Daily Report – 10/9/25
Rangers
It’s still unclear what the 100th season of New York Rangers hockey will bring, but a 3-0 shutout is not the ideal way for the Rangers to start their season. This is the second straight Opening Night shutout loss for the new Rangers’ head coach, Mike Sullivan. Last year, he underwent the opposite result, with the Rangers shutting out his Penguins in Pittsburgh.
“I think my first observation is we’ve got a long way to go to become the team we want to become,” said Sullivan. “I thought we had moments in the game where we were playing the game that we envision that we can play more consistently, but it’s not nearly consistent enough.”
Consistency, or lack of, was one of the Rangers’ greatest weaknesses last season. However, it might not be so bad for them to be still searching for their identity, and it isn’t surprising either, considering their core is no longer intact. This is a new team of Blueshirts, so their approach is going to be different from the past.
This shutout loss does not indicate the Rangers’ talent, nor does it define their capabilities. When they started strong last season, they fell off shortly thereafter. To still be discovering their strengths means there’s still something to wait for this season, and as soon as the Rangers score their first goal, they will find a groove.
“We had some, but I don’t think enough, dangerous scoring chances,” said Mika Zibanejad, who had seven shots on goal on Opening Night. He played a strong, committed hockey game for the first time in what felt like years, as the veteran forward flew up and down the ice all night. “We had some first chances,” Zibanejad said. “We didn’t have a lot of second chances.”
One thing the Rangers should be concerned about is that they gave up a goal with just 32 seconds left in the first period. For a team that often fell behind early in games last season, giving up a goal late in a frame feels like the worst form of déjà vu. But this is a new season, and the Rangers recognize the opportunities to quell the narratives of last season. From a glass-half-full perspective, they only allowed one goal with Igor Shesterkin in the net. The other two came with the Rangers’ net empty.
But the reality is that while the Rangers improved their defense in the second period, Shesterkin had to bail them out of the third. He made 27 saves on 28 shots in a wasted effort. Also, the Rangers went 0-for-2 on power plays, and giveaways in their own zone plagued them, just like last year. Fortunately, the Penguins aren’t the fastest skaters in the NHL, so the Rangers were able to catch up with odd-man rushes.
That’s good. The Rangers are faster than the Penguins. But a lack of speed was another Blueshirts weakness last year, and it doesn’t look like they have the pieces to get faster.
“I don’t think it was our best [effort],” said new Rangers captain JT Miller, who didn’t generate a single shot on goal after missing most of the preseason with a lower-body injury. “They outplayed us for the majority of the game. We had some good moments in the [third] period, but I think what we’re trying to get is better than what we showed today.”
It’s a long season. There are still 81 games left to play. Tonight, the Rangers will visit the up-and-coming Buffalo Sabres, and they need to generate some early offense to feel better about their game.
“We obviously want a better start and know how every point does matter,” Adam Fox said. “But I think for us, we can’t let the lows be too low or the highs be too high.”
Schedule
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): NYR at BUF; MSG, Gotham Sports
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CDT): 2025 NBA Preseason – NYK vs. MIN; MSG2, Gotham Sports
8:15 PM (7:15 PM CDT): Thursday Night Football (TNF), Week 6 – New York Giants (1-4) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (4-1); Prime Video, FOX5 (WNYW)
