Rangers offense goes missing again in Game 7 loss

NEWARK, N.J. -- Chris Kreider heard the question. He needed time to gather his thoughts.

What is going through your mind, the New York Rangers forward was asked.

Kreider, sitting deep in his locker stall, his back nearly touching the wall, head slightly tilted down, waited an uncomfortable 15 seconds to answer.

"I'm beating myself up pretty good," he said so quietly that unless you were standing right in front of him you probably couldn't hear his words. "That's what's going through my mind."

This was no more than 15 minutes after the Rangers' season ended with a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Prudential Center.

RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]

Expectations were high and hopes higher for the Rangers before the season even began.

A run to the Eastern Conference Final last year set them up to believe bigger things would be coming this season. Adding forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline only raised the bar higher.

All in. Stanley Cup or bust.

Instead, out in the first round, meekly, with no goals and their top players taking on all the unsightly minuses in Game 7 after failing to get the job done in Games 3, 4 and 5.

Minus-4 for Kreider. Minus-3 for Mika Zibanejad and Tarasenko. Minus-2 for Adam Fox.

"We had an opportunity tonight in Game 7 and I personally feel responsible for some of the goals they scored," Kreider said. "Being a veteran guy, I'm supposed to be defensively responsible. Obviously, you don't want to be too conservative in a game like this but can't be on the ice for all four goals against and hurt us like that. Like I said, beating myself up pretty good about that."

He wasn't alone.

Fox was just as guilty, if not a bigger culprit, on the play that led to the Devils taking a 1-0 lead on Michael McLeod's short-handed goal at 9:53 of the second period.

Ondrej Palat outworked Fox and Kreider in the Rangers defensive zone, took the puck and set up McLeod for the goal that got the Devils off and running to the second round.

"Mistake by me there," Fox said. "I tried to reverse it, he got a stick on it, and then just a misread on that and they made a nice play. I'll take the blame on that."

The Devils second goal at 15:39 of the second was simply just too easy for them.

John Marino skated untouched through the right face-off circle to the net. He got slightly bumped by Kreider as his shot went wide. He picked up the puck and found Tomas Tatar wide open in the slot, Tarasenko out of position, Zibanejad too late in tracking back.

"Those two goals you give up, you can't give up those goals in a playoff series and win," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said.

You especially can't give them up when you can't score either.

This was the second time in three games Rangers could not get a puck past Devils goalie Akira Schmid. They were also blanked 4-0 in Game 5 at Prudential Center on Thursday.

They scored one goal in each of their previous two losses, Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden. Add it up and that's two goals in four losses.

Artemi Panarin did not have a goal in the series. He had two assists in Game 1 and then went six straight games without a point for the first time at any point in his NHL career, regular season or playoffs.

Zibanejad had one goal and three assists. Vincent Trocheck's only point was a goal in Game 4, a 3-1 loss. Kane had no points in the last three games. Alexis Lafreniere had no points in the series.

"Talent doesn't mean a thing," Gallant said. "It's great to have talent, but when you've got to play together and work hard together --- obviously the four games we lost we had two goals, so that's the bottom line. You're not going to win if you get two goals in four games that you lost. We scored five in the other games that we won. I love to have talent, but you love to have work ethic and more forecheck and stuff like that. We just didn't get it done."

Gallant was then asked about effort, if the Rangers were consistent enough with it.

"Not enough," he said. "We weren't horrible in the series. It went seven games to a good team over there. I mean, we've got to give them some credit. They're a good hockey team. They finished with 110 points give or take a couple. I'm not going to jump all over our guys. We could have been better, but we played a real good hockey team."

A similar tip of the cap to the Devils was heard throughout the solemn Rangers dressing room after the game.

"Give them credit," captain Jacob Trouba said. "It's not just this room failing, I think that team played well. They had an incredible regular season. They're a good hockey team. I give them a lot of credit as well."

Fox said, "They had the record they had for a reason. It's no fluke they won that many games."

The Rangers were also a good hockey team that was supposed to do great things. Instead, they couldn't score when it mattered most, and their best players let them down in the biggest game of the season.

"They were better than us," Zibanejad said.