to win the second game of a back-to-back by controlling most of the play. In fact, they held a 26-10 edge in shots through the first two periods and took a 1-0 lead on a Filip Forsberg goal into the third.

In three power play chances, the Rangers had only a single shot. They couldn’t or wouldn’t get anything done against an NHL doormat. The Predators wanted it more by outhustling them. By the third man-advantage that came with 3:59 left due to a delay of game, an ineffective Scott Morrow had been replaced on the point by Vladislav Gavrikov. It didn’t go any better.

They set up Panarin for the only shot which came from the outside that Annunen handled with relative ease. There was another pass over for Panarin, who got bumped off the puck on the right point. If there was one word to describe it, frustrating. Another would be unwatchable, which seems to be the theme of the Rangers’ centennial season. It looks like they’re really trying to play hockey in the Roaring Twenties. At least those teams competed.

Trocheck’s description is about as damning a postgame quote following a loss. The Rangers still don’t have a identity 38 games in under Sullivan, who again used Conor Sheary in the top six due to the situation. Maybe if they all played as hard as Sheary does, they’d have a better record.

It’s not like teams are pulling away in the wild card race. The Devils got back Jack Hughes, who scored early but they still lost to the Sabres. They remain at 41 points and moved up due to the Bruins losing against the Senators. One point separates the Rangers from the Flyers and Devils, who both have played less games. There’s a stack of teams bunched up due to parity.

If there’s one player who deserves better, it’s Jonathan Quick. He once again played extremely well. Despite making 30 saves with some of them superb to give the Rangers a chance, he took the hard luck loss.

Quick hasn’t won since Nov. 7. His numbers have been outstanding. In the five games since with the backup missing time due to an injury, he’s posted a 2.20 goals-against-average and .927 save percentage. In the 4-1 loss to the Canucks on Dec. 16, he allowed one bad goal, which has been a rarity. In nine games this season, he’s 3-5-1 with a 1.79 GAA and .937 save percentage.

It’s unthinkable how brilliant he’s been in his third year on Broadway. If only the players played better in front of him. What a novel concept.