Home-ice advantage has not existed at Madison Square Garden this season. 

If their six shutout losses, including this most recent 3-0 loss to the Canucks, doesn’t indicate just how dismally the Rangers have played at the World’s Most Famous Arena this season, the sounds of muffled conversations culminating into loud boos throughout the lower bowl Tuesday night sure did. 

With roughly 42 percent of the season gone, the Blueshirts have won a mere four games in front of their home crowd. 

Their futility at MSG has been jarring, as well as an insult to the fans who pay NYC prices to be there. 

Jonathan Quick looks back after giving up a goal to Liam Ohgren during the second period of the Rangers’ 3-0 loss to the Canucks at the Garden on Dec. 16, 2025. Robert Sabo for New York Post

“I’m not concerned, I’m just pissed off,” captain J.T. Miller said. “You feel like you work so hard and you make a lot of plays and a lot of nights, I feel like we’re out playing the other team. And we end up in here pissed because we didn’t score enough goals. It’s a fine line.” 

Perhaps it’s been magnified under the pinwheel ceiling in Manhattan. But, quite frankly, the same issues have more than periodically plagued the Rangers through all 35 of their games so far this season. 

Conor Sheary, who has played a majority of the season in the top six, has just one goal in 32 games. 

Fellow top-sixers Alexis Lafrenière and Vincent Trocheck have just one goal each in their last nine and 10 contests, respectively. 

Will Cuylle’s shot is stopped by Thatcher Demko during the first period of the Rangers’ home loss to the Canucks. Robert Sabo for New York Post

The scoring burden has fallen almost entirely on their marquee skaters in Miller, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. It’s made for a catastrophic imbalance that the team is having difficulty navigating, especially without their top producing defenseman in Adam Fox. 

On Tuesday night, for the third time this season, the Rangers were defeated by a team sitting in last place in the NHL. 

The loss also dropped the Rangers to 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-back slates. 

Talk of generating offensive opportunities is beginning to ring as hollow as the Rangers’ opposing nets. Their seven total shutout losses lead the NHL. And with 23 games remaining on home ice, that number is only going to grow if the Rangers don’t start defending that 100-year crest at center ice. 

“I wish I had a better answer for you, more than just try to become a little bit more desperate at home,” Zibanejad said. “I don’t know what else to say. I wish we just scored more goals.” 

Evander Kane scores a goal on Jonathan Quick during the first period of the Rangers’ home loss to the Canucks. Getty Images

The Rangers fell behind early on an unfortunate play that was only made possible by a collision with linesman Devin Berg. 

While attempting to defend Evander Kane, Matthew Robertson skated into Berg and was knocked off the puck, which opened a clear lane for the Canucks forward to score an easy goal just over a minute and a half into the game. 

Despite playing most of the back half of the first period on the power play, the Rangers couldn’t find the equalizer before the first intermission. Going 0-for-3 with the man advantage through the opening 20 minutes, the Rangers posted just four shots on goal on the power play despite ample zone time. 

The Rangers power play is now an egregious 2-for-22 (9.09%) since losing Fox. 

Facing a depleted Vancouver team, which traded their captain, Quinn Hughes, to Minnesota four days earlier, did not make a difference for the Rangers. 

Part of their return for Hughes, Liam Öhgren, scored his first goal as a Canuck to give his new team a 2-0 lead less than 3 ½ minutes into the middle frame.

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His shot off the rush hit Jonathan Quick’s right pad before trickling past the Rangers netminder and over the goal line. 

Pulling Quick on the power play for the two-man advantage, Conor Garland scored from the other end of the ice into an empty net to put the game out of reach. 

“We’re doing our best to control the process, because that’s really, at the end of the day, what’s within our control,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought we defended hard tonight. They had a few looks. Their first goal was a little unfortunate. After that, they had a few looks, but not a lot. I thought we defended hard, I thought we controlled territory. We had a significant amount of O-zone time. The power play had a lot of good looks. 

“So I feel like we’re trying to solve it, for sure. But is it a little concerning at this point? Yeah.”