Rangers desperate to win Garden as Predators could be best chance

Millions of people dream of going to Madison Square Garden. Countless athletes and celebrities consider it a sacred place, constantly sharing that there is no better place to perform than the world’s most famous arena.

But we came to this:

“Whether we like it or not, we have a game Monday at home,” Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said after Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Islanders.

The Rangers have missed the playoffs five times since 2010. They finished in last place. But the Garden remained the best bet to gain two points, with the team having gone more than two decades since its last season with more regulation losses than home wins.

Their Centennial season began with the worst home start (0-6-1) in franchise history, as the Rangers became the first NHL team since 1928 to be shut out in five of their first seven home games.

On Sunday, the Rangers were the lowest scoring team in the league (2.19 goals per game), ranking last in power play percentage (12.2) and shooting percentage (7.6). But Monday’s game against the Predators (5-8-4) presents their best home opportunity yet, facing a team ranked 27th in goals allowed (3.47) and 25th in save percentage (.889).

Nashville has lost seven of its last eight games – including four in a row – and won its only away game on October 13.

If not now, when?

“We have to find a way to score,” Zibanejad said. “I don’t care what it looks like, what happens on Monday, we just have to win.

“I can probably do a better job without [dwelling] about missed opportunities, but I don’t know, honestly. It’s not two or three games. It’s frustrating not to get results at home. And then when you feel good, you feel full of energy – I feel good – and the puck doesn’t go in, it’s frustrating.

On the surface, the Rangers’ league-best success on the road (7-1-1) makes their home struggles harder to resolve, but it’s that stark difference that exacerbates the problem among players who admit they pressure, playing in front of a crowd that has repeatedly showered them with boos and is conditioned to expect ineptitude.

“We won a lot of games on the road with the same game plan and the same concept,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I know that when we play the game a certain way, we’re competitive and we’ve beaten some really good teams. I wish I could pinpoint the struggles we’ve had at home so far, but what I know is that we have to work on it together, and we certainly will. It starts with having an inner belief as an individual and as a group. Then we have to go out and put on a game on the ice at home like we do on the road. If we If we do it, we will score goals and we will have a chance to win.

It’s been almost seven months since Rangers last won at home. It’s been more than 130 minutes of play since their last goal.

An early goal against Nashville could give everyone in the building time to exhale. But the Rangers can’t allow an early deficit to trigger another spiral.

“We’re human. It’s tough. We all care. It’s not like it’s an effort-based thing,” Captain JT Miller said. “Most of the time we leave ready. We got off to a good start [against the Islanders]then I was a little careless in certain decisions and it cost us dearly. Then you press because that’s a lot of zeros at home for us.

“We have to be mentally strong and regroup. We have to be ready to go on Monday because it’s game time again.”

The Rangers recalled Gabe Perreault, their 2023 first-round pick, from Hartford. Perreault was held scoreless in five games with the Rangers last season, but the offensively gifted 20-year-old has five goals and five assists in nine games with the Wolf Pack this season. Jaroslav Chmelar, 22, was sent to Hartford after appearing in his first two NHL games.