Rangers Fall to Flames 5-1 After Slow Start at Scotiabank Saddledome
CALGARY, Alberta — The New York Rangers got off to another sluggish start they couldn’t recover from Sunday night at Scotiabank Saddledome. After falling behind by two goals within the first 9:21 of the game, the Blueshirts managed to score just one goal of their own before the Calgary Flames put three more past goalie Igor Shesterkin, handing the Rangers a 5-1 defeat.
Not only did the Flames more than double the Rangers’ shot production through the opening 20 minutes (12-5), but New York also gave up the first goal within the two-minute mark for the second consecutive game.
“You just can’t be OK with coming out flat,” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said after the loss, which dropped New York to 3-5-2 on the season. “We’re in no position to come out flat. Be in the right mindset. We’re ready to go. We got outplayed again in the first period. It kind of set the tone. Thought we had a good second period. Couple mistakes hurt us. But other than that, we had a good second period, a good third. We’re obviously not getting a ton of bounces offensively, which is more of a reason.
“There’s no excuses to come up flat. It sucks. This is not fun right now. We need to correct the starts. I think it’s becoming like the trend now, so we need to fix this now on this trip. I mean, it’s a hard road trip, so we got to be ready to go to start the game.”
Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan agreed with Miller’s assessment, emphasizing the importance of defensive fundamentals. He noted that the team had chances to stop plays along the half wall but instead found themselves “fishing for pucks.”
“It’s an elemental aspect of playing defense, to make sure that you control people’s bodies and you play between the puck and the man,” Sullivan said. “You’re fishing for pucks, there’s a lot of talented people in this league, so I just think we’ve got to do a better job at that attention to detail right from the drop of the puck.”
Noah Laba Scores First Career Goal
Noah Laba registered his first career goal to cut the Flames’ lead in half during the first period, driving to the net and burying the puck past Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf.
“He brings an energy to him, and he can really skate,” Sullivan praised. “He’s got a speed element to his game. I think he creates anxiety. He draws the penalty, for example, because he’s chasing a defenseman down. That’s the speed element. He scores a nice goal. I thought he had one of his better games for us, just as far as using his skating and his speed to his advantage. I think that’s one of the strengths of his game. He brings that element to our team.”
Shesterkin stopped 25 of the 30 shots he faced in his sixth loss of the season.
Brennan Othmann Makes Season Debut
Brennan Othmann also made his season debut and appeared in his 26th career NHL game. Logging 12:31 of ice time in his first game with the Rangers this season, Othmann recorded one shot on goal and finished minus-one.
Wolf Pack Earn Big Win
After opening the season 1-4, the Hartford Wolf Pack picked up an important 6-3 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday. Gabe Perreault, Dylan Roobroeck, Bryce McConnell-Barker, and Blake Hillman each contributed with a goal and an assist.
Check out the latest NHL standings and Rangers stats for more updates.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/27/sports/j-t-miller-calls-out-rangers-inexcusable-flat-starts-it-sucks/