Story byWendell Cruz-Imagn ImagesRemy MasteyThu, January 15, 2026 at 5:25 AM UTC·4 min readThe New York Rangers are a broken team. There’s no stat or underlying number that could possibly explain the Rangers’ heartless, demoralizing, and frankly humiliating 8-4 defeat to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGoing into this matchup, the Rangers had lost four consecutive games, including a 10-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon, as it appeared the team was beginning to crumble, with any semblance of confidence completely shattered.“I think we're definitely a little bit of a fragile group right now,” Braden Schneider said on Monday night. Fragile is an understatement, and it was displayed in their start on Wednesday night, giving up four goals in the first period.“I just think when you go through struggles we're going through, our confidence isn't all that high, and when things don't go the right way, especially early on in the game, it can affect the mindset of the group,” Mike Sullivan said. “That's been our challenge, is to try to find a way to keep some resilience, keep a competitive spirit, and enthusiasm, any adjective you want to use to try to give ourselves the best chance to put our best game on the ice.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere was a lack of urgency and attention to detail shown by the Rangers throughout the opening period, with careless turnovers and effortless defensive play that led to multiple goals from the Senators. New York’s dreadful start bled into the remainder of the contest. Two goals from Gabe Perreault and a “late push” to cut Ottawa's lead to 7-4 felt meaningless given how lifeless the Blueshirts looked on top of the concerning downward spiral they find themselves in. A Rangers team that once prided itself on its stingy play has lost its identity in every way imaginable. Since their astounding Winter Classic victory, which players touted as a turning point in their season, they’ve lost five consecutive games while being outscored 30-11. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Early on this season, we lost games, but I thought the effort was there,” Mika Zibanejad said.