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The New York Rangers lost a 3-2 nailbiter to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night, but they were without both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Yet, the Rangers failed to get the job done and Vincent Trocheck let his team hear it after the contest.
Via The Score:
“There's no excuse, even if there was a why,” Trocheck said. “We can't have that. Inexcusable. We know where we're at in the standings, we know we need every point. With two games left before break, we can't have what just happened.”
“I don't think we worked tonight,” Trocheck said. “We weren't ready for the first, arguably, 40 (minutes). Outplayed them in the third by a lot. Had tons of opportunities, but you can't wait.”
“Can't lose 40 minutes and expect to win a game.”
Trocheck actually opened the scoring for the Rangers in the first period, but the Pens scored three of the next four goals. All of their goals came in the second. New York had seven shots on target to zero for Pittsburgh in the final period, but it didn't change the outcome of this game.
The Rangers have another chance to get back in the win column on Saturday at the tail end of a back-to-back against the Columbus Blue Jackets, their final game before the league takes a break for the highly anticipated 4 Nations Face-Off. After a hot start to the campaign, NY has really taken a slide down the standings. They're third-last in the Metropolitan Division with a 26-24-4 record and sit outside of the playoff picture. Perhaps a trade for the Rangers could help them ahead of the deadline.
The Penguins are a point below them and shouldn't have any business beating the Rangers with no Crosby and Malkin. Trocheck certainly has a point. He's been a key player for the franchise in 2024-25, registering 35 points.
New York is 5-4-1 in its last 10 outings and will hope to finish on a high note on Saturday before taking some time off.
