SUNRISE, Fla. — It’s hard to believe the Rangers were competing against the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final just six months ago.
There was barely any competition then — despite the facade of a 2-1 Rangers series lead — and even their most valiant effort in weeks still resulted in an empty-net abetted 5-3 loss for the Blueshirts on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
President and general manager Chris Drury ran it back anyway this past summer.
And now the Rangers are here, sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division, losers of four straight games and 15 of their past 19, with the follow-up campaign to a Presidents’ Trophy-winning season on the brink of devastation.
It wasn’t enough then, and it still isn’t enough now.
In the 182 days since they last competed in South Florida, the Rangers have gone from Eastern Conference finalists to 26th in the NHL.
Or the laughing stock of the league.
Under the circumstances, they are one in the same.
Even though the Rangers clawed back with two quick goals from Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren in the second period, they found themselves in a multi-goal hole in the first place after giving up two within 2:17 for the seventh time in their past 18 games.
Not to mention the fact that it was also the 11th time they’ve allowed their opponent to score twice in the span of 4:00.
The Panthers are still the blueprint for a hard team to play against. Despite getting outshot 13-9 in the middle frame, it took Florida all of 38 seconds to respond to the Rangers’ push and regain the lead.
A strong keep-in at the blue line from the Panthers led to some chaos around the Rangers net, before Jesper Boqvist cleaned up a loose puck and buried it into a wide-open net for the 3-2 lead.
The Rangers power play snapped an 0-for-22 skid over the past eight games on a goal from Chris Kreider in order to even the score at 3-3 just over five minutes into the final frame.
Boqvist notched his second of the game, though, on a gritty sequence around the net later in the period to secure the victory.
Failing to capitalize on a gift of a power play with 2:50 left in regulation, when Matthew Tkachuk took a seat in the box for delay of game, the Rangers were finished after Aleksander Barkov scored an empty-net goal.
The Panthers avoided a third-straight loss as a result, which also helped the home team leapfrog the Maple Leafs to take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.
There’s no question the Rangers’ efforts have been better.
Monday night was probably one of their best in the last month and a half.
The gauntlet of a schedule they’ve run into has been unforgiving.
Plus, the team’s repeated inability to measure up to the top-tier clubs they’ve faced is only further confirmation that the way they’re currently constructed is simply not going to cut it.
The Rangers remain easy to knock off the puck.
There’s zero resistance in the neutral zone.
First periods have been like “Groundhog Day” for the Rangers lately: Same story, different day.
Several Rangers whiffed trying to clear the puck before Mika Zibanejad’s attempt went right to the stick of Gustav Forsling, whose shot was tipped by Eetu Luostarinen for the 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the game.
Zibanejad’s minus-22 rating on the season is the third worst in the NHL.
A mere 2:15 later, the Rangers were hemmed in their zone before Dmitry Kulikov’s shot found twine through traffic.
Head coach Peter Laviolette challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal ultimately stood.
