from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

“We’re obviously not in a great spot right now,” a somber and realistic David Quinn said after the match in which the Blueshirts were nearly blown crosstown into the 30th Street Heliport during the first period in which they were outshot 21-4 before steadying. “We’re nowhere near where we need to be if we’re going to have a season.”

You might have heard. The Rangers are young. That’s not the problem. The fact that the Blueshirts are playing like peewees is the problem. Compounding the problem exponentially, the kids aren’t the only ones struggling. The veterans with the responsibility to pick them up, they require a pickup, too.

The Mika Zibanejad-Artemi Panarin power couple on the first line has had difficulty connecting over the last handful of games and have encountered an almost impossible time getting into open ice. Chris Kreider has still not scored a goal. Brady Skjei hasn’t been able to locate his game. Marc Staal has had a couple of pretty bad ones in succession.

“There’s a lack of confidence out of the gates,” Kreider said.

read on

added 8:51am, Colin Stephenson of Newsday on Kaapo Kakko,