How New York Rangers continue to look for their first home win of the season, JT Miller decided to take most of the blame.
“I need to get better, I need to lead these guys better,” the captain said without mincing words after New York's 3-0 loss to the division rival Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, dropping the Rangers' record at Madison Square Garden to 0-5-1. “At home, it’s just not acceptable to not get the job done at the end of the day, whether you’re playing well or not.”
For the record, Miller thought the Rangers played well for most of the game, but admitted that some bad habits showed up towards the end of another disappointing loss.
“We liked our play in the first two periods,” Miller explained after the game. “But the same thing, not because of our looks, then they outplayed us in the third period, we got the puck back and didn’t convert in that third period.”
New York fell to 6-6-2 on the season, with the loss to Carolina snapping a three-game winning streak that came after the Rangers had lost six of their last seven games.
New York's six consecutive losses at Madison Square Garden to start the 2025-26 season became the longest winless streak on home ice to open a campaign in franchise history. During this time, the Rangers scored just six goals and kept the game clean four times.
Recognizing this reality, Miller was quick to point the finger at himself and a group of leaders in New York.
“This is where we have to dig deep, carry the burden and raise our own expectations,” said Miller, who remains goalless at home this season. Just two of his eight points (three goals, five assists) in 14 games came with MSG, both of which came in the same overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks two weeks ago.
“It's not just, 'We like what we do and people look up to us.' It's not very cute anymore. 14 games have already passed and we are not taking our chances, and these are important moments in the game.
“We don't force teams to cheat the game, especially at home. If they have an advantage they will play the right way, but if we score early they will play differently and you will take advantage of that – like I said, it starts with me, I need to be better, I need to do something to help the team get a couple of extra percentages.”
The Rangers return to action on Friday to take on the Detroit Red Wings and host the New York Islanders on Saturday for the second night of a back-to-back, hoping to put their home troubles behind them.
