It’s all well and good for Mike Sullivan to emphasize the positives out of the Rangers’ 4-1 loss to the Oilers like he did following last night. However, he’s wrong when he indicated that he didn’t think his team started slowly against the well oiled machine led by Hart frontrunner Connor McDavid.

“Just from an energy standpoint or even a momentum standpoint, I felt like the guys had the right intentions. The first goal is a tough one. McDavid is a unique player. He ramps up speed like that, he’s hard to stop. Other than that, I thought for the most part, I don’t feel like the start was the reason–the start of the scoreboard was, but I don’t necessarily agree that it was a lack of being ready when the puck drops. I didn’t feel like that was the case tonight.”

How else would he describe McDavid turning on the afterburners to leave Vladislav Gavrikov in the dust to score a highlight reel goal at 50 seconds into the game? It was another McDavid moment where he does something spectacular that leaves those who are lucky enough to cover the sport speechless.

There hasn’t been a more physically gifted superstar in the NHL since the legendary Mario Lemieux. At 29, McDavid shows no signs of slowing down. His torrid start that’s seen him put up video game numbers has McDavid with a league-leading 30 assists and 39 points in only 15 games.

He would later help set up a power play goal from Evan Bouchard, who’s off and running by leading all defensemen with 26 points. Bouchard had a goal and two assists to help improve Edmonton an NHL best 11-2-2 under Mike Babcock. The Oilers are playing a different brand of hockey under the demanding Babcock, who has them more committed defensively.

Despite having journeyman Matt Tomkins in net, the Oilers did a good job playing in front of him to limit the Rangers offensively. The frustrating aspect is that by not being ready at the outset, they did themselves no favors. For the fourth straight game, an opponent scored first. In fact, the only time over the last seven games that the Rangers didn’t trail was in a 5-2 win over the Ducks on Oct. 19. Since a 6-2-0 start to the season, they’ve lost six of seven (1-5-1).

The slump coincided with their first meeting against the Devils. A 7-1 humiliation that was never close back on Oct. 15. Defensively, the Rangers have had too many lapses the past three weeks. While it’s true that they needed a save from Dylan Garand on a Colton Dach shot that made it 2-0 Oilers on Sunday, it’s a lot to put on an unproven first-year goalie who didn’t even know where he’d wind up before the start of the season. Garand went from being on waivers to becoming the first option for the Rangers due to a season-ending injury to Igor Shesterkin and a foot infection to Joonas Korpisalo.

With the 24-year-old netminder coming back to earth, there’s been a lot of unfair criticism of him from frustrated fans. These are the same people who couldn’t understand why he was put on waivers. Now, their tone has changed from Garand deserved to make the roster to him not being an NHL goalie.

The lack of patience from a fan base that wants instant gratification isn’t realistic. It’s still too early for anyone to draw any conclusions on the former 2020 fourth round draft pick selected by the Rangers 103rd overall. The truth is that he’s appeared in every game since Shesterkin went down against the Caps on Oct. 9. That isn’t an ideal situation for a rookie goalie who only had three career starts entering 2026-27.

Korpisalo’s injury has hurt the Rangers’ depth. Perhaps that explains why Chris Drury made the move to acquire the veteran backup from the Bruins in exchange for a fourth round pick in 2028 and prospect Kalle Vaisanen on July 1. You can never have enough goaltending in this league. What might’ve felt like an unnecessary trade due to Garand having to go on waivers now looks much more logical. It isn’t like he was picked up by the other 31 teams.

In fact, only two goalies were claimed. Remi Poirier went from the Stars to the Devils, and Clay Stevenson went from the Caps to the Jets before the season. The latter became the backup behind Stuart Skinner in Winnipeg due to Connor Hellebuyck refusing to report to training camp. We know how that turned out. He was dealt to the Devils over a week ago and has since won his first two starts.

The Rangers’ situation is totally different from most teams. They lost their best player less than six games into the season, which suddenly made Garand going unclaimed crucial. The problem was that they didn’t have a good enough emergency backup if their top two goalies were out.

Garand made every start due to the organization not trusting journeyman Spencer Martin. Following consecutive defeats in which he struggled against the Leafs and Senators, Garand was expected to get a night off. However, they rushed veteran James Reimer after signing him. The result was the Kings chasing him by scoring three times in the first period, which forced Garand back into action. He wasn’t any better giving up two early goals that put the Rangers in a 5-0 hole they couldn’t climb out of. Ultimately, they lost the game 6-3 for their first loss at MSG.

Even a five day break wasn’t enough time for him to reestablish himself. Following the defeat, he was very critical of his own performance. “I just felt like I was overthinking it a little bit there. Honestly, I felt really good in the second 30 minutes, and I thought my first 30 minutes was awful. Let the guys down. Pretty disappointing, put that loss on me.”

It’s commendable that Garand is so accountable. However, that doesn’t explain why his teammates didn’t come out of the gate more quickly. They knew what they were up against. Even with it being the second of a back-to-back for the Oilers following a 4-0 shutout over the Islanders, the Rangers weren’t sharp enough to take advantage. It’s unacceptable.

Aside from the play of the fourth line, the rest of the forwards didn’t get going until the second period. That included the new first line that I suggested a week ago, with Pavel Dorofeyev joining Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere. As a unit, they spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, which resulted in Dorofeyev scoring his fourth goal to cut it to 3-1. The trio held a 10-3 edge in shots and were a 66.67 Corsi (16-8) for the night. Hopefully, that’s something they can build upon when the Blues visit MSG tomorrow.

A costly penalty from Noah Laba in the offensive zone led directly to Bouchard rifling in a power-play goal that gave Edmonton a 3-0 lead prior to the Dorofeyev tally. It was a rough night for Laba, who took a needless holding minor on Connor Murphy to put the dangerous Oilers on the man-advantage which they cashed in on. Laba and Will Cuylle started with Gabe Perreault before Sullivan switched Oliver Bjorkstrand onto the third line. They were unable to establish much, combining for only a single shot while allowing six in an uneven performance.

As hard as he plays, with exceptional work on the penalty killing unit, Laba isn’t bringing enough to the table offensively. In 15 games, he doesn’t have a goal yet despite getting 14:44 of ice time. He’s a reliable defensive center whose work in the dots (58.7 percent) is impressive for a second-year player. But the lack of production is a legitimate concern. What if the Rangers had a more skilled center who could provide offense that would benefit Cuylle and Bjorkstrand? Laba is better suited as a fourth line checking pivot.

Making matters worse, Perreault struggled once again to establish himself. After being elevated to the second line with J.T. Miller and Tye Kartye, the trio posted an anemic 28.57 CF (4-10) and were outshot 5-2. Normally, Miller and Kartye are at the top of the chart due to their relentless forecheck. At the very least, it’s a small sample size. If they remain intact with the more creative Perreault, that has to improve.

Sullivan made one other change in the third period. With his team trailing 3-1 and on the power play, he gave Perreault a shift with the top unit over Miller. They were able to generate more with Lafreniere getting robbed by Tomkins on a good Zibanejad pass in front. It makes sense to keep Perreault on that nunber one unit and move Miller down to the second unit for Tuesday night.

Based on today’s practice, it looks like Sullivan is going to do just that and see if it works. As a team, the Rangers are 8 for 40 (20.0 percent) and rank 18th so far. It hasn’t been clicking enough lately. Sticking Perreault on the top unit should provide a boost. Of his seven points, three have come on the power play.

Morrow Impressive in Season Debut

With Sean Durzi ruled out before the game due to an injury that he’s been nursing, that meant Scott Morrow made his season debut. After patiently waiting for his chance, he made the most of it by picking up the primary assist on the Dorofeyev goal.

He skated with rookie Alberts Smits on the third pair. In particular, Morrow was very active in the neutral zone, using his speed to help create offense in transition. In 15:02, he finished with three shots and eight attempts. Given how well he skates, it’s worth finding out more for the next game.

According to Mollie Walker of the NY Post, Durzi missed practice, which meant the defensive pairs remained the same. That included Braden Schneider working with Marcus Pettersson on the second pair.

Changes A Coming?

It could be more changes a coming for tomorrow’s game. During Monday’s morning skate, Laba was moved down to the fourth line with Taylor Raddysh and Matt Rempe.

Cuylle was featured at center with Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen on the third line. Over his five-year career, Cuylle hasn’t played much center. In fact, he’s only taken 171 draws in 264 games, going 76 and 95 (44.4). In limited time on faceoffs, he’s won more than he’s lost (21-18) this season.

If they believe putting Tolvanen up with Cuylle and Bjorkstrand can create more offense for the third line, it’s worth a shot. Bjorkstrand’s scored five goals despite it mostly coming from the fourth line. Cuylle has four goals, including three at even strength. Tolvanen has three goals but two are empty netters. He is capable of contributing secondary scoring.

We’ll see if Sullivan actually goes with this new look, which would signal the return of Rempe to the lineup. He’s only played in two games thus far, with the last coming in a win over the Lightning on Oct. 13.