Fans of the New York Rangers have been accustomed to great success over the last eight years in the NHL, having reached one Stanley Cup Final in 2014, three Eastern Conference Finals in 2012, 2014, and 2015, and numerous other playoff appearances in this span. So with the Rangers starting the 2017-2018 season with a 4-7-2 record, fans and players alike are looking for someone or something to blame. Some will say that the coaching staff is the glaring problem with the team, while others may say goal tending is the central issue that must be addressed first. In order for the Rangers to break out of this early-season slump and once again contend for a playoff spot, the team will need to address several major problems.

With the Rangers having this uncharacteristically slow start to the season, fans have been quick to point out the flaws in the coaching of Alain Vigneault. Vigneault was hired by the Rangers before the 2013-2014 season after previously being fired by the Vancouver Canucks. Vigneault’s run with Vancouver lasted from 2006-2013, where he led the team to its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1994, so excitement was high at the time of his arrival in New York. In his first year, the Rangers went 45-31-6 in the regular season and made a Stanley Cup Final appearance where the team was ultimately defeated by the Los Angeles Kings in a five-game series for the ages. In the time since, Vigneault and the Rangers have experienced ups and downs, from Eastern Conference Finals appearances to first-round exits.

The problem with Vigneault heading into this season is his inability to put the right players on the ice in the right situations. This issue has been prominent in the Rangers’ overall performance in the past, even costing them a hard fought series last April against the Ottawa Senators. In that series, the Rangers had tremendous difficulty when holding a lead late in the game. Players like young and motivated defensemen, like Brady Skjei and Brenden Smith, were benched in the final minutes so that Vigneault’s favorite players, like Marc Staal and Dan Girardi, could play more even if they were struggling. Staal and Girardi are both capable defensemen, but they have not produced at the highest level that they are capable of in many years.

This problem has carried over into the 2017-2018 regular season, where Vigneault continues to struggle. With Girardi’s contract having been bought out in the offseason and Staal finally being put on restricted minutes, this forces him to play new players in different situations. Many coaches around the league would try to find out who works on each line and who they have chemistry with. Vigneault tends to change up lines often when the team needs a spark, which has cost the Rangers many wins so far because they have lacked both offensive and defensive consistency this season, which stems directly from lack of chemistry. He has made questionable moves this year, like putting David Desharnais, who is known as a career third-fourth line center, on the second line and first powerplay group. Another baffling move came in a game against the Montreal Canadiens when Vigneault decided to start backup goalie Ondrej Pavelec over a perfectly healthy and well-rested Henrik Lundqvist. Pavelec, who ultimately gave up 5 goals in the loss, currently sports a 3.64 goals against average and a .887 S% with just one win through 4 games played. Vigneault is still confident in his team, stating, “Every year, if you look at the predictions, people always have us, ‘Are they going to get in? Are they not going to get in?’ We believe we’re a good team and once we’re in, with the personnel that we have, we have as good a chance as any.”

Rangers fans have also been quick to point the finger at the goaltending situation, along with the coaching flaws. The New York Rangers organization has relied on one player, Henrik Lundqvist, for the last 12 years to carry the team to greatness. At the age of 35, his playing days as an elite goaltender in the NHL (as painful as it may be for Rangers fans to admit), are slowly coming to an end. After showing signs of decline during the 2016-2017 season, Lundqvist bounced back for an incredible playoff performance, sporting a stellar .927 save percentage and an average of 2.25 goals against per game. Through 9 games this season; however, the Swedish goaltender is averaging 3.21 goals against per game and has a .898 S%. Although these statistics look grim, he averaged a .925 S% and an average of 2.33 goals against, including one shutout, through six games between October 8 and October 21. Therefore, it would not be fair to solely blame put goaltending situation because Lundqvist has given his team a chance to win many of the games that he has started in.

With the coaching and goaltending issues aside, one question about the Rangers remains. Can they still make the playoffs? There is reason to believe that despite the hardships of the first thirteen games of the year, the “Broadway Blueshirts” have shown potential to break out of this early-season slump. Goal scoring has become less of a problem over the last 5 games, where the team has amassed 18 goals, while winning two of its last three games. Forward Mika Zibanejad has been a bright spot, scoring 8 goals and 13 points in 13 games played, with 5 of his goals coming on the powerplay, which has been red hot since the addition of Kevin Shattenkirk to the blueline in the offseason. Forward Pavel Buchnevich has been another standout player for the Rangers, with 5 goals and 10 points in 13 games this season. As for the goaltending situation, Lundqvist has been prone to slow starts in the past, and has bounced back to bring the team into playoff contention each year so far.

So, before any drastic, season-changing moves are made in the New York Rangers organization, the team needs to consider simply riding out the season. The Rangers players are showing many signs of motivation and energy, and are on the verge of breaking out into a playoff contender once again, sparked by a more consistent offense and reliable goaltending on a nightly basis. The team is completely capable of putting together a winning streak that can propel them back into playoff contention in the stacked Metropolitan Division. If these two main areas of the team’s play can correct themselves over the next few games, then Vigneault’s job will most likely remain secure, whether Rangers fans like it or not. If the next few games happen to go sour for the Rangers, one can expect the winds of change to blow heavily through the New York Rangers organization.