Sports
The New York Rangers have fallen apart in just over a week. What’s next?
They’re not going to tell you things are off the rails. But you have eyes.
You can see how wrong it’s gone for the New York Rangers. Eight days ago they were hitting the ice in Calgary, a 12-4-1 team that had gotten some incredible goaltending and timely scoring to get out to a fast start on the season.
Eight days later and it’s not only gone wrong on the ice and in the standings but in the executive suite and in the locker room. Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Flyers was the Rangers’ fifth straight regulation loss, something they haven’t done since the end of the 2020-21 season — a stretch of defeats that included the Tom Wilson-Artemi Panarin incident, Madison Square Garden’s subsequent public criticism of the NHL and the firings of president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton.
That they haven’t had as bad a week in four years is a window into how good the Rangers have been since then. That the second bad week in four years has brought almost as much turmoil to this organization as the last one did is a window into how this team and its bosses seemingly get tossed into a full-blown panic when things start to snowball.
And this time there’s not the previous three seasons of rebuilding to blame for the pent-up frustration. The bad eight days in November still have left the current Rangers in a playoff spot, still with one of the best goalies in the league and a collection of pretty good talent all around.
The past eight days for the Rangers:
Thursday: Lose 3-2 in Calgary
Saturday: Blown out in Edmonton
Monday morning: Word leaks that Drury is open to trades and mentions Kreider, Trouba to league GMs
Monday: Lose 5-2 to STL
Wednesday: Lose 4-3 in Carolina
Friday: Lose 3-1 in PHI— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) November 29, 2024
So this chaos, these incredibly bad vibes, are all self-inflicted. And you can see what Chris Drury’s overreaction last weekend has wrought.
A first period on Friday so thoroughly lifeless and borderline embarrassing that only Igor Shesterkin stood between the Flyers and a 5-0 or 6-0 lead. Panarin getting into it with an entire five-man Flyers crew after a whistle with zero teammates coming in to back him up. An entire team, one that’s played decently in its own end before, seemingly allergic to the space between the hash marks in the Rangers end, where the Flyers produced about a dozen high-danger scoring chances in the first 40 minutes.
Then, finally, Shesterkin — you know, the guy the Rangers need to pay to be able to keep even a faint chance of being a Stanley Cup contender — skating off on his own, acknowledging no one, after yet another loss.
“That can’t happen to a team that’s sitting here, looking for ways to win hockey games,” Peter Laviolette said afterward.
As we outlined earlier on Friday, the reverberations of Drury’s leaguewide “come and get it” memo to the other 31 GMs on Sunday are still being felt. Chris Kreider, one of the two Rangers veterans mentioned by name in Drury’s note, is still out with the back spasms he so carefully noted in Raleigh a couple of days ago you’d have thought he had one of those anatomy charts next to him.
That may have been the longest-tenured Ranger’s way of telling the hockey world that he’s not feeling so hot and trading for him might not be in their best interest.
Jacob Trouba, the other named party in the note, hasn’t been hitting much lately. He hasn’t been talking much to the media, except when he has to answer for the GM trying to trade him for the second time in about four months. The idea of Trouba tossing his helmet and yelling at his own bench to wake (the f—) up, as he did around this time two seasons ago after a huge hit and fight, seems absurd at the moment.
You can call that indifferent behavior unprofessional. Unbecoming of an $8-million-a-year guy who wears the C. All true. But think about how we got here — Drury tried to put the cart before the horse in June, attempting to force Trouba into a move before the player was ready and before any other team, the Red Wings included, had even given much thought to acquiring him. That poisoned the situation.
Now it seems irreparable. No one is trading for Trouba with him playing like this, not now and maybe not this summer without a decent sweetener in the deal.
And there is a domino effect. Trouba was named captain despite not being a Ranger as long as some teammates because he did all the things you need to do as a leader. Fans may have wanted Kreider or Mika Zibanejad or Adam Fox, but it’s Trouba who has wrangled the team behind the scenes, has gone to coaching and management with player requests and has been an intermediary on sensitive issues between the front office and the locker room.
Kreider prefers to do his leadership work one-on-one with younger players. Zibanejad and Fox are lead-by-example types, very soft-spoken otherwise. It’s not a boisterous room filled with outsize personalities and Trouba was the guy they all looked to for leadership. Now, he’s adrift; it’s not that surprising the ship is listing too.
In such a crucial year, with Shesterkin due for big money, Alexis Lafrenière already cashing in (and not doing a whole lot since securing the bag) and K’Andre Miller mounting a very curious campaign to earn a big extension, the Rangers needed calm. They needed a steady hand.
They’ve got a snow globe getting worked over by a jackhammer at the moment. All in just eight days — off-ice turmoil, on-ice disinterest, you name it.
It’s some kind of world record for how fast this thing has fallen apart. The Rangers were within two games of a Stanley Cup Final back in June, a team that had flaws but enough skill in net and up front to feel like a contender for at least a little while.
The Barclay Goodrow saga, with Drury informing the alternate captain and well-liked teammate that he’d be on the 2 p.m. waiver wire at about 1:45, didn’t get the offseason going in the right direction. The Trouba thing hamstrung Drury’s attempts to remake the top four of his defense and also had the effect outlined above.
Now, at the first sign of real trouble this season, it’s a tire fire.
What will Saturday bring? The Canadiens, another young, fast team, come to the Garden. The Rangers have missed Filip Chytil, sure, as well as Kreider, but even at full strength this season they’ve looked painfully slow — either to react to teams counterattacking off turnovers or simply tracking back on a regular old rush. During this losing streak, they’ve stopped defending off O-zone possessions by opposing teams, leading to situations like Friday’s three-on-Shesterkin down low off a faceoff.
So what’s next? Do you strip Trouba of the C? Put him or someone else on waivers? All that does is further humiliate a core player, one of the reasons the Rangers are in this mess. Is Laviolette next? That would mark three coaching searches for Drury in four years. What about Drury? There’s no indication the president/GM is on the hot seat here, but remember what happened the last time the Rangers lost five in a row.
The Rangers do need something to change and they are getting older a lot faster than you would have thought watching them play deep into the postseason two of the last three playoffs. They’re playing poorly. They’ve gone from a comfortable spot near the top of the Metro Division to peering nervously below to all the mediocre teams bunched up close behind them.
But all that’s really changed for the Rangers is their own boss making them more and more miserable. Hard to see how that helps — or how it gets fixed soon.
(Photo: Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)
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In just his second season at the helm, Curt Cignetti led Indiana to its first national championship.
During the Hoosiers’ title run, Cignetti became known for his demanding coaching style. Indiana opened spring practice Thursday, and incoming transfer wide receiver Nick Marsh got a crash course in what it means to play for Cignetti.
Marsh, who transferred from Michigan State, arrived at practice in gold cleats. After noting Marsh’s productive two-year stint in East Lansing, Cignetti pivoted to the wideout’s footwear.
Nick Marsh (6) of the Michigan State Spartans runs the ball up the field during the first quarter of a game against the Maryland Terrapins at Ford Field Nov. 29, 2025, in Detroit. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
“I didn’t love those gold shoes he came out in today,” Cignetti said. “He learned what getting your a– ripped is all about. I don’t know if that happened to him very often at Michigan State. That was before practice started.”
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Marsh totaled 1,311 receiving yards and nine touchdowns at Michigan State. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover also headlines Indiana’s transfer additions.
An Indiana Hoosiers helmet during a game against the Ball State Cardinals at Lucas Oil Stadium Aug. 31, 2019, in Indianapolis. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Cignetti added that the coaching staff has “more work to do with this group than the first two teams,” noting the group is still learning more about players the team will likely rely on next season.
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti during the second quarter against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2026 College Football Playoff national championship at Hard Rock Stadium Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Indiana went 16-0 en route to a thrilling win over Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship in January.
Cignetti framed his callout of Marsh’s cleats as an early message about expectations.
“That was a wake-up call,” Cignetti said of the receiver’s pre-practice cleats. “But he’s really worked hard, done a great job for us.”
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Redondo Union didn’t care that Mira Costa’s volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in California. This was their South Bay rival coming to their gym Thursday night, and anything can happen when a team digs deep and doesn’t fear losing.
The Sea Hawks (14-2) were aggressive from the outset and came away with a 27-25, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13 victory.
“Chemistry,” setter Tommy Spalding said about the Sea Hawks’ triumph. He’s one of three players headed to MIT, and all three had big matches.
At one point on back-to-back plays, Carter Mirabal had a block and Vaughan Flaherty followed with a kill off an assist from Spalding. Chemistry.
JR Boice, a Long Beach State commit, was delivering kills, and Cash Essert’s serving and all-around play kept Mira Costa’s Mateo Fuerbringer looking frustrated. The Sea Hawks’ focus was on Fuerbringer, who came alive in the fifth set with six kills, but Redondo was able to come back from an 11-9 deficit.
It was only Mira Costa’s second loss in 25 matches. Redondo Union took over first place in the Bay League.
Baseball
Orange Lutheran 3, Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian 2: The Lancers advanced to the semifinals of the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C., behind a walk-off single in the eighth inning by Andrew Felizzari. Brady Murrietta had tied the score with a squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh. CJ Weinstein had two doubles for the Lancers.
Venice (Fla.) 12, Harvard-Westlake 0: The Wolverines were limited to three hits at the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C.
Casteel (Queen Creek, Ariz.) 3, St. John Bosco 2: The Braves suffered their first defeat in North Carolina. Jack Champlin threw five innings and also had two RBIs.
Chatsworth 6, Taft 3: Tony Del Rio Nava threw six innings and had two RBIs in the West Valley League win.
Granada Hills 4, El Camino Real 3: A two-run single by Nicholas Penaranda in the seventh inning keyed a three-run inning for the Highlanders in their West Valley League upset. JJ Saffie had three hits for ECR.
Cleveland 4, Birmingham 3: The Cavaliers pushed across a run in the top of the 10th inning to break a 3-3 tie in the West Valley League win. Joshua Pearlstein finished with three hits, including a home run.
Sun Valley Poly 4, San Fernando 2: Fabian Bravo gave up four hits in 6 2/3 innings for the Parrots, who are tied with Sylmar for first place in the Valley Mission League. Ray Pelayo struck out eight for San Fernando.
Verdugo Hills 15, Kennedy 1: Cutlor Fannon had two doubles and four RBIs in the five-inning win. Anthony Velasquez added two singles and four RBIs.
Westlake 9, Agoura 4: Jaxson Neckien hit a three-run home run to power the Warriors.
Thousand Oaks 7, Calabasas 5: Gavin Berigan, Jeff Adams and Cru Hopkins each had two hits for the Lancers.
Oaks Christian 11, Newbury Park 2: Dane Disney contributed three hits in the Marmonte League win. Carson Sheffer had two doubles and three RBIs.
Santa Monica 12, Simi Valley 4: Ryan Breslo and Johnny Recendez had two RBIs and a triple for Santa Monica. Ravi Chernack had three RBIs.
Dana Hills 7, Corona Santiago 0: Gavin Giese finished with eight strikeouts over six innings and gave up one hit for Dana Hills.
Softball
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 10, Sierra Canyon 0: Kelsey Luderer contributed three hits and two RBIs while freshman Ainsley Jenkins threw five scoreless innings.
Chaminade 15, Louisville 2: Norah Pettersen had two hits and four RBIs.
Carson 10, San Pedro 0: Atiana Rodriguez finished with three hits, including a double and triple, and three RBIs.
Huntington Beach 6, El Modena 2: Willow Kellen had three hits for the Oilers.
Murrieta Mesa 15, Chaparral 0: It’s a 16-0 start for the Rams. Tatum Wolff hit two home runs.
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The fiancée of Buffalo Sabres star Rasmus Dahlin received a roaring welcome home in her first appearance of the season Wednesday night, months after undergoing a lifesaving transplant after she suffered heart failure during a vacation in France.
Carolina Matovac, 25, was shown on the jumbotron during Wednesday’s game against the Boston Bruins. Fans cheered as she waved, and Dahlin, who was also shown on the screen in a split, cracked a smile at the crowd’s reaction.
Carolina Matovac and Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres pose on the red carpet at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Feb. 1, 2024. (Nicole Osborne/NHLI via Getty Images)
“Welcome home to Carolina Matovac, the fiancée of our captain Rasmus Dahlin,” the arena announcer said. “She is back with us, attending her first game of the season. The Sabrehood loves you, Carolina.”
In an open letter to fans in September, Dahlin shared that Matovac had been feeling ill for several days during their trip, which led to her experiencing “major heart failure.”
“Fortunately, she received CPR on multiple occasions, and up to a couple of hours at a time to keep her alive, which ultimately saved her life. Without her receiving lifesaving CPR, the result would have been unimaginable. It is hard to even think about the worst-case scenario,” he wrote at the time.
Rasmus Dahlin (of the Buffalo Sabres prepares for a faceoff during a game against the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 9, 2025. (Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
Matovac remained on life support for weeks before receiving the transplant in France.
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In January, Matovac revealed she was pregnant when her heart failed, adding that her unborn child was the reason she went to the hospital initially.
“You will always hold a special place in our hearts as our first baby, even though we never had the chance to meet. Our love for you is endless,” she wrote in a post on Instagram on what was supposed to be her due date.
“Though you didn’t get to experience this world, you played a vital role in ensuring that I could continue to be a part of it.”
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin follows the puck in the first period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on April 1, 2025. (Marc DesRosiers/Imagn Images)
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Despite taking some time to be with Matovac as she recovered in their native Sweden, Dahlin is second on the team with 65 points, and the Sabres are on the cusp of ending an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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