Rangers Not Panicking After Devils Blowout: 'We're Better Than This'

The disappointment was palpable in the Rangers locker room Thursday following a decisive 7-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. The game, which started promisingly, devolved into an embarrassing defeat for the Blueshirts.

"Not proud of that performance," said forward J.T. Miller. Goaltender Adam Fox described the game as one that "gets away and all of a sudden, you’re chasing."

However, the team expressed a sentiment that the loss was an anomaly, a deviation from the habits they had built during training camp and the first eight games of the season. They hope to flush the negative aspects of the game and re-establish their identity.

The team faces an early-season test on Saturday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. This game will serve as a gauge of their ability to move past the crushing loss, similar to how they responded after earlier defeats. The loss in New Jersey dropped their road record to 1-3, with three of their next four games being away from home.

"[Thursday] shows what happens when we don’t do it," Mika Zibanejad commented. "And I feel like we’ve been building that game — and that’s why I think it’s easier to spot the difference and what happens when we don’t play our game and the little details that we have to do within our game."

A key focus will be on goaltender Dylan Garand, who is expected to be the starter for the foreseeable future due to injuries to Joonas Korpisalo and Igor Shesterkin. Garand's performance before Thursday had drawn praise, with a .951 save percentage and a 1.15 goals-against average. After allowing four goals on 13 shots and being pulled, those numbers fell to .915 and 2.05, respectively.

In his previous two starts after Shesterkin's season-ending injury, Garand had impressed with his consistent play. The team's strategy without Shesterkin involves supporting Garand and putting him in a position to make necessary saves, a formula that had largely worked until Thursday's game.

This marked Garand's first significant struggle in his NHL career, and the most goals the Rangers had surrendered in a single game since March 19. "I know we’re better than this, to a man," Miller stated.

The Rangers are among the teams that have avoided consecutive losses in the early part of the season. They previously responded to a third-period collapse against the Bruins in their opener with a strong performance against the Lightning. After losing to the Capitals on the night Shesterkin was injured, they secured a commanding win over the Canucks.

"Ever since [the opener], we’ve played really good Ranger hockey, coming up with some identity for ourselves as a group," Miller said.

This latest significant loss will test the team's resolve and Garand's ability to bounce back. It will also be a test for players like Alexis Lafrenière, who had a challenging night statistically, and Pavel Dorofeyev, who is looking to build on his early-season goal output.

The Rangers aim to prove that they are not the same team as last year, especially with Shesterkin out. "We’ve learned a lot about ourselves over the last couple weeks and the last month," Miller said. "And I think that we have a high-character group in here — so all we can do is learn from [Thursday] and move forward and be ready for the next game and come out firing."