NEW YORK \u2014 On a recent road trip to Tampa Bay, I walked by a pizza joint donning a sign that proudly proclaimed, \u201cWe use New York water!\u201d But while the water up north may make for better quality dough, something about it doesn\u2019t seem to agree with the New York Rangers.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s as if they get food poisoning every time they set foot in Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning was the Rangers\u2019 ninth defeat in 11 tries on home ice this season. They\u2019re 2-8-1 at MSG, with five points registering as a new franchise low through their first 11 home games, according to NHL Stats. But it\u2019s about more than just the mounting losses; it\u2019s the embarrassing manner in which they\u2019ve unfolded in front of the loyal Garden crowd, who continue to fill the building despite the disheartening performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were more willful than we were today,\u201d Rangers captain J.T. Miller said of the Lightning. \u201cAt no point in that game were we deserving of winning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rangers (13-12-2) were utterly lifeless out of the gate. They skated as if they were still digesting their Thanksgiving dinner, leaving key areas of the ice open and making poor decisions with the puck on the rare occasions they got to it. Tampa Bay set up shop in the offensive zone and got comfortable there for the entire afternoon, with New York offering little pushback. It led to a dominant first period, with the Lightning earning each of the game\u2019s first nine shots on goal and 17 of the first 18 attempts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got out-competed from the drop of the puck,\u201d coach Mike Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
Tampa finished with 35 shots while New York mustered only 13, marking its lowest total of the season. The Lightning also held a distinct 16-4 advantage in high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.<\/p>\n
Seven of those HD chances came in the opening 20 minutes, which could have easily resulted in a multi-goal lead if not for Igor Shesterkin. Sullivan opted to start his No. 1 goalie on back-to-back days for the first time this season, but it wasn\u2019t enough to inspire better play from his teammates. Shesterkin bailed them out multiple times in the opening 10 minutes, but the Rangers eventually got what they deserved when an off-target shot from Lightning forward Brandon Hagel redirected in off defenseman Carson Soucy\u2019s skate at the 10:53 mark.<\/p>\n
Brandon Hagel gets things started for the @TBLightning<\/a> on #NHLNShowcase<\/a> Saturday! pic.twitter.com\/SsuOwvmo1w<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL Media (@NHLMedia) November 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n That was the only goal of a lopsided first period, providing a sliver of hope that the Rangers could regroup and rally at intermission. But not much changed in the second, with Tampa generating another seven HD chances in the middle period. Hagel scored his second goal of the game after New York got caught sleeping at the 8:57 mark \u2014 first on an ill-advised dump-in from Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re that abruptly ended a three-on-two rush and handed possession right back to the Lightning, then on the ensuing counter in which no one wearing blue bothered to hustle back and defend.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think we had dump it,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cI thought we should have challenged off the rush there. We\u2019re trying to encourage Laf to challenge people, hang onto pucks, go wide, force that guy to have to defend you. \u2026 I felt like tonight there was a fair amount of times we just gave it back to them when we didn\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller cut the Rangers\u2019 deficit to 2-1 when an Adam Fox pass went in off his skate late in the second period, but it never felt like they had a comeback in them. Nick Paul made sure of it by redirecting a feed from Nikita Kucherov to make it 3-1 Lightning 2:02 into the third before Jake Guentzel sealed the win with an empty-netter.<\/p>\n It was the ultimate buzzkill following a three-game winning streak, which saw New York climb its way out of the Metro Division basement, only to stumble right back into it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s got to be a willingness and a want to be first to pucks, to embrace physicality,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cWe knew the type of game it was going to be. That team, they\u2019ve got hard skill, they compete and they skate. That was the kind of game that it was going to be.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we had the wherewithal to match their intensity. I just felt like we lost puck battles all over the rink, and it\u2019s hard to establish any sort of game that you want to play if you don\u2019t win puck battles.\u201d<\/p>\n Making matters worse is the uncertainty surrounding Fox, who exited in pain after Hagel crunched his left arm into the boards on a clean hit with 12:57 to play and did not return. Sullivan labeled it an upper-body injury and said the 27-year-old was still being evaluated, but an absence of any kind would be damning. There\u2019s an argument that no Ranger would be harder to replace. It\u2019s a two-man debate between Fox and Shesterkin, with the former representing their only point-producing defenseman \u2014 he\u2019s racked up 10 assists during his current six-game point streak \u2014 and team MVP up to this point<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a Norris (Trophy) defenseman,\u201d said center Mika Zibanejad in an obvious-but-telling response.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the play where Fox got hurt. Looks like that left arm took the brunt of it. He did not return. #NYR<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ZHu0ykVH9z<\/a><\/p>\n