Daily Report – 12/11/25
Rangers
I love the Rangers’ centennial jerseys. They’re a classic shade of blue with off-white letters and numbers made of felt. The jerseys are modeled after the club’s original jerseys from 1926. They look they’re best in contrast with another Original Six team’s centennial jersey, like in last night’s color-on-color matchup in Chicago.
But the jersey’s vibrant colors seem to distract Rangers players, and the team is 0-5-0 while wearing the jerseys this season. It’s as if they don’t want to dirty their precious sweaters. But the jerseys aren’t made of cashmere, and if JT Miller wants to frame his centennial jersey once the season ends, I'm sure his club will happily supply him with a fresh one.
All season long, captain Miller has blamed himself for his team’s shortcomings, and yesterday was no exception. For the sixth time this season, and for the first time on the road, the Rangers got shut out, losing 3-0 to the Blackhawks.
“It’s frustrating,” said Miller, who couldn’t muster a single shot on goal in a lackluster offensive performance. “I need to do more, for me, I guess. Just a better job. I think leadership, we could all step up right now in games like this and put a better game on the ice.”
The Rangers came off a weekend of back-to-back home overtime losses to Colorado and Vegas, two of the toughest teams in the NHL. Meanwhile, Colorado got outscored a combined 13-1 by Los Angeles and Anaheim over the weekend. On their home ice last night, the Blackhawks were much more motivated than the Rangers. They defended tightly and limited New York to just five high-danger scoring chances.
The Rangers rarely got to the net, and whenever they did, they either missed their marks on their shots or got blocked in the trapezoid.
“We just didn’t earn the bounces,” Vincent Trocheck said. “We had one or two or three guys every shift, not five. So, we have wasted energy on the forecheck where we have one or two guys going, and third and fourth aren’t there.”
Finding other forms of offense is easier said than done, but in a sport like hockey that’s riddled with scoring chances, struggling teams must have backup plans. Typically, when a team is struggling to score goals, they’re advised to crash the net. However, Colorado defended their home plate area perfectly for 60 minutes. The Rangers couldn’t penetrate the Blackhawks’ fortress that had conquered the slot.
“It’s disappointing because we just got through a stretch where we played what we would deem some of the best teams in the league,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. “We put a game on the ice that’s pretty competitive. We’ve got to be able to do that consistently, night in and night out. […] We took a step back tonight.”
One issue for the Rangers this season has been their power play, and since Adam Fox injured his shoulder two weeks ago, the Rangers’ first power play unit has featured five forwards. Before his injury, Fox was one of the NHL’s defensive assists leaders, and his blue line management on the power play is one of his best attributes. In his absence, the Rangers have turned to Artemi Panarin to quarterback their power play, but this takes a sharp shooter out of dangerous territory.
Last night, the Rangers’ lack of defense on the man-advantage allowed Louis Crevier to score a shorthanded goal in the second period, giving Chicago a 1-0 lead at 12:52. Ilya Mikheyev stole the puck from Mika Zibanejad at the blue line, and he knocked him down, creating a passing lane for Jason Dickinson and Matt Grzelcyk to feed Crevier down low. Meanwhile, Zibanejad watched helplessly from the red line as Trocheck chased Crevier.
“It’s one goal,” Trocheck said. “We have a ton of game left. We can’t let that happen. That’s on us.”
A lot of the Rangers’ power-play forwards sat back and watched from their perches as Crevier stormed down the ice untouched. Nobody got back to defend him. The Rangers didn’t show any urgency.
“It’s just inconsistent with not playing a team game for the full 60 minutes,” Trocheck said.
Just three minutes after Crevier’s goal, Ryan Donato scored for Chicago – or so he thought. The Rangers challenged for a missed hand pass, and after the goal got erased, the Rangers caught a break. But they didn’t take any advantage of the opportunity to shift the momentum in their favor.
Chicago eventually got that second goal, and it didn’t take long. Off the rush, at 5:33, André Burakovsky gained the attacking zone against Braden Schneider. With Vladislav Gavrikov in front of Igor Shesterkin, Burakovsky centered the puck back to Connor Bedard, who cranked a snap shot upstairs. The 20-year-old Bedard, whom Chicago selected first overall in the 2023 Entry Draft, ranks fourth in the NHL in points (42) and fifth in goals (19) this season.
Four minutes into the second period, the Blackhawks struck again. Like before, Bedard worked through Gavrikov, this time paired with Will Borgen, and he passed the puck to Ryan Greene, whose shot rebounded off Shesterkin. Then, Tyler Bertuzzi grabbed the puck and dragged it over Shesterkin’s side to give Chicago a 3-0 lead.
The Rangers had two power plays in the third period, both on penalties drawn by Alexis Lafrenière, and they placed Scott Morrow at the point for the first unit. Two weeks ago, Mike Sullivan said he wouldn’t put Morrow on the power play unless he trusted him enough, but Morrow is the Rangers’ only defenseman who can sustainably quarterback a power play. After allowing a shorthanded goal in the second period, and because the Rangers are 0-for-11 on the power play in their last five games, Sullivan didn’t have much of a choice.
Now, it might be power-play-by-committee for Sullivan’s crew. Adam Fox won’t be reevaluated until at least Christmas, so it might be time to switch up the power play completely. Sullivan should put third and fourth-line forwards on the ice with Morrow. Noah Laba, for example, has been one of the most consistent Rangers forwards this season because he always finishes his checks. Maybe he’s deserving of some power play time.
Adam Edstrom was moved to long-term injured reserve before yesterday’s game. Per reports, it’s a different lower-body injury than the one that ended his previous season two months early. His absence gave Jaroslav Chmelař another chance to play, though. His line, with Brett Berard and Jonny Brodzinski alternating alongside Sam Carrick, got 10 minutes of ice time.
Schedule
8:15 PM (7:15 PM CST): Thursday Night Football (TNF), Week 15 – Atlanta Falcons (4-9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6); Prime Video
