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Non-competitive Rangers have no answers, lose 4-1 to Lightning: takeaways
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- Non-competitive Rangers have no answers, lose 4-1 to Lightning: takeaways
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
There've been a slew of ugly games played by the New York Rangers so far in 2025-26, mostly on home ice. But their 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon was as non competitive as the Rangers looked all season.
Don't let the final score fool you. Igor Shesterkin gave the undeserving Rangers every chance to stay in this one, even though they were out-shot 35-11 in a game that was almost exclusively played in their end of the ice.
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With the score 3-1 and still within reach, the Rangers didn't record their first shot on goal in the third period until more than 13 minutes elapsed. Even with a power-play opportunity, and later when they pulled Shesterkin for an extra attacker, the Rangers managed only three shots on goal in the final period.
It simply was a terrible effort and loss for the Rangers (13-12-2), whose three-game winning streak ended one day after they hammered the Boston Bruins 6-2 on the road. But back at MSG, the Rangers dropped to a League-worst 2-8-1 on home ice.
Nikita Kucherov extended his point streak to nine games with three assists Saturday for the Lightning (16-7-2), who won their seventh straight game. Brandon Hagel scored twice and now has a team-high 15 goals, including eight in a five-game goal scoring streak.
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Nick Paul and Jake Guentzel also scored for Tampa Bay . Goalie Jonas Johansson could've taken an afternoon siesta at The Garden, called upon to stop 10 of 11 shots, and never facing more than six in any one period.
Shesterkin start on back-to-back days for the first time this season and was New York's best player by far, finishing with 31 saves.
Though they were nearly run out of their own building in the first period, the Rangers trailed just 1-0 after 20 minutes, due to equal parts good fortune and Shesterkin's brilliant play. The Lightning owned the puck and lived in the Rangers' end of the ice in the opening period, yet managed only Hagel's goal at 10:53, when his shot hit Carson Soucy's skate and caromed into the net.
The Lightning out-shot the Rangers 11-2 and had an 89.71 percent expected goals share after one period, per Natural Stat Trick . They just missed on a pair of prime scoring opportunities that didn't require Shesterkin to make a save either time, when Guentzel missed the net on a breakaway and Zemgus Girgensons hit the post later on.
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In the second period, the Rangers leveled the playing field some, though they were still out-shot 16-6. Hagel made it 2-0 at 8:57, when he patiently collected his own rebound after Shesterkin stoned him on a breakaway, took a step back and flipped it over the prone Rangers goaltender for his second goal of the game.
Shesterkin, though, remained the biggest difference maker on the ice, and kept the Rangers in this one. He made a sharp pad save on Hagel's backhand chance from out front at 16:20, not only denying the Lightning forward a hat trick, but keeping New York's deficit at a manageable two goals.
The Rangers almost immediately rewarded their goalie when Adam Fox zipped a pass from right wing into the blue paint, where the puck struck the skate of J.T. Miller and went over the goal line at 17:31 to make it 2-1.
Less than a minute later, Shesterkin made a flashy glove save on J.J. Moser 's rising blast off the rush from the left-wing circle. Shesterkin did take an interference penalty against Hagel at 19:41, but made up for his miscue with several more sharp saves bridging the end of the second period and beginning of the third to keep it a one-goal game.
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That good fortune didn't last long, though. A slick Kucherov feed into the low slot was redirected home by Paul shortly after the power play ended to restore Tampa Bay's two-goal lead, making it 3-1 at 2:02.
The Rangers showed very little pushback until they received a power play at 11:56. But even then they struggled getting pucks through to Johansson, despite better zone time. Guentzel put the game away, scoring his 14th goal into an empty net with 17.4 left to play.
Key takeaways after Rangers' embarrassing 4-1 loss to Lightning
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Adam Fox injury casts dark shadow over Rangers
Fox sustained an upper-body injury in the third period on a clean shoulder-to-shoulder check by Hagel, and didn't finish the game. Afterward, coach Mike Sullivan only stated that Fox is being evaluated by medical personnel.
Outside of Shesterkin, it's difficult to think of a more indispensable player on the Rangers roster than Fox. The former Norris Trophy winner drives their offense — just watch his patience and precision setting up Miller's goal Saturday. He leads all NHL defensemen with 23 assists and is second with 26 points. Plus he and Vladislav Gavrikov make up one the top defense pairs in the entire NHL, relied on for heavy minutes and consistently excellent xGF numbers.
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Fox is also New York's unquestioned power-play quarterback. So much so that when the Rangers had that third-period power play, Sullivan deployed five forwards — Miller, Artemi Panarin , Mika Zibanejad , Vincent Trocheck , and Will Cuylle — since Fox was back in the dressing room. Should Fox miss some time moving forward, expect rookie defenseman Scott Morrow , a solid puck mover, and healthy scratch Saturday, to draw back into the lineup and join PP1 in his place.
Will Borgen 's back
It'd be ironic of Fox misses some games after the Rangers defense corps finally was complete Saturday. Will Borgen returned to New York's lineup after he missed the previous five games, and seven of eight, with an upper-body injury.
Borgen rwas back in his role on the second pair alongside Soucy, logged 19:50 TOI, and led the Rangers with six hits. He also was on ice for Tampa Bay's first two goals, including the second one by Hagel when Borgen was a step behind on the breakaway.
Soucy missed a shift or two after he blocked a shot midway through the third period. The veteran defenseman remained on all fours before pushing himself up and blocking two more shots with the Lightning pressing their advantage in the offensive zone. Soucy returned to play a 56-second shift late in the game before the Rangers pulled Shesterkin for an extra attacker.
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No excuses for Rangers
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Losing to the red-hot Lightning is nothing to be embarrassed about. But what must gall Sullivan — not to mention the fans who paid good money to enter The Garden to watch this tilt Saturday — is the utter lack of compete level displayed by the home team. This loss looked eerily similar to many that dotted the Rangers ledger a year ago, when their effort was often called into question.
Effort hasn't been an issue this season. But it sure was Saturday.
"We did it to ourselves," Miller said postgame . "There was no urgency today. We dipped our toe into the game and got outplayed most of the time. It's unacceptable."
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Keep in mind that the Lightning were without four key regulars because of injury — defensemen Victor Hedman , Ryan McDonagh , Erik Cernak , and forward Brayden Point . In addition, Tampa Bay started its backup, Johansson, who allowed fewer than three goals once in six previous starts this season. So, consider this a major missed opportunity for the Rangers.
Home-ice disadvantage
Saturday began a stretch for the Rangers when seven of nine games are played at home. In any other season, it'd be normal for this to be good news for the Rangers, especially considering how great they've fared on the road (11-4-1). Instead, the spate of games at MSG could drag the Rangers down, instead of raise them up.
Their eight regulation losses at home are most in the League. The Rangers scored three goals in those eight games, shut out five times and held to a single goal three times. They also mixed in that wild 6-5 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks in October, which proved they're capable of scoring plenty and losing anyway at MSG.
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Next up are the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at The Garden. Not only are they a perennial Stanley Cup contender, one that's playing excellent hockey again this season, but the Stars are 9-1-3 on the road. After that on the Rangers home schedule is the 1-2 punch of the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights next weekend.
So, yes, things could get worse before they get better at home for the Rangers.
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