They tried to emphasize the positives. But the reality is that despite a much better effort, the Rangers ended the year with a fourth consecutive loss. In a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, they fell to the Panthers 5-3 in Sunrise to conclude the two-game Florida road trip 0-for-2.
“We did enough to win the game, we did enough to lose the game. It is frustrating because you feel like you’re doing more good than you are bad out there. At the end of the day, it’s not showing on the scoreboard. That’s the business, it’s winning. It’s not good enough,” coach Peter Laviolette told reporters in the postgame.
Unlike what happened against the Lightning, they competed harder. Facing a struggling opponent that had been shut out its last two games, they were in this one with a chance to win it late. Unable to surge ahead after Chris Kreider’s power-play goal tied the score, they found a way to lose instead. Jesper Boqvist steered in a rebound past Igor Shesterkin with 8:22 left in regulation.
With Shesterkin lifted for a six-on-four, Mika Zibanejad failed to tie the score twice. On a play in transition, he was wide open in the slot. Instead of taking a wrist shot, he tried a low percentage backhand that Sergei Bobrovsky stopped. He later sent a one-timer high and wide on another scoring chance. Eventually, the Panthers killed Matthew Tkachuk’s delay of game minor. Following a K’Andre Miller giveaway, Aleksander Barkov stole the puck and put it into an open net to seal the Rangers’ fate with 37 seconds remaining.
Once again, they fell behind early. A Zibanejad turnover led directly to a Gustav Forsling shot that Eetu Luostarinen tipped in to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the game. It was the latest example of an undisciplined defensive play from Zibanejad. Not only is he not scoring. But he’s been the worst player on the Rangers. It’s hard to believe how far he’s fallen. Once upon a time, he followed up a career best 91-point season by leading the Rangers in scoring with 24 points during a run to the Conference Finals in 2021-22. It’s been all downhill since.
The Panthers increased the lead to two when Mackie Samoskevich redirected a Dmitry Kulikov shot past Shesterkin, who protested the goal. He thought there was goalie interference. Laviolette challenged the play. However, it was an unsuccessful challenge, resulting in a Florida power play. On it, Shesterkin made a pair of key saves to keep the Rangers within striking distance, which would prove crucial later.
A better start to the second period eventually led to the Rangers coming back to tie it up. For most of it, Filip Chytil was buzzing by creating chances with his line. The new third line that includes Will Cuylle and Brett Berard were effective at five-on-five. For the game, they had a 62.07 CF and held a 12-6 edge in shots according to Natural Stat Trick. Chytil was responsible for seven, which was a new career high. It took a while for him to get rewarded, but his persistence paid off when he rebounded home a Berard shot past Sergei Bobrovsky to cut the deficit to one with 5:35 remaining.
Suddenly playing with more jump, the Rangers evened the game less than two minutes later thanks to some nice work from Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren. After taking a Sam Carrick feed, Fox sent a pass down low for a pinching Lindgren to tip home for his second of the season. It was a great read from Fox, who saw Lindgren cut to the net for to make it 2-2 with 3:43 left in the period.
Unfortunately, a bad play from Miller on the next shift allowed the Panthers to surge back ahead. Facing some pressure behind the net, he reversed the puck to nobody. That allowed Uvis Balinskis to intercept the puck and send a shot towards the net that went off Miller’s skate to Anton Lundell, who had his wrap-around attempt stopped by a lunging Shesterkin. Miller knocked down Carter Verhaeghe in front of Shesterkin, who tried to cover the loose puck. Instead, the puck rolled right to Boqvist for the go-ahead tally with 3:05 left.
Before the puck was dropped at center ice for a faceoff, the Rangers bench delayed for a long time. There was an open dialogue between both Laviolette and Vincent Trocheck with refs Wes McCauley and Francois StLaurent about the play. They felt Verhaeghe interfered with Shesterkin due to his stick laying on the ice in the crease. While that was true, Miller was responsible for it. He shoved him down and then watched as the puck came over for Boqvist to put into an open net. The Rangers felt it should have been a whistle because Shesterkin thought he froze the puck. The replay told a different story.
Following Boqvist’s goal, Lindgren took an ill-advised tripping minor when he took down Sam Reinhart. To their credit, the Rangers successfully killed off the penalty to stay within one headed to the locker room.
In the third period, Alexis Lafreniere drew a penalty on Verhaeghe when he was taken down in his own zone. That put the Rangers on the power play. Having gone seven straight games without scoring on the man-advantage, they finally snapped the drought thanks to some superb work from the new top unit. Moving the puck well, Fox got it over to Trocheck who then sent a pass down low for Artemi Panarin. He then found Kreider wide open in the slot for a one-timer that went top shelf to tie the score at three with 14:41 left. It was Kreider’s first power-play goal since Dec. 2.
It looked like the Rangers would go ahead. Continuing to apply more pressure on the Panthers in the offensive zone, Panarin forced Aaron Ekblad to take a delay of game penalty. The best chance came when Trocheck was set up in front for a tough low shot that Bobrovsky kicked out. Following a Barkov shorthanded bid that Shesterkin stopped, the Rangers quickly transitioned for an odd man rush. Trocheck sent a pass across for a Kreider one-timer that Bobrovsky got over and saved to keep the score tied.
With the power play expiring, the second unit had some good, sustained pressure. But with Bobrovsky losing his stick, both Will Borgen and Miller missed the net. Those blown opportunities would come back to haunt them.
On a quick play up the ice, Boqvist went around Miller to get in on Shesterkin who made the save. Miller panicked with the puck by sending a clear up the boards right to Adam Boqvist for a shot that Shesterkin gave up a bad rebound on which Jesper Boqvist deposited for the game-winner with 8:22 remaining. He beat Borgen on the goal. It was a bad all-around defensive sequence from the Rangers’ second pair. Why Borgen is playing with Miller over Braden Schneider doesn’t make a lot of sense. Does anything make sense when it comes to this team?
After some initial pressure from the Panthers, who picked up their play, the Chytil line nearly tied it up again. With Cuylle right in front, he was robbed by Bobrovsky who made a great pad save. Following a Chytil wide shot, Matthew Tkachuk took another delay of game minor with 2:50 left in regulation. It was yet another chance for the Rangers to force overtime. They came close but ultimately didn’t find the equalizer.
On a six-on-four, Zibanejad had two great chances to play the hero. It was his first attempt that was puzzling. Wide open in the slot, he went to a backhand that missed completely. On another opportunity, he sent another one-timer from the left circle wide. That’s been a theme all season for him, which explains why he remains stuck on six goals in what’s been a miserable first half.
After Barkov iced the game, many pundits questioned the coach’s decision to have Zibanejad out as the extra attacker over Chytil, who didn’t get out for a shift until Barkov had scored the Panthers’ fifth goal into an empty net. It really makes one question Laviolette. Zibanejad had another poor showing. Despite getting some opportunities, he only hit the net once while missing on a pair of glorious chances late with the Rangers desperate for points. Sometimes, you have to go with your gut. Chytil deserved to be out for the six-on-four. He was their best player.
When you have well-respected reporters second-guessing the move, that’s an indictment of Laviolette. He has to stop catering to Zibanejad. Until he starts producing and plays more inspired hockey, he shouldn’t play as many minutes. Laviolette has reduced his even strength ice time and finally acknowledged that it wasn’t working with the first power play. More action needs to be taken. Would it really kill him to give Zibanejad a night off? Jonny Brodzinski could slot in for a game and give the second line a boost at this point.
At least the awful month is finally over. The Rangers finished December with a 3-10-0 record that saw them outscored 48-25 by opponents. I guess they should be congratulated on consistency. They went from being in the top three in the division to having last place all to themselves. The good news is that the next game isn’t until Thursday on Jan. 2.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! The Winter Classic between the Blues and Blackhawks at Wrigley Field is on at 5 PM. USA vs. Canada is on at 8 PM. See you in 2025.
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