Jonathan Quick, the New York Rangers face mounting pressure as losses pile up

The New York Rangers are struggling to find consistency as they pass the midpoint of the NHL season, and confidence inside the locker room is running low, according to reports.

The Rangers have lost four straight games and seven of their last eight since returning from the break. 

Defenseman Braden Schneider described the team’s mindset saying, according to TSN: “We’re definitely a little bit of a fragile group right now." 

“The guys know we’re a good team. We believe that we have the ability to win games… We’ve just got to make sure that we’re not letting the small things that happen in a game get to us.”

New York sits last in the Eastern Conference by points percentage with a 20-21-6 record, despite the conference being tightly packed.

“It’s not fun to lose. We’re trying to look for answers, trying to find answers,” said center Mika Zibanjad.

Head coach Mike Sullivan, in his first season with the Rangers, says the solution must come from within the team.

“The answers are inside our locker room. We’ve got to bring an unwavering level of enthusiasm to what we do every day if we’re going to ultimately pull ourselves out of this.”

Injuries have made the situation harder, as starting goaltender Igor Shesterkin and top defenseman Adam Fox are out, forcing others, including veteran goalie Jonathan Quick, to take on larger roles. 

But Sullivan said injuries are not an excuse. “We haven’t won a lot lately. These guys are human beings, and they have emotions and feelings” eh said.