Weekend Takeaways: Where do Rangers, Sabres go from here?

When you look at the abysmal form of the New York Rangers and the ever-bumbling Buffalo Sabers in Western New York, you can’t help but wonder what other buttons and levers can be pushed and pulled?

Winning in the NHL is difficult, and what the Blueshirts and Sabers have proven is that’s true no matter what stage your team is in. Wanderers went into the season viewed as cup contenders trying to get over the top. In the standings, Buffalo once again looks like a team that at least has a chance to make the playoffs for the first time in forever.

Instead, we see the Rangers improving to 3-10-0 in their last 13 games after losing 3-2 to St. Louis on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Sabers lost in Game 10^th They lost 5-3 on Sunday in back-to-back attempts to win, but Toronto led 2-0 with 2:46 to play.

So where do we go next?

By the time you read this, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette may have been fired. The Blueshirts have already eliminated former captain Jacob Trouba and must try to trade anyone available before Friday’s holiday roster freeze.

As for the Sabers, they already made a coaching change over the summer, bringing in old friend Lindy Love to correct the situation on the team. But that didn’t work, and you can’t help but wonder how many more bleak State of the Union addresses general manager Kevin Adams can give before his tenure is over, blaming his problems on a lack of palm trees.

At this point, the Sabers have basically missed the top 14 playoffs.^th In consecutive seasons, including the COVID-shortened 2020 season, 20 teams have participated in the dance competition. The Tampa Bay Lightning have appeared in 150 postseason games — nearly two full regular seasons’ worth — since Buffalo’s last postseason appearance in 2011.

The Rangers have actually played the second-most playoff games in that span, but whether they’ll increase that number this spring is suddenly in serious doubt. A month ago, New York’s problems appeared to be champagne. A good record, but some things to clean up in Metropolitan Division play have become more difficult due to the unexpected rise of the Washington Capitals.

Today, the Rangers are officially out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and have a worse scoring average than the Ottawa Senators, a club that just a week ago seemed to be spiraling out of control while tampering accusations were leveled against the Rangers. About Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk.

At this point, it’s natural to wonder why anyone — Tkachuk or otherwise — would want to do business with the Rangers. After another bad week, the Blueshirts are easily outclassed by the Penguins (who have the fourth-worst goal differential in the entire league) and the Islanders (another disappointing New York team) , their only saving grace now is that they are not as bad as the other two teams.

This is not good, friends. Whether you’re talking about the Rangers or the Sabers, it’s hard to know what move will end the pain.

• The Oilman fire means things are really heating up over the Pacific. Edmonton beat conference rival Vegas on Saturday, but the Cavaliers posted a nice 3-2 road win in Minnesota 24 hours later. The Kings, meanwhile, ruined another weekend for the Rangers with a 5-1 victory over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, their seventh victory in eight games. Pacific has three of the best 5-point shooting percentages in the league since mid-November, with Edmonton ranking second (.750) and Vegas not far behind in third. (0.719), Kings fifth^th (.692) over the course of that month.

• Speaking of the Wild, they appear to have gone through their first real rough patch of the season. After the loss to Vegas, Minnie went 2-3-0 in its last five games and allowed three or more goals in four of those games. The sky is by no means falling – Kirill Kaprizov has gone on to score four goals in his last two games – but it’s been a tough stretch in what has been a stellar year for the Wild .

• Buckle up; it’s a rematch of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton on Monday as the Panthers visit Rogers Arena for the first time since losing Game 6, eventually giving the Cats a Game 7 at home The victory of the game.

• The Sens, riding a three-game winning streak, have a little wind in their sails as they begin a wild 10-game road stretch in Seattle on Tuesday. Of course, Ottawa will be the site of the 2025 World Junior Championship, so local NHL teams will have to pack their bags and evacuate.

• Mackenzie Blackwood had to work hard to get the Avalanche’s first win on Saturday, giving up 37 pucks in a 5-2 win over Nashville. What a huge improvement it would be if Blackwood, who will visit his former club in San Jose on Thursday, can provide Colorado with quality ball blocking.

• A holiday list freeze will take effect Friday morning and last until Dec. 27. Will we see any moves this week from teams trying to beat the buzzer and change up their roster before being forced into a hiatus? There’s certainly no shortage of motivated players here, and we’ve seen some good early-season performances with Trouba, Blackwood, and guard Cam Fowler all recently traded.

• The Metro gets a huge tilt Friday night when the Capitals — four-peat champions and boasting the highest scoring percentage in the entire NHL (.759) — host the Hurricanes.

• Chandler Stephenson, who signed a huge offseason UFA contract with Kraken, will return to Vegas on Saturday. What a steal for the Cavaliers, who signed Stephenson with a fifth-round pick from Team USA in December 2019 and watched him develop into a very valuable two-way player. Top six forwards. It took Stephenson a while to adjust to his new surroundings, but he has eight points in his past eight games with Seattle.

Red and white strength ranking

1. Edmonton Oilers (18-10-2) Leon Draisaitl has scored in three straight games, including Saturday’s 6-3 win over Vegas, and he has 13 points in the Oilers’ current five-game winning streak.

2. Winnipeg Jets (22-9-1) The Jets continued to be lethal at home, picking up two more man advantages in Saturday’s 4-2 victory over the Habs. Winnipeg achieved a league-high 34.6% on PP at the Canadian Life Center.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs (19-10-2) What a season John Tavares is having, as he scored a hat trick in Sunday’s win over the Sabres, bringing his tally to 15 goals. It will be interesting to see who offers him his next contract and what the terms are.

4. Vancouver Canucks (15-9-5) Thatcher Demko has suited up for two games since returning from injury and is still looking for his first win in Vancouver’s 5-1 victory over Boston on Saturday. It will take some time for the big goalkeeper to get back into shape after being out for such a long time, but his teammates can certainly do more to support him.

5. Calgary Flames (15-11-5) Calgary is in the beginning stages of eight of 10 home games between now and early 2025. The Flames need to accumulate these points to have any hope of staying in the wild-card race and a 3-0 sweep of the defending champions on Saturday. The championship Panthers are a good start.

6. Ottawa Senators (15-13-2) Drake Batherson has been an offensive force for the Sens this year. The 26-year-old is on pace to score 90 points this season after scoring in Saturday’s win over Pittsburgh.

7. Montreal Canadiens (11-16-3) Ryan Hutson finally scored his first NHL goal in Winnipeg on Saturday. Hutson averaged 22:48 per game; the only blueline players over the past decade to get more night ice time as rookies were Brock Faber (24:58), Owen Bowen Owen Power (23:48), Miro Heiskanen (23:07) and Moritz Seider (23:02).