Rangers Daily: ‘Disconnected’ Blueshirts; Hellebuyck ‘ready’ for Devils

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Rangers Daily: ‘Disconnected’ Blueshirts; Hellebuyck ‘ready’ for Devils

Rangers Daily: 'Disconnected' Blueshirts; Hellebuyck 'ready' for Devils — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jim Cerny

Tue, October 27, 2026 at 1:49 PM UTC ·

5 min read

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Say what you will about J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad , but there's no denying that they are the two most respected veteran voices in the New York Rangers' dressing room. Each was spot on with his assessment of what currently ails the Rangers after their third loss in a row, 6-3 to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

"When we're disconnected, this is what it looks like," Zibanejad explained postgame . "We're late everywhere, we don't close [defensively], it's impossible to close, to get help when we're that spread out."

Replying to a question about not generating enough offense, Zibanejad replied, "I think we're just slow, slow everywhere."

When the Rangers opened the season with six wins in eight games, and throughout their perfect 6-0-0 run on home ice, much of the talk was about how fast they looked, transitioning quickly from defense to offense, and spending far more in the offensive zone thanks to a heavy forecheck that came in waves, one line after another. Structure, speed, and being connected were the key words then.

NHL: Los Angeles Kings at New York Rangers — Dennis Schneidler-Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lately, those words don't apply at all to how the Rangers look out there, as Zibanejad noted. New York's lost a season-worst three games in a row, allowing at least five goals in each game. Yes, the goaltending hasn't been very good recently, but Dylan Garand and James Reimer saw far too many prime scoring chances in those three games. The Rangers also spent far too much time trying to defend instead of dictating the game on their terms.

"We need to get back to playing to our identity, we're doing the opposite of that right now," Miller said. "We're making it too easy, we're lacking physicality. I think when we're physical, we move our feet more, and when that happens the ice opens up offensively for us more because we're playing better on defense."

No one should be absolved from the Rangers' recent subpar play. But it should be noted that Miller's line with Tye Kartye and Oliver Bjorkstrand was New York's best Monday That trio played 12:55 together 5v5 and had a 75.16 percent expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick . Miller's rear end was in the face of Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper all night, and he scored in the first period when Kartye's pass went in off his skate. Kartye — an absolute whirling dervish all night, scored a 6-on-5 goal with Garand pulled for the extra attacker late in the third period.

Tye Kartye – New York Rangers (4) pic.twitter.com/bRcbJUYxym

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 27, 2026

Miller certainly hasn't been perfect this season. But the captain is healthy again and backing up his words with plenty of effort and ferocity to his game. He competes with a snarl, and is a pain in then ass to play against. So is Kartye.

Zibanejad's line with Gabe Perreault and Alexis Lafreniere pretty much is New York's best on a nightly basis. But each forward was a minus-3 against the Kings, and they totaled just four shots at 5v5. All three got caught up ice when the Kings sprung Taylor Ward for a partial breakaway goal just 1:15 into the game, setting the tone for a tough night at MSG.

"It was just a bad game," Zibanejad noted.

Unfortunately, the Rangers aren't skilled enough — nor do they have Igor Shesterkin as their last line of defense to bail them out during these lapses. A 6-2-0 start to the season morphed into 7-6-1 heading into a five-day break in the schedule this week. It's time for the Rangers get connected once again.

New York Rangers news and analysis

John Kreiser has the ugly details from the Rangers' 6-3 loss to the Kings in his game recap.

There's so much to unpack from their first loss at MSG this season, so check out the latest key Rangers takeaways .

Before the game, former Rangers coach Peter Laviolette discussed his "tale of two years" with the team.

Also before their game against the Kings, we profiled James Reimer's return to the NHL and where his headspace was at prior to signing with the Rangers.

NHL news and rumors

NHL: Winnipeg Jets at Pittsburgh Penguins — Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

New Jersey Hockey Now: After one practice with his new team, Connor Hellebuyck said "I'm ready today" to make his Devils debut despite not taking part in training camp nor any practices prior to Monday. Let's see if he gets the call against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday or Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

NHL.com: Not surprisingly, University of Michigan defenseman Landon DuPont tops NHL Central Scouting's preliminary watch list for prospects ahead of the 2027 draft.

Detroit Hockey Now:Intriguing rookie goalie Michal Postava picked up his first NHL victory in his first start, backstopping the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-3 shootout win over the Oilers in Edmonton.

TSN: Oilers forward Zach Hyman is in concussion protocol after hitting his head against the glass in their loss to the Red Wings.

Daily Faceoff: Kirill Marchenko left the Toronto Maple Leafs' 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames in the second period with a lower-body injury .

Sportsnet: Maple Leafs GM John Chayka met with reporters Monday and discussed several key topics, including if there's an urgency to acquire another defenseman .

Philly Hockey Now: The Flyers will be without Rasmus Ristolainen for at least two weeks, perhaps a month, after the defenseman re-aggravated a prior injury .

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