Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Three games and three defeats for the New Yorkers Rangers during their last road trip.
On Saturday night, the Rangers capped their three-game road trip with a 3-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth, marking their fourth straight loss.
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JT Miller suffered an upper body injury in the Rangers’ previous game against the Colorado Avalanche, and his presence was clearly missed.
Miller’s absence elevated Jonny Brodzinski to the top six on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Will Cuylle, while Sullivan put Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière back on a line together.
When Vincent Trocheck missed time due to injury, the roster’s overall offensive depth took a big hit, and it was no different without Miler.
The Rangers struggled to generate consistent scoring chances and maintain quality time in the offensive zone.
Mike Sullivan believes Miller’s absence should not be used as an excuse for their struggles during the night.
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“It’s going to provide an opportunity for others to step up and make an impact,” Sullivan said of the aftermath of Miller’s injury. “Every team goes through this, we’re not the only ones. We have to find a way to bring more of a collective effort.”
New York was outshot in its three games during this road trip and notably failed to record more than 22 shots.
Once again, the Rangers are in an offensive rut as frustrations continue to grow.
“I feel like we’re disconnected. I think we’re too far away from each other,” Zibanejad said. “There’s a lot of one-and-dones in the O-zone, try to get the forecheck, it’s one guy, one guy, one guy. We can’t find five together and I just feel like we’re a little behind everywhere.”
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The Mammoth are known for playing a fast-paced, fast-paced game, which the Rangers just couldn’t keep up with.
JT Miller daily with upper body injuries sustained against avalanche
JT Miller daily with upper body injuries sustained against avalanche JT Miller dealing with upper body injury daily and will miss New York Rangers‘Saturday night game against Utah Mammoth.
The Blueshirts’ defeat stemmed from a general lack of intensity, illustrated by all the high-danger opportunities they gave in to and their difficulty maintaining consistent offensive pressure.
“I didn’t think, for some reason, we had the juice, the energy. If you don’t bring a certain amount of energy to the game, it’s tough,” Sullivan said. “I just didn’t think we won a lot of foot races. I didn’t think we won a lot of puck battles. When you don’t win foot races or puck battles, you don’t tend to have the puck. I felt like that was the case for a lot of the night.”
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Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and the Rangers find themselves at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings. It’s not a good position to play 23 games in the season.
The Rangers will have the opportunity to flip the switch Monday night when they take on the St. Louis Blues.
