After winning four out of five and putting the idea of playoff hockey into their fans’ heads, the Rangers lost back-to-back games at home to limp into their 10-day layoff. The losses have put their playoff aspirations in peril and with a little more than two months of hockey left, the Rangers are close to playing for next season.

Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers as usual.

1. The moment Artemi Panarin was scratched from Tuesday night’s game with an upper-body injury was the moment the Rangers lost the game. The Panarin-less Rangers did their best to win a third straight Battle of New York, but without the team’s leading scorer and best player, it was too little too late for the Rangers in their failed comeback attempt late in the game.

As the Rangers were failing to pick up a single point out of the four on the line in their back-to-back home games to close out the pre-All-Star portion of their schedule, the Hurricanes put together two straight wins and the Blue Jackets six straight to push the Rangers down even more in the standings. The Rangers enter their layoff 13 points back for a division spot, 12 points back of the first wild card and 11 points back of the second wild card. Carolina has the second wild card pacing for 100 points and for the Rangers to get to 100 points, they will need 50 points in 34 games, or a 23-7-4 record and will somehow have to find a way to jump Montreal, Buffalo, Toronto, Philadelphia and Columbus.

2. The Rangers-Islanders three games in eight days did provide some midseason, pre-layoff excitement, but in the future I would prefer a late-October game, a right-before-Christmas game and then two games in March in the final month of the season.

The NHL created its current playoff format to manufacture rivalries and postseason drama, but so far in the Eastern Conference, the only two teams to meet consistently are the Bruins and Maple Leafs (and they might meet again this season). It’s too bad we have yet to get even one Rangers-Islanders playoff series from this format and we won’t get it again this season. Maybe 2020-21 will finally be the year we get the Battle of New York in the postseason.

3. I’m still not over the loss to Columbus because of how crucial getting that one point was and how season-changing getting two could have been. But maybe it was for the better. The last thing this Rangers team needs in the middle of what looks to be a successful and expedited rebuild is to be fooled into thinking they are better than they are like they were when they held on to the core for the 2016-17 season. The best thing to happen to the Yankees since their dynasty was losing four straight games heading into the 2016 trade deadline to take themselves out of the wild-card race, and losing to the Blue Jackets and Islanders might have been the best thing for this Rangers team to prove to the front office “going for it” this season isn’t worth it. This team needs one more pre-deadline selloff.

4. Chris Kreider is the key to this last pre-deadline selloff. To me, it doesn’t matter if Kreider lowers his number or the Rangers find a way to fit his demands into their cap, he should be traded. Kreider is going to turn 29 shortly after this season ends and given the current state and age of the young core of the Rangers and when they will be ready to seriously contend for a championship, the timeline doesn’t match up with Kreider’s future. I understand the Rangers would be parting ways with yet another fan favorite who provides veteran leadership, but it’s not worth the contract it will cost to sign or the possibility of getting nothing in return to hold on to him for the rest of the season.

5. Kreider is a good player, but him being named to the All-Star team in place of the injured Panarin isn’t a great look for a game which is supposed to feature the best players in the league. Kreider is on pace for a 29-goal, 55-point season and is currently tied for 102nd in league scoring. Mika Zibanejad would have been a much better option, and I get that he missed 13 games earlier this season, but at least he’s on a 42-goal pace for an 82-game season and is a more-than-a-point-per-game player.

6. Aside from trading Kreider, the Rangers still need to figure out what to do with their goalie situation. Alexandar Georgiev is still going to be the odd man out, but when? Right now, I feel like the Rangers are going to keep Georgiev through the end of the season and trade him this summer. It’s going to take desperation from a team like Toronto or Colorado and the the realization their season will likely end in the spring because of their goaltending. It doesn’t seem like the Rangers are going to budge on their demand of an NHL-ready forward in return for Georgiev, and they shouldn’t. They’re really in no need to rush to move Georgiev even if the three-goalie rotation is ridiculous.

7. Igor Shesterkin was sent down to the AHL for the layoff, taking a substantial paycut during this time in what is the latest repercussion of this three-goalie situation. In the last eight games, Georgiev has received four starts, Shesterkin three and Henrik Lundqvist one.

Lundqvist had five days off before playing on Jan. 2. Then he had nine days off before playing on Jan. 11. He hasn’t played since. The earliest Lundqvist will play is the first game back after the layoff and that would mean he’s had 20 days off between starts. The situation hasn’t been ideal for any of the three goalies, but especially for Lundqvist who is used to playing the majority of the games in a season and has historically played better when he goes extended periods without backing up. Lundqvist might end up with two starts in the entire month of January.

8. This isn’t necessarily related to the Rangers since they have only been in two shootouts this season and haven’t been in one in a while, but it’s time to get rid of the shootout. It was fun and different and exciting when it was implemented nearly 15 years ago, but it’s time to move on. It’s absurd games and seasons are still be determined by a shootout. Either turn off the clock for overtime and play 3-on-3 until there’s a goal, or if you need a time of goal for record purposes, put 20 minutes on the clock and play 3-on-3 until a goal is scored. The league has changed the overtime format multiple times over the years, and they need to change it again.

9. I think the Rangers will compete for the playoffs next season. I don’t mean compete the way they are now where they are “still in it” but not really in it at all. I mean seriously compete. The only issue is they are part of the Met and the division isn’t going anywhere in terms of talent and depth. The Rangers will have to continue to grind out every single point in division play for the foreseeable future, but it will be the non-division games where they need to improve and take care of their own business next season and beyond. They have lost so many points to the inferior Western Conference this season, winning seven of 18 games, and have given away points to the worst teams in the league.

10. I realize the Rangers aren’t going to immediately change course and start giving NHL ice time and experience to those with an actual future with the team. They are going to try to put together the long-awaited extended win streak after the break with back-to-back games against Detroit to quickly get back on track and try one last time for a lengthy winning streak before the deadline. With five out of their first six games at home following the layoff, they could put a dent into their needed points total. The problem is the regulation loss total of eight they can afford to give up the rest of the way. I’m not sure how they navigate the remaining 34 games without exceeding that number with more than double that amount of games against playoff teams. It was a good run, but with a six percent chance of reaching the playoffs, it’s time to play for the future.T

A very productive week for the Rangers as they went 2-1, winning both home games and losing on the road to the defending champion Blues. It’s going to take winning two out of three for the rest of the season for the Rangers to change a rebuilding season into a playoff season, but they have set themselves up to at least have a chance at playing past Game 82.

Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers as usual.

1. Monday night’s win over the Islanders was very close to not happening. Not because of anything that happened in the actual game, but because of what happened last summer when reports started to come out on June 30 that Artemi Panarin was going to sign with the Islanders. Those reports thankfully turned out not to be true as Panarin used the Islanders as leverage, eventually signing with the Rangers and leaving about $1 million per season on the table to be on the Rangers side of the rivalry.

Panarin showed Islanders fans what could have been in the first meeting between the two teams with a five-point night in the Rangers’ 6-2 win. Those five points now have him on pace for 122 points, one point less than Jaromir Jagr’s Rangers record.

Here are the Rangers’ points leaders for the last six full seasons since the lockout-shortened season:

2018-19: 74 (Mika Zibanejad)
2017-18: 53 (Mats Zuccarello)
2016-17: 59 (Mats Zuccarello)
2015-16: 61 (Mats Zuccarello)
2014-15: 69 (Rick Nash)
2013-14: 59 (Mats Zuccarello)

Panarin has 26 goals and 41 assists and his 67 points have already passed the full-season totals for four of those six seasons. There’s a very good chance by next week’s Rangers Thursday Thoughts that he has passed all six. It’s very rare that any free-agent signing in any sport works out, but the first year of Panarin couldn’t possibly be going any better than it is.

2. When Matthew Barzal is on the ice, I’m scared. I’m not scared at the level of Alexander Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby or Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid, but I’m still scared, and I’m even more scared when Barzal is on the ice in 3-on-3 overtime. There was a very real possibility Rangers fans would have had to spend the next seven-or-so seasons worrying about not only Barzal on the ice, but Panarin on his wing at the same time. It makes me nervous even thinking about it even though it’s no longer a possibility. Panarin choosing the Rangers over the Islanders drastically changed the future of this rivalry, and changed it for the better for Rangers fans.

3. The goaltending problem is still a problem. More and more trade speculation surrounding Alexandar Georgiev is coming out and the rumors are only going to gain steam as the deadline gets closer and closer, but the Rangers have to resolve the situation. I know there is faction of media and fans who think they could wait until the offseason to figure out their goaltending future, but that will mean another five-plus weeks after the deadline of one of the three watching each post-deadline game from the press box. How many hot dogs do they want Igor Shesterkin to eat exactly?

4. Shesterkin played his first two games as a Ranger, winning both and hasn’t played since and isn’t expected to play on Thursday in Long Island. If he does end up playing on Sunday against Columbus, he will have gone 10 days between starts. I understand the benefit of being in the NHL, learning how to be in the league and learning in practice from Henrik Lundqvist and Benoit Allaire, but nothing equals the experience and development of playing in actual games.

5. The situation is even worse for Lundqvist. Lundqvist played on Jan. 2 and on Jan. 11. He had nine days off between games and was tasked with facing the defending champion Blues on the road. to no surprise, the Rangers were easily beat. Either Shesterkin or Lundqvist is going to play on Sunday against Columbus, and given the rotation, it seems like it’s going to be Shesterkin, which means at the earliest, Lundqvist will play again on Jan. 21 against the Islanders, 10 days from his most recent start.

The whole thing is going to be taken to another level when the team has a 10-day layoff between Jan. 21 and Jan. 31 due to the All-Star break and the team’s scheduled five-day break. It’s all ridiculous and only gets more ridiculous with each passing day it’s not resolved.

6. Tony DeAngelo’s hat trick and five-point night last Thursday was extremely fun to watch and even with back-to-back pointless games against the Blues and Islanders, he’s on pace for 20 goals and 46 assists. As I wrote about Kaapo Kakko last week, immediate success isn’t always a guarantee for first-round draft picks, as DeAngelo was six years ago (19th overall). Now in only his second full NHL season after going up-and-down in the first two seasons he saw NHL action, DeAngelo has finally realized the potential that was the Lightning saw from him out of the OHL to select him with the first-round pick, the Coyotes saw in him to trade for him and the Rangers saw in him to acquire him for Derek Stepan. DeAngelo’s offense-first style of play doesn’t come without faults, as he was unable to clear the front of the net despite being on the man-advantage when Shesterkin couldn’t control a rebound to tie that game against New Jersey the game at 1, but DeAngelo more than made up for his defensive lapse with his career night.

7. No one wants the Rangers to allow more shots per game than any other team in the league, especially the three goalies, and I’m sure they are trying daily to make adjustments so a team as bad and offensively-challenged as the Devils aren’t able to record 49 shots against them like they did last Thursday. But on the other end of their league-worst shot prevention is the fact the Rangers’ defensemen have more points than any other defensive group in the league.

8. David Quinn clearly wishes his team played more like Barry Trotz’s Islanders and were capable of playing defensive-minded hockey every game, but that’s not who this team is, and that’s OK. The Rangers should accept that they are an offense-first team that is more like the Maple Leafs and Panthers and they don’t have to try to be the Islanders or Stats. Both of those teams wish they had some of the scoring ability of the Rangers, while the Rangers wish they could score three goals and have a guaranteed victory like those teams. The goal eventually is for this defensive group to play more defense, but for now, this style of hockey is fun to watch, even if it’s going to be hard to every be a true contender with such inconsistent defense.

9. The Rangers have scored 27 goals in their last five home games (all wins) and have scored only 12 goals in their last four road games (all losses). This is clearly who these Rangers are for this season: a team relies on its offense and goaltending to win games, while almost completely disregarding defense. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. If they’re able to maintain their offense as their young defense gains continues to learn and develop, then they will have themselves the championship contender the rebuild was done to create. Dont’ try to make DeAngelo, Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba something they’re not, and try to hold them back from their offensive instincts.

10. The Met is so strong and so deep, it’s ridiculous. While Boston, Tampa Bay and Toronto are able to beat up on Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa and Detroit, the Met’s only misfit is New Jersey and they have played much better for the last month. The Rangers find themselves 12 points out of a division playoff berth in the Met and eight points out of the second wild-card berth (with two games in hand on the Flyers).

The Rangers went 2-1 since last week’s Thoughts and they’re going to need to basically continue winning two out of every three games for the remaining 37 games in order to reach the playoffs. At 22-19-4 with 48 points, they’re on pace for an 88-point season. The Flyers are now on pace for 98 points, so if 98 points get you the last playoff spot, the Rangers need 50 points in their remaining 37 games, or 1.35 points per game. That translates to a 23-10-4 record. Once again, it’s not impossible, but it’s going to take the same play they gave over the last week for the rest of the season, and it all starts with winning the Battle of New York.

During the Yankees season, every off day I write “Off Day Dreaming” which is essentially my current thoughts about the team, and do a similar thing for the Giants after each of their games. I wanted to do something similar for the Rangers season, and decided to make it a weekly thing, so here is the first installment.

1. The Rangers beat the Avalanche 5-3 on Tuesday night at the Garden. The win ended the Rangers’ three-game losing streak, all of which came in Western Canada, despite nearly erasing a six-goal deficit against in Edmonton, successfully erasing a two-goal deficit and another one-goal deficit in Calgary and playing the most complete game possibly all season and winning the expected goals in Vancouver. The Rangers’ slow starts against the Oilers and Flames were why they came away with zero of a possible four points to begin the road trip, and they were just unlucky in going pointless against the Canucks.

But to return home and overcome yet another slow start, trailing by two just 6:34 into the game against arguably the best offense in the league (only Washington and Toronto have scored more goals than Colorado and both have played one more game) was impressive. That’s how this Rangers team has played all season, losing games to inferior opponents and winning games against the league’s best.

2. In the height of the most recent Yankees-Red Sox rivalry in the late-90s and early 2000s, the Yankees would never allow a rookie starter to make their debut on the mound against the Red Sox. Igor Shesterkin’s call-up timing wasn’t necessarily a surprise given his play in the AHL and possible threat of returning to Russia. It was time for Rangers’ top prospect to show what he can do in the NHL. But to give him his first career start against the top offense in goals per game in the league with a defense that allows more shots than any other team in the league in front of him was certainly not ideal.

Shesterkin drew an ovation very early in his debut for his puck handling abilities and half-ice outlet pass, but 4:44 into the game, he allowed a goal on a deflection and not even two minutes later got beat on a breakaway by Nathan MacKinnon, who could be considered at worst a Top 5 scorer in the world. Six minutes and 34 seconds into the Shesterkin era and the Rangers were trailing early for the fourth straight game and trailing by two early for the third time in four games.

Shesterkin settled in, allowing only one more goal in the game, which came in the second period on a play he had zero chance of defending, and shut out the Avalanche in the third period despite an onslaught of shots, preserving the Rangers’ one-goal lead through an early third-period penalty kill and for the final couple minutes of the game with an extra attacker. I think anyone would have signed up for three goals against for the rookie in his NHL debut against that offense with this defense. Add in his ability to buckle down after the first few minutes, defend both posts at the same time and handle the puck like a third defenseman on the side of and behind the net, and I think every Rangers fan should be happy with what they saw.

The only person who wasn’t impressed by Shesterkin was Mike Milbury, who was part of NBC Sports’ broadcast team for the game. Milbury commented that Shesterkin “didn’t look comforable” and “didn’t look like the superstar in waiting.” Immediately following those comments, Shesterkin stopped a barrage of shots and went on to earn the win.

3. Now that Shesterkin has played for the Rangers, the goaltending situation clock, which had already started has been sped up. The Rangers are going to have to make a decision on what to do, and I feel like it’s going to come down to Alexander Georgiev getting traded, and I’m more than OK with that.

If Henrik Lundqivst were going to waive his no-trade clause, he most likely would have done it during either of the last two seasons. Now that the Rangers are trending in the right direction and were able to speed up their rebuild through the draft lottery and by signing Artemi Panarin, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and if Lundqvist wasn’t willing to move during the last two miserable years, I don’t think he’s going to suddenly have a change of heart.

I want nothing more than for Lundqvist to win the Stanley Cup. He has earned it and more than deserves it, and had the team been better constructed for his first decade in the league, he likely would already have one. If he were OK with going to somewhere like Colorado or Toronto, two teams which are goaltending away from possibly winning it all, I think it would be a win for both parties: he and the Rangers. It would take a miracle season for the Rangers to win the Cup between now and Lundqvist’s Rangers career ending, and his only chance now seems to be elsewhere.

But if Lundqvist wants to remain a Ranger for this season and next season (and possibly beyond), the move then would be to move Georgiev. (This isn’t about one game, which is Shesterkin’s career resume.)

4. For as painful as it was to watch the Rangers following their statement nearly two years ago before they traded away every tradeable asset for two seasons, they are that fun to watch now. The wins might not always be there, but the core pieces are in place for the future, and to watch a Rangers team that doesn’t have trouble scoring goals since Jaromir Jagr, Michael Nylander and Martin Straka were tearing it up for the Blueshirts helps get through the cold, dark northeast winter. No deficit is insurmountable (and there have been a lot of deficits, especially early ones this season) and one- and two-goal deficits don’t feel like three- and four-goal deficits the way they have for basically all of the Lundqvist era.

5. Panarin is the main reason for that with 23 goals and 35 assists in 42 games. His 58 points put him on pace for 113 as he only been held off the scoresheet in nine games. (The Rangers have lost seven of nine when Panarian is held pointless.) In the last six games, Panarin has 13 points, and that includes two games (Calgary and Vancouver) in which he didn’t record a point. The Bread Man has been better than advertised and worth every but of his $11.6 million average annual salary. Now we just have to hope his prime isn’t wasted with poor roster construction the way the team’s veteran superstar’s was.

6. I understand the reason for balance and separating Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, but how about screwing balance and putting the two together? Yes, Ryan Strome is having a career year centering Panarin, but think about the type of season Zibanejad would be having if he were playing with Panarin. Panarin is having a career year with Strome as his linemate and has played a lot with Jesper Fast as his other linemate, which makes Panarin’s season and point pace even more ridiculous. The Bruins have given the middle finger to balance by putting Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand together and it has worked out OK for them.

7. Why not take it to another level with screwing balance and put Kaapo Kakko with Panarin and Zibanejad? You want to boost the No. 2 pick’s confidence, which has frequently been reported as a problem? Put him with the best two players on the team and let him show why he was worthy of the second overall pick and why he could have easily been the first overall pick.

8. The benching of Kakko in Calgary for a third-period penalty despite the Rangers trailing by a goal, which led to Greg McKegg, who will one day tell his grandchildren how he still isn’t sure how he played so much for the Rangers, was both unnecessary and absurd. It shouldn’t take Larry David to be the voice of reason when it comes to Rangers analysis, but that’s exactly what the comedian has become. Here’s what he said on The Michael Kay Show this week:

“Why did he bench Kakko in that third period? First goal in 14 games, and an assist. He benches him because he takes a bad penalty? Come on. That’s ridiculous … But you think putting him on the bench is going to make him … you don’t think he knows that he took a bad penalty? He knows. Benching him isn’t going to do anything. They needed another goal.”

Everything David said was spot on. I hate a lot of the lessons David Quinn tries to teach, especially when experience for the youngest team in the league is the lesson they need the most. I also hate the favoritism he displays on who gets benched and who doesn’t get benched for “bad” penalties or third-period penalties. Where was Strome’s benching on Tuesday?

Kakko is going to be fine. His 16 points in 38 games are fine. The expectations that come with being the No. 2 pick are usually unattainable for any 18-year-old. Joe Thornton was the No. 1 pick and had seven points (!) in his first season. Tyler Seguin was the No. 2 pick and had 22 points in his first year. Nathan MacKinnon (No. 1 pick) scored 16 goals in his fourth season and didn’t become a point-per-game player until his fifth season. There are far more examples of No. 1 and 2 picks struggling to begin their careers than there are No. 1 and 2 picks playing like superstars right from the start. I’m not worried about Kakko, and no one should be. I am worried about his playing time being taken from him for a penalty though.

9. For all the negative things I have written and said about Marc Staal over the last few seasons, he has been playing much better of late. That’s not a great consolation prize for his salary and contract, but I can’t fault him for signing an extension he was offered. That’s on the team. Staal will always be coupled with Dan Giardi as part of the duo the Rangers wrongfully extended while letting Keith Yandle and Anton Stralman walk  and then needing to trade away Ryan McDonagh because of the Girardi and Staal extensions. His healthy scratch earlier in the season (on Dan Girardi night of all games) was years overdue and welcomed, but in recent weeks Staal has upped his overall game and has been better of late. (I still don’t trust him and don’t want him out there in the final minutes of a close game.)

10. The Rangers are 20-18-4 with 44 points and are on pace for an 86-point season, which would be an improvement off last year’s 78 points, but it won’t be enough for a playoff berth. I know this season isn’t about wins and losses and reaching the playoffs, but as long as the Rangers have a chance, it’s hard not to think about getting postseason hockey for the first time in what will be three years. Right now, the Flyers hold the second wild-card spot and are on pace for 97 points. For the Rangers to reach 97 points, they would have to earn 53 points in their remaining 40 games, or 1.325 points per game. That translates to a 24-11-5 record, and even at that record, they still might not get in. Reaching the 100-point plateau would guarantee them a spot, but that would take a 25-9-6 record. It’s not impossible, but it’s not likely either.