Rangers need 'more heart' to end skid, turn season around

NEWARK, N.J. -- It was a somber locker room, and the disappointment was palpable and evident on the faces of each New York Rangers player following a 5-0 loss to the rival New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Monday.

"We got to show more heart," forward Vincent Trocheck said. "Just from a man, individually, everybody's got to look at themselves in the mirror and dig a little deeper. On multiple goals (given up against New Jersey) we left our goalie out to dry, and we got to be better."

Trocheck, who is the center on the top line with Artemi Panarin and right wing Alexis Lafreniere, tried to provide some sort of spark at 3:55 into the game when he engaged in a fight with Devils forward Paul Cotter in front of the Rangers bench. Unfortunately for Trocheck, the tussle seemed to ignite the Devils, with Jack Hughes scoring the game's opening goal shortly after, at 4:29.

"You're never preplanning it, but in a hole like this, you're just trying to get the guys going a little bit," Trocheck said. "Guys just have to go out and do it. You can talk about it all you want but we got to stop looking around, waiting for somebody else. We got to dig deeper."

New York coach Peter Laviolette was asked if he felt the team lacked heart. The Rangers were outshot 29-12 and went 0-for-4 with three shots on goal on the power play.

"I mean, I don't like the way the game ended ... I don't like how we finished the game today," Laviolette said. "I agree with [Trocheck]. There's a purpose in which we play where the game has got to be better. We need more from everybody. I thought in the second period from a 5-on-5 standpoint, we held them in check but we didn't generate enough ourselves and that seems to be an issue right now … we're not generating enough offense. Defensively, the last couple games, it's tightened up from a 5-on-5 but we're not getting enough looks at what we need in order to be successful offensively."

The Rangers (16-17-1) enter the holiday break having lost 13 of 17 games, all in regulation, since starting the season 12-4-1. They've dropped out of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

Over those 17 games, they rank last in the NHL in goals per game (2.06), scoring two or fewer goals in 11 of them.

"[The disconnect] could be many things, but I feel, like I've said before, there's extra weight on us," Panarin said. "Everyone tries too hard, maybe not relaxed enough or something because I can promise, everyone on the team wants to win. Everyone works hard, but sometimes if you have no confidence, you're not in a right place probably mentally, you just feel like everything is harder than it is.

"We're just gripping the stick to tight right now. If we knew the reason for this, we wouldn't be where we are right now."

Panarin, who had one shot on goal and two giveaways in 19:06 of ice time on Monday, is hopeful that the upcoming break will offer a needed reset. The Rangers do not play again until Saturday at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Is this the worst I've felt since I've been here? I think so, yeah, but we got to use the next few days to get rest, reload, and then bring our best hockey," he said.

The Rangers traded their captain, defenseman Jacob Trouba, to the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 6 and 12 days later, traded forward Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken. On Monday against the Devils, Laviolette scratched veteran Chris Kreider in favor of Jonny Brodzinski, hoping to get positive response.

Kreider, who has 12 points (11 goals, one assist) in 30 games this season, but one goal in his past nine games, is New York's longest-tenured player (13 seasons).

"Anytime you talk to a player about not being in the lineup, it's never an easy conversation but at the end of the day, we're not playing the brand that we're we need to play in order to be successful and he's a guy that we count on to help deliver that," Laviolette said. "Those conversations aren't easy, but that's the decision that I made."

Last season, the Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the NHL (55-23-4) and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final, where they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in six games.

"We're not where we want to be, mentally, and we're not where we want to be, record wise," Laviolette said. "We're not where we want to be anywhere, so it's not what we're here for. We're here to win hockey games, and we're not doing that right now."