The New York Rangers let a golden opportunity slip away Friday night, falling 3-2 to a Pittsburgh Penguins team that was missing its biggest stars.
It should’ve been an easy two points for the Rangers. They were playing at home. The Penguins were near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. And Pittsburgh was without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin – two of hockey’s biggest names.
Instead, things went sideways.
Not only did the Rangers lose, but they were dominated for most of the game. That’s not supposed to happen against a struggling team missing its future Hall of Famers.
“Inexcusable,” Rangers center Vincent Trocheck said after the game.
He’s right. While there’s no such thing as a guaranteed win in the NHL – every team has talent and can beat anyone on any given night – this was as close as it gets. The Rangers desperately needed these points to stay in the playoff hunt.
It’s just the latest headache for a Rangers team that’s already dealing with plenty of problems. They’re fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive, and losses like this one hurt twice as much.
The way they lost might be even more concerning than the loss itself. Getting outplayed by a depleted Penguins squad raises some serious questions about where this Rangers team is headed.
