No more excuses: Rangers' early-season struggles are becoming a real concern

The New York Rangers got their West Coast trip off to a terrible start. The trip began with a thud, as the Blueshirts dropped a 5-1 decision to open their four-game swing. The loss dropped the Rangers to a 3-5-2 mark, leaving them tied for last in the Metro Division. While it's still somewhat early in the season, precious time is running out. The clock is ticking on the Rangers to turn things around. That's the sentiment that captain J.T. Miller attempted to convey following Sunday's loss in Calgary. The NY Post captured Miller's comments, stating: "You can't be okay with coming out flat. We're in no position to come out flat. Be in the right mindset. We're ready to go. We got outplayed again in the first period. It kind of set the tone. Thought we had a good second period. Couple mistakes hurt us. But other than that, we had a good second period, a good third. We're obviously not getting a ton of bounces offensively, which is more of a reason." While luck and chance do play a role in sports, good teams hardly rely on good fortune. That situation means the Rangers must right the ship now, before it's too late. Miller added: "There's no excuses to come up flat. It sucks. This is not fun right now. We need to correct the starts. I think it's becoming like the trend now, so we need to fix this now on this trip. I mean, it's a hard road trip, so we got to be ready to go to start the game." The current West Coast trip remains a good opportunity to push the reset button. Being away from the bright lights of Broadway is a perfect opportunity to start over and get back on track. But with November right around the corner, time is running out on this season. If the Rangers remain stuck in neutral by Thanksgiving, the ax could fall. The unofficial Thanksgiving deadline is the signpost every team uses to gauge its chance to compete in any given season. Contenders begin to separate from the pretenders, with the latter motivated to punt on the season and sell off pieces. If the Rangers are not within striking distance of a playoff spot by then, moves could be incoming. Several names have been grinding on the rumor mill, with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière being the most notable. However, the changes could run much deeper. The Blueshirts have an aging core and could look to get younger. That might entail finding younger players to reset the roster as opposed to stocking up on more veteran pieces. Then again, the club could opt for a retool on the fly and focus on getting pieces that mesh better with Mike Sullivan's coaching philosophy. Whatever the ultimate direction becomes for the Rangers, the next four weeks or so will be truly interesting ones.