After their 6-1 defeat to the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba didn’t mince words about their performance.
“I don’t think we were too ready to play,” Trouba said after the game. “I don’t think that’s really any secret. I think everybody in here understands where we were in that game.”
It’s a stark assessment from a respected team leader. The Rangers, who have struggled to hit peak form over the past two weeks, were clearly unprepared for their matchup with the Sabres—and paid the price.
Trouba’s comments carry weight given his leadership role, indicating he carefully chooses his words. His statement highlights issues within both the team and coaching staff.
Not prepared to play.
It was evident watching Thursday’s game. The Sabres were quicker, more determined, dominant in puck battles, and took advantage of Rangers’ mistakes and a rare poor showing from goalie Igor Shesterkin, who was pulled 13:51 into the second period after giving up five goals on 12 shots.
Shesterkin struggled, but the blame didn’t rest solely on him—his teammates played carelessly, looked disorganized, and were often on the back foot.
“There’s no excuse for what happened today,” said center Mika Zibanejad. “We just have to understand that wasn’t good enough.”
Defenseman Ryan Lindgren added, “I don’t think anything went right.”
But was their failure rooted in not being ready to play? Were they too passive, too disengaged, or overly dependent on their star goalie, who had an off night?
The likely answer is all of the above—and that’s troubling given their recent form. The Rangers are 3-3-0 over the past two weeks, with concerning losses to the Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals, and now the Sabres. Even in their victories over the Ottawa Senators (2-1) and the Islanders (5-2) prior to this latest setback, there were noticeable issues.
Rangers ‘not good enough’ again in lopsided loss to Sabres
Coach Peter Laviolette expressed concern over the Rangers’ lack of offensive pressure and their tendency to get pinned in their own zone over the past couple of weeks. This conservative approach prevents them from dictating the pace of play or imposing their will against teams like the Sabres, Islanders, Senators, and, potentially, the Capitals. The challenge against a strong opponent like the Panthers is more formidable, as evidenced by last season’s Eastern Conference Final.
At its core, this seems to be a matter of willpower. The Rangers have lacked intensity in recent games, and on Thursday night, the Sabres seemed to operate at a different speed altogether.
A key issue for the Rangers has been their inability to exit their own zone efficiently, leading to transition breakdowns and losses in puck battles.
“I think that’s what’s happening to us right now, we don’t get out of our own zone, we spend way too much time there,” noted Mika Zibanejad.
While traditional and advanced metrics favored the Rangers against the Sabres—they outshot (26-22), out-attempted (66-39), and out-chanced (35-23) their opponent—it doesn’t paint the full picture. Despite these statistical advantages, poor decision-making, uninspired play, and subpar goaltending led to their 6-1 defeat.
“As a group tonight, we weren’t good enough,” captain Jacob Trouba summarized.
The Rangers’ next opportunity to change course comes Saturday when they face the Detroit Red Wings, a team they’ve already defeated twice this season.
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