NEW YORK – There are slumps, which come and go. Then there are developing patterns and reason for serious concern.
That’s where the Rangers were as they entered Sunday’s game against first-place Washington, a team with three games in hand, a six-point lead, a four-game winning streak and an 11-1-1 mark in its last 13.
The Rangers are nearing a crisis with three wins in their last 15 games, and a just-completed dumpster-fire of a two-game trip through Minnesota and Winnipeg.
The last time the Rangers had a run like this was the start of Alain Vigneault’s first season as coach, 2013-14, when the renovation of the Garden forced the team to play its entire preseason, then the first nine games of the regular season, on the road, starting 3-7.