The New York Rangers lost to the Minnesota Wild 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on Monday. It is their fourth home loss in as many games to start a 2025-26 season with high expectations. Artemi Panarin scored early in the game to avoid setting the record for minutes without scoring at home to start a season. But Rangers captain JT Miller was frustrated with their lack of offense for the rest of the game.
“We have to find a way to bear down in those tight 2-1 games,” Miller said, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. “Let's be honest, we didn't deserve to win, but that was a game we could have stolen. It's happened to us.”
Miller is in the first full season of his second stint with the Rangers. He came over in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks during the 2024-25 season and was named captain this offseason. Despite a 3-0-1 road record, they are falling behind in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The pressure is always high at MSG, and the Blueshirts have not turned it down this year.
Rangers center Mika Zibanejad was a poster boy for last year's struggles, and he knows the temperature gets hot quickly in Manhattan.
“OK, say if I ask you the question, what else should I do more than score?” Zibanejad said, per Rosen. “Like, I have to score. Yes, I understand that. But I'm getting the chances. I'd be more worried if we didn't get any chances, if I don't get that chance, if we don't get those chances. It's frustrating for us. It's frustrating for me. How many looks did we have, not just this game, overall? I honestly don't know what else to do. Yeah, I don't know.”
The Rangers get the brutal San Jose Sharks at home on Thursday. If they lose that game, it will only get louder at the Garden.
