The New York Rangers made some NHL history on Tuesday night. And not the good kind.
After three consecutive scoreless losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden, the Broadway Blue Shirts broke the league record for the longest time being shut out at home to start a season.
According to the Athletic’s Peter Baugh, the Rangers’ 180 minutes without a goal at home to start the year surpassed the previous record holder – the 2001-02 Florida Panthers (155 minutes and 17 seconds). Only the long-defunct Pittsburgh Pirates have a lengthier such streak (187 minutes and 19 seconds in 1928).
“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, honestly,” centerman Mika Zibanejad told reporters Tuesday. “I honestly don’t know. We’ve got to keep going.”
The Rangers kicked off the 2025-26 campaign with a 3-0 drubbing by the Penguins at MSG on October 7. Pens forward Justin Brazeau opened the scoring in the first period, then tacked on an empty netter in the third. Blake Lizotte added his own for good measure, sealing the deal.
Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs stopped all 25 shots he faced, saving 2.5 goals more than expected.
Five days later, following a 6-1 revengeful victory over the Penguins in Pittsburgh, the Rangers were edged out 1-0 by the Capitals. Anthony Beauvillier redirected an Alex Ovechkin shot from the left point in the second period to give the Capitals their insurmountable lead.
Charlie Lindgren was the star in Washington’s net, making 35 saves in his second career shutout of the Rangers. He stopped 3.34 goals more than expected in the win.
Finally, on Tuesday, the Oilers only needed a second-period tally from winger Trent Frederic to claim victory. Veteran centerman Adam Henrique added a late third-period empty-netter to secure New York’s miserable place in the history books.
Stuart Skinner made 30 saves in the contest and had an even better outing than Lindgren, stopping 3.89 goals more than expected.
The opposing goalies saved all 90 shots they faced collectively, and New York went a combined 0-for-7 on the man-advantage across the three contests.
Tuesday’s culmination also marked the first time since February of 1928 that New York has gone three straight home games overall without finding the back of the net, per 13WHAM’s Steven Pappas. However, it’s the first time in franchise history that the team has lost all three games. The first result in that 1928 streak was a 0-0 tie with the Ottawa Senators.
New York scored 10 total goals in its two road games so far this season, however. That’s four more than the Penguins, Capitals, and Oilers collectively scored against the Rangers at MSG, and the players are pointing to that stat as a reason not to hit the panic button just yet.
“First of all, let’s not make this bigger than it is,” captain J.T. Miller told reporters Tuesday. “It’s a unique situation, but let’s not blow this out of proportion here.”
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