Daily Report – 1/9/26
Rangers
The Rangers haven’t earned a regulation win at home since November 24. Today is January 9. They lost at the Garden to the Buffalo Sabres last night, 5-2. At home this season, they have only scored in 24 of 60 periods, and they are 5-11-4 on Garden ice.
Everything was going right for the Blueshirts in the third period. Head coach Mike Sullivan deemed it their “best period in a while.” Vincent Trocheck cut a two-goal deficit in half 51 seconds into the frame, slamming the puck five-hole past rookie goaltender Colten Ellis. The Rangers finished the period with a 14-3 shots on goal advantage. At one point, they were outshooting Buffalo 10-1.
The Rangers generated plenty of zone time in the final frame. Even the third and fourth lines were setting screens and creating shooting lanes. Yet, somehow, Ellis made every save between Trocheck’s goal and the double-minor penalty he drew with 5:36 remaining.
“I would have liked to have chipped in a little more offensively so far this year, and that’s on me,” said Sam Carrick, the Rangers’ fourth-line center. “I feel like me and my line, we work hard to generate chances. When we do get those chances, I mean, I’ve got to do a better job of bearing down and scoring.”
Because Trocheck got cut while drawing the double-minor penalty, he wasn’t allowed to return to the ice for the subsequent power play, so Alexis Lafrenière took his place. It didn’t take long – 14 seconds – for Lafrenière to turn the puck over, miss his backcheck, and give up a shorthanded goal to Mattias Samuelsson.
“The game plan was [Lafrenière] was gonna change on the first dump down, and [Trocheck] was gonna go on the first unit, like we practiced it,” Sullivan said. But that didn’t happen. The shorthanded goal came too quickly.
According to Steve Valiquette on MSG Networks, if the Rangers want to secure a Wild Card spot, they’ll probably need to finish with at least 91 points, the minimum required for playoff teams last season. That necessitates playing at a 100-point pace through the rest of the season.
However, Valiquette added, “To get 98 points, the pace of the Sabres, currently in second Wild Card position, New York will need a .702 pace.” Only the Colorado Avalanche are playing at a higher points pace this season.
This likely means that the Rangers will have to be sellers at the March 6 trade deadline. The biggest piece to move would be Artemi Panarin, who has a full no-movement clause. He might waive it to serve as a rental player on a Cup-contending team, but the Rangers must make a wise choice to maximize the return for their highest-scoring forward.
Lafrenière is another chip who could be moved, but the return would be less substantial. However, his eight-team no-movement clause doesn’t kick in until two seasons from now, making this year the easiest time to trade him.
Last night, one thing was certain: Lafrenière was, single-handedly, responsible for the Rangers’ loss. Had Adam Fox been available (he’s on long-term injured reserve), the Rangers would not have allowed that shorthanded goal. They were five-for-eight on the power play between December 31 and Monday, when Fox was healthy.
Without Fox, Braden Schneider skated alongside Vladislav Gavrikov in the Rangers’ top defensive unit. But Shneider is nowhere near the offensive player Fox is, and without him, it became much harder for the Rangers to convert on their offensive zone time and find their way past Colten Ellis, who had made just eight career starts before yesterday.
Last night’s loss put the Adam Fox effect on full display at the Garden. Without him, the Rangers are toast. Plain and simple.
Buffalo’s first goal came four minutes into the first period. After the Rangers failed to clear the puck from their zone multiple times, the Sabres forced Jonathan Quick out of position, and Josh Doan had a wide-open net to himself.
Alex Tuch put Buffalo ahead by two goals at the seven-minute mark of the second period. A few minutes later, Artemi Panarin fired a dart to Mika Zibanejad off the rush, and Zibanejad aced his one-timer past Ellis. It was Panarin’s 600th career assist and Zibanejad’s franchise record-tying eighth straight goal he factored on.
Zibanejad’s goal got the Rangers fans excited for exactly 180 seconds, when Jason Zucker’s hard power-play shot bounced over Quick’s head.
“To me, they get a lucky bounce on their power play,” Zibanejad said. “[Quick] makes the save, it hits them, and it goes into our goal, and it’s 3-1.”
Buffalo’s third goal killed whatever momentum the Rangers had gained from Zibanejad’s goal. Still, it didn’t take them long to regain that competitive edge in the third period, when Vincent Trocheck scored in 51 seconds. The Rangers couldn’t score again after that, despite generating many chances that got the Garden Faithful on their feet.
The Rangers embarrassed themselves on a centennial jersey night (they fell to 1-6 in their centennial jerseys) in front of former Rangers “fan favorites,” including Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Callahan, Nick Fotiu, and Sean Avery. The Rangers clearly weren’t inspired by any of the returning Blueshirts legends who were honored in a pregame ceremony.
Schedule
Tonight 1/9:
7:30 PM: 2025-26 College Football Playoff (CFP), Second Semifinal – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl – Indiana (1) vs. Oregon (5); ESPN, ESPN App
9:00 PM: NYK at PHX; MSG, Gotham Sports
Saturday 1/10:
1:00 PM: ABC Hockey Saturday – NYR at BOS; ABC, ESPN App
4:30 PM: NFL Wild Card Weekend, NFC Game 1 – Los Angeles Rams (5, 12-5) at Carolina Panthers (4, 8-9); FOX, FOX ONE
8:00 PM: NFL Wild Card Weekend, NFC Game 2 – Green Bay Packers (7, 9-7-1) at Chicago Bears (2, 11-6); Prime Video
Sunday 1/11:
1:00 PM: NFL Wild Card Weekend, AFC Game 1 – Buffalo Bills (6, 12-5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (3, 13-4); CBS, Paramount+
4:30 PM: NFL Wild Card Weekend, NFC Game 3 – San Francisco 49ers (6, 12-5) at Philadelphia Eagles (3, 11-6); FOX, FOX ONE
6:00 PM: NYK at POR; MSG, Gotham Sports
8:20 PM: NFL Wild Card Weekend, AFC Game 2 – Los Angeles Chargers (7, 11-6) at New England Patriots (2, 14-3); NBC, Peacock
7:30 PM: Football Night in America (FNIA); NBC
8:00 PM: Hyundai Sunday Night Kickoff; NBC, Peacock
8:10 PM: GEICO Sunday Night Anthem; NBC, Peacock
