Ten games into the 2025-26 NHL season, the New York Rangers (3-5-2) find themselves in second-to-last place in the Metropolitan division, while their arch rival, the New Jersey Devils (8-1-0) find themselves in first. New Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan’s system hasn’t worked wonders for this Ranger team yet and they look like the same team that missed the playoffs last year for the first time in four years.
What have been the reasons? Well, this poor start hasn’t been the responsibility of the Rangers’ goaltending tandem. Number one Igor Shesterkin has a .916 save-percentage SV%, 2.25 goals-against average GAA and one shutout through eight games. Backup and two-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick has almost the same numbers in two games.
The onus falls on the Rangers secondary scoring.
While the Rangers brightest star forward Artemi Panarin isn’t off to a red hot start, he does have seven points (two goals, five assists) which is tied for the team lead with former Norris trophy-winner Adam Fox. The young Ranger defenseman is off to a good start although his defense has left much to be desired. Newly-minted captain J.T. Miller ranks third on the team with six points and Mika Zibanejad has five points which isn’t exactly a lot for a former 40-goal scorer but he’s also a minus-8.
Now, one of the Rangers top-six forwards, center and two-time All-Star Vincent Trocheck suffered an upper-body injury in the second game of the season and has since missed eight games. But if you want to point fingers this early in the season, look no further than two players: Alexis Lafrenière and Will Cuylle. Lafrenière, the former first-overall pick in 2020, has struggled mightily so far this season, posting just one goal and two assists to go with a terrible minus 10 rating. Lafrenière has also been playing left wing on the Blueshirts’ first power play unit and has just one power play assist to show for it. The 24-year-old has also not competed hard enough on the boards, in the corners and in his defensive zone.
Speaking of competing hard, Will Cuylle was the Rangers posterchild for such play in 2024-25. He finished fifth on the Rangers with 20 goals and first in hits last season. He was a good power forward coming into his own at the age of just 22 last season but so far this season, the offense hasn’t carried over. The young power forward from Toronto, Ontario has scored just two points so far this season although he does lead the team with 42 hits.
These two haven’t put the puck in the net enough and neither has Zibanejad, who finished fourth on the team with 20 goals a year ago. Look across the Hudson River at the rival New Jersey Devils and their top three scorers are all point-per-game players this early in the season. Through nine games, former first-overall pick Jack Hughes has 12 points, Jesper Bratt has 11 and Nico Hischier has nine. Compare that to the Rangers top scorers which have seven, seven and six in 10 games.
It’s just not good enough and so far Mike Sullivan’s Rangers have wasted four quality performances from their goaltenders. The first was against the Capitals on October 12. Quick turned aside 20 of 21 shots only for his team to fail to score at all and lose 1-0. The very next game, the Rangers held Connor McDavid off the scoresheet and the defending western conference champion Edmonton Oilers to just two goals but also failed to register a single goal and were shutout 2-0 on home ice. On October 16 against the Maple Leafs, the Rangers fought hard but were able to score only one goal and lost in overtime 2-1, despite 22 saves from Igor Shesterkin.
The only bright spot during these first 10 games of the season? A 6-1 win on the road in Pittsburgh on October 11 and a 4-3 win in Montréal on October 17. The Rangers even came back from 2-0 down in the first period to defeat the Canadiens in a spirited affair that saw Rangers center Sam Carrick fight Montréal’s biggest dog Arber Xhekaj and win. However, the bad vibes returned when the Rangers returned to Madison Square Garden to face the Minnesota Wild the following game. Shesterkin stopped 29 of 31 shots but his team were able to score just one goal and lost 3-1 on an empty netter by Kirill Kaprizov.
The Rangers got quality goaltending during these four games but only had one point to show for it. Following these games, the Rangers started to play worse—much worse. They first lost 6-5 in overtime to the worst team in the NHL at the time, San Jose Sharks on home ice. It was a game where they gave up more goals than they have all season with Shesterkin in net no less, due to a lack of compete. The game also wouldn’t have been close if not for Rangers winger Taylor Raddysh recording his second career hat trick. Following that loss, the Rangers started their first west coast road trip of the season terribly by losing 5-1 to the current worst team in the NHL, the Calgary Flames. Shesterkin gave up five goals for the second time this season.
It’s been a rough three games for the New York Rangers but maybe they can find a spark in Vancouver on Tuesday. Captain J.T. Miller and the Broadway Blueshirts will return to Vancouver, Miller’s old stomping grounds tonight looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
