The way it’s gone for the Rangers the last two and a half weeks, Tuesday’s game against the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets at Madison Square Garden is shaping up to be as big of a game as it could be in November.
No, it’s not in a make-or-break the season kind of way. Nor will it be a sound-the-alarms loss if it is one.
The Blueshirts do need show up in force at home – where they were embarrassed last week by the Sabres – and compete so much better and so much harder than they have lately if they hope to remind not only themselves, but the rest of the NHL, that they can go toe-to-toe with the best in the league because they are one of the best in the league.
Anything less than a complete and unwavering team effort will be a colossal disappointment.
“They’re obviously playing well, so we’re going to have to make sure that we clean up some things coming out of our end and making sure that we’re playing straight forward,” Braden Schneider told The Post after Jonathan Quick helped the Rangers steal a win over the Red Wings Saturday night in Detroit. “They’re a big, heavy group that has the talent that we have to put pucks away. It’s going to be our biggest test yet and hopefully we can come out on top.”
The Rangers have lost touch with who they were to start the season – albeit the fact that it came against inferior teams. Everything from the way they attack the game, their structure and their fire has dimmed.
Now they are coming off a collapse against the Sabres, the fifth-worst team in the Eastern Conference last season. And getting caved in by the Red Wings, who the Rangers demolished twice in the first month of the season, despite a 4-0 victory.
Their rolling 10-game average Corsi percentage at five-on-five – which measures a team’s puck possession and shot attempts – has been in a steady decline since late October, according to Natural Stat Trick.
After hovering around 50 percent through much of the first month of the season, the Blueshirts have dipped below.
They’re putting less pucks on net, creating far less in the offensive zone and missing that bite that they had just last month.
It’s a testament to how little they’ve had the puck lately, which means it’s been on their opponent’s sticks and the numbers indicate as much.
“I think continuing to work on our process,” Chris Kreider said. “Continuing to improve our breakouts, I think there’s still a few too many times where we gave up almost odd-man situations where our F3 is caught a little bit. It’s forechecking effectively, but intelligently so we’re not giving up odd-man rushes and putting so much pressure on our goaltenders to make stops for us.”
After defeating the Stars 4-1 Saturday night, the Jets set a new NHL record with their 14th win in their first 15 games of the season. They’re coming off two consecutive first-round exits in the playoffs and playing with the sort of chip on their shoulder that can carry a team through an 82-game campaign – kind of like the one the Blueshirts had last season after their first-round debacle against the Devils in 2023.
Might I remind you that the Rangers were the best team last regular season. It’s essentially the same team and it’s time they start resembling that again.
“They’re No. 1 for a reason,” Schneider said of the Jets. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re ready to put our best foot forward. Because I think when we do, I think we’re just as good. I think it’s going to be a challenge and we have to make sure we’re ready to go.”
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It doesn’t necessarily have to be a resounding win, but the Rangers have to combat the Jets and show some consistency over 60 minutes against a red-hot team.
The turnaround must start now.
What better time than against the best team in the NHL?
