Multiple Rangers call out their own teammates after loss on Saturday.
The New York Rangers are still struggling and the locker room is starting to speak out.
The New York Rangers appear to be falling apart before our very eyes as they stumble down the Metropolitan Division rankings, with the team having much higher expectations coming into the season than what they have delivered on the ice so far.
Troubles continued for the Rangers on Saturday when they faced off against the Los Angeles Kings, who seem poised to make a run to the playoffs this season as one of the top teams in the National Hockey League's Pacific Division, with the Rangers losing an ugly one by a score of 5-1 after initially giving up a 5 goal lead.
The game went so poorly that star goaltender Igor Shesterkin was yanked from the net just 25 minutes into the game, and following the conclusion of the game several players made comments that indicate they are not at all happy with how the season has progressed thus far. Among those players was veteran Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who called out his fellow Rangers without naming anyone specifically.
"It's getting outworked, out-competed, losing those 50-50 battles," said Lindgren of the team's struggles. "That can't happen. Turnovers, mistakes, those are going to happen inside a game. Those you can live with. But when it comes down to a 50-50 puck, you're competing against someone else. You’ve got to come away with those, and we're not right now. We’re too easy to play against, and we’ve got to be a hell of a lot better."
Comments from head coach Peter Laviolette were also quite concerning following this one, with Laviolette unable to provide an answer when asked if his players were lacking focus.
"I can't answer that," said Laviolette.
That doesn't speak to a great deal of confidence in his current group which is a bad sign considering that group was given a major jolt when captain Jacob Trouba was traded earlier this month, in large part due to his poor performance on the ice. Vincent Trocheck echoed the sentiments from Lindgren, calling out his fellow Rangers for their lack of effort.
"At the end of the day you need to perform on the ice and you need to make sure you show up and give it your all every shift," said Trocheck. "Right now I feel like we’re not doing that."
Things are looking ugly for the Rangers right now and with no obvious solutions on the horizon it may get worse before it gets better.