WASHINGTON — The mounting losses have eroded nearly every part of the Rangers’ game, even the one that was once a foundational piece of their success.
Five-on-five play was better Saturday at Capital One Arena than it had been, but the Blueshirts curdled in the special teams battle in a 7-4 loss to the first-place team in the Metropolitan Division, the Capitals.
Whiffing on four power-play opportunities and giving up two on the penalty kill, the Rangers — for the 11th time this season — followed up a win with a loss and could not build on their previous performance.
Saturday’s defeat counted as the Rangers’ fifth in their last six games, eighth in their past 10 and the 16th in their past 21.
Brandon Duhaime of the Washington Capitals cross-checks Will Borgen of the Rangers during the second period at Capital One Arena on January 4, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Alex Ovechkin notched goal No. 872 in Washington’s victory to bring the Capitals star within 23 of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record.
On the other side, Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick was denied win No. 400.
“It’s frustrating,” said Adam Fox, who had a strong first period before finishing the game minus-three, which included Tom Wilson’s empty-netter at the end. “A lot of games, that’s the difference, I think. Down one and you get a power play, if you’re able to score it’s a different game. I think everyone would love to have an answer for not getting it going. You look at the score and the special teams and obviously a big difference.”
Special teams has anchored the Rangers through inconsistent five-on-five play in recent years, but there isn’t a single aspect of the team’s game lately that has been operating at a high level.
The power play has scored just once in 29 tries over the last 10 games.
The penalty kill has also given up seven power-play goals in the last five.
It wasn’t just the results of the Rangers’ power play but the ineffectiveness of their man-advantage stretches altogether.
Capitals and Rangers players battle for the puck in front of Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) in the first period at Capital One Arena
Despite finishing with the same amount of power plays, the Capitals doubled the Rangers’ shots with the five-on-four advantage (10-5).
There were issues holding the zone and, at one point, a horrific backcheck by Alexis Lafreniere, who only just earned the promotion to the first power-play unit. It prompted Mika Zibanejad to retake his spot later in the game.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “It’s not just the power-play goals. It was the even-strength goals, as well. We gave up four of them. So, we score four and we give up four and that’s too much.”
Andrew Mangiapane of the Washington Capitals celebrates a second-period goal during a game against the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena on January 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Just a week ago, defenseman K’Andre Miller correctly identified how the Rangers have felt like they’ve already lost the game when they’re losing.
The Rangers didn’t give up in this one, however, as other lopsided scores have indicated as of late.
It wasn’t a matter of effort, which has been questioned lately, but a matter of not measuring up to the better team on the ice.
The Capitals’ three-goal second period, with goals from Lars Eller, Andrew Mangiapane and a power-play score from Connor McMichael, easily countered Sam Carrick’s lone goal for the Rangers.
Scoring twice through the final 20 minutes on goals from Zibanejad and Filip Chytil, the Rangers managed to pull within one twice in the third period.
But Washington never let up, answering each of the Rangers’ goals with one of its own to keep the visitors at arm’s length.
For four straight games, the Rangers have felt relatively good about their performance.
With only one win to show for it, how does the team remain positive?
Alexis Lafrenière of the Rangers falls to the ice in front of John Carlson of the Washington Capitals during the second period at Capital One Arena on January 04, 2025.
“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” Zibanejad said. “What’s our option? What’s our option? Just say, ‘We’re done with the season?’ No, we can’t. I think we have a lot of faith in the guys that are here. We have a lot of faith in the room. From the top down, we have to work. We have to keep working. I think we have to take the little things that we do well — we’ve done a lot of good things five-on-five — we have to take that and build on it.
“That’s the only way we’re going to get forward. Yes, it’s not easy. Yes, it’s not going to happen overnight. But if it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. We have a challenge, and we just got to accept it and keep working. We have no other option. We have no other option than try to stay positive, try to work.
“And just think about it: Tomorrow is a new day [against the Blackhawks in Chicago], a new opportunity to get two points, a new opportunity to get a win and that’s what we have to do.”
