The New York Rangers are enduring a rough start to the 2025-26 season. While they were expected to bounce back after a disappointing 2024-25, the team is now in even worse shape. The Rangers currently sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division with just 22 points in 23 games.
New York’s issues have been compounded lately due to injuries to multiple star players. J.T. Miller last played on November 20, two days after he was criticized for a lack of effort against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The forward has now been ruled out of a November 24 matchup with the St. Louis Blues. It remains to be seen how much more time the Rangers will be without their captain.
Along with Miller, New York is set to be without Jonathan Quick for the game against the Blues as well. Quick, 39, suffered a lower-body injury during a recent loss to the Utah Mammoth. As a result, the Rangers recalled Dylan Garand to take Quick’s place on the roster. The Canadian netminder has recorded a 2.96 GAA and .897SV% in 11 games this season with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Vincent Trocheck also missed practice with his Ranger teammates on November 24. The Athletic’s Vince Mercogliano is reporting that the veteran forward will be a game-time decision against the Blues. Trocheck has been limited to just nine games so far this season due to various issues.
New York Rangers Coach Mike Sullivan Defends his Players as Outside ‘Noise’ Continues
GettyNew York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan says media members “make a lot of noise” on the team’s scoring struggles.
The Rangers enter the matchup with the Blues riding a four-game losing streak. It is currently the longest such streak in the entire NHL. Turning things around, potentially without two key forwards, will be a tough task. This is especially the case as the team is already struggling offensively this season.
New York is averaging just 2.48 goals per game during the 2025-26 campaign. This is the third-lowest goal tally in the league. The Rangers have also been shut out five times in their first 16 matchups of the year. Head coach Mike Sullivan addressed the lack of scoring on November 24.
The coach initially told media members that they “make a lot of noise” on the issue, but defended his team’s offensive creativity. “There’s a lot of noise around it. You guys make a lot of noise around it,” claimed Sullivan, as reported by Mercogliano.
“I acknowledge that we didn’t score goals, but what I will tell you is that we generated offense. We track the process and detail, and as I’ve said to you guys all along, you can’t always control whether it goes in the net or it doesn’t. But what you can control is your ability to create offense and opportunity, and we were creating a fair amount.”
Rangers Still Have Time to Fix Scoring Issues
Although the situation regarding the Rangers is far from ideal, there is still time for them to salvage the season. New York, despite its low place in the division, is still just three points out of a potential playoff position. They have 59 regular-season games remaining on their schedule.
Before the aforementioned injuries, the Rangers put together a solid streak of seven wins in nine games. This run included scoring seven goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning and six against the Nashville Predators. Fans of the Rangers will be hoping that the team can replicate this success once they are healthy again.
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