The New York Rangers are looking to win this season. They hired a new head coach in Mike Sullivan. They recently named a new captain in star forward J.T. Miller. And their roster consists of some incredible talent. Unfortunately, they are off to a not-so-great start on home ice.
New York was shutout by the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. This is their third straight home game without a goal. As a result, they became the first team in NHL history to go three consecutive home games without a goal to begin the season.
New York has also set the record for the longest home scoring drought in terms of time. They surpassed this during Tuesday night’s loss, passing the 2021-22 Florida Panthers, who went nearly two hours of game time before scoring at home. Only the 1928-29 Pittsburgh Pirates have gone longer without a goal at home, but they did score in their third home game of that season.
The Rangers are desperate to make it back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their performance in 2024-25 did not sit right with anyone in the organization. And the changes they’ve made reflect that. However, they also aren’t hitting the panic button so early in the season.
“First of all, let’s not make this bigger than it is,” Miller said, via NHL.com. “It’s game five. There is a lot to like about our game. It’s a unique situation.”
Rangers Dominating On The Road Despite Home Struggles
Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesThe New York Rangers are refusing to panic despite their early season struggles.
The Rangers have not been able to buy a goal at home thus far. But they haven’t entirely been blown out, either. In three games at Madison Square Garden, New York has been outscored 6-0.
Their performance away from home, though, is a night-and-day difference. New York has played two games away from home. They beat the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, then took down the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in a form of early season revenge for their opening night loss at MSG.
The Rangers have dominated each of those contests, as well. In two games, they outscore opponents 10-1 on the road. This includes a shutout against the Sabres where Igor Shesterkin made 37 saves in the afternoon tilt.
Keeping games close at home is certainly a good sign. However, they certainly need to take advantage of the chances they get in front of their home fans. Failing to defend home ice can have a big impact on the rest of the season.
How New York Can Shake Scoring Slump
As Miller said, the season is only five games old for New York. This could be a case of players trying to find their footing still. This is part of the reason the team refuses to panic just yet.
They recognize they are creating chances. They know they have the talent to score. For now, they feel they have to focus on finishing the chances coming their way in the early going.
“I think we’re creating a lot of chances, but we’re not scoring. Simple,” Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said. “Obviously, we need to bear down and score on the chances we get, but it would be a different thing if we weren’t creating chances and we were giving up chance after chance. It’s frustrating but we have to stick with it.”
New York is hitting the road for two games starting Thursday. As a result, they will need to wait to break their home scoring drought. Their next chance to figure it out at MSG comes on October 20th against the Minnesota Wild.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post New York Rangers Not Panicking Amid Historic Scoring Slump appeared first on Heavy Sports.