Elliotte Friedman Exposes the Biggest Issue for the New York Rangers as the Team Continues to Fall Apart
The New York Rangers season has gone from bad to worse in recent times, and now top Insider Elliotte Friedman lifts the lid on this team's biggest flaw.
A few weeks ago, the New York Rangers were rolling as many expected them to do this season, as they appeared to be every bit the Stanley Cup contenders their recent success has proven them to be.
However, something changed, and their season is now going downhill quickly, with the team falling out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs picture on the back of just three victories in their last 13 overall games.
There's many reasons for this team falling apart, most of which likely haven't been made public yet, but according to top NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, there's one glaring issue on this team that simply hasn't been fixed as of yet.
They start games stunned. 5-0 to the Kings, 25 minutes and at home, And 3-0 to the Blues, Sunday night. You're always trying to climb out of a deep hole like it's an impossible way to play.
That issue was fully exposed over the weekend, as the team trailed 5-0 against LA after which goaltender Igor Shesterkin was pulled and 3-0 against St. Louis during back-to-back losses, and with the pressure mounting in the Big Apple, something huge is going to happen in the very near future.
Even after trading captain Jacob Trouba, the problems persist with the Rangers, and while it's given that it's not just their starts to games but many, many more issues, it's safe to say that unless someone can spark this team, they're on pace to shockingly miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zach Hyman | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Connor McDavid | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Lian Bichsel | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jesper Boqvist | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Connor Brown | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Roope Hintz | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Strome | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Matthew Tkachuk | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jamie Benn | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evan Bouchard | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mavrik Bourque | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Wyatt Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Corey Perry | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Taylor Raddysh | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sam Reinhart | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jason Robertson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Carter Verhaeghe | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Oskar Back | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 32 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 45 | |
Capitals | 29 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 44 | |
Wild | 31 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 44 | |
Golden Knights | 31 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 43 | |
Devils | 33 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 43 | |
Maple Leafs | 31 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 40 | |
Hurricanes | 30 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 39 | |
Kings | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 39 | |
Oilers | 30 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 38 | |
Panthers | 31 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 38 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||