Rangers can’t afford to let opening loss become something bigger

Putting forth a performance to be proud of in Game 1 of 82 may have been borderline essential, but it should not make or break this new Rangers season.

That will be up to the players and only the players in the Blueshirts locker room. It will depend on the attitude they decide to bring on a game-to-game basis, and the outlook they adopt as a team, which must be vastly different than the one that loomed over their heads like a dark cloud just five months ago.

The hard work on that front began Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, after the Rangers left the ice with a double empty-net abetted 3-0 loss to the Penguins in tow that didn’t particularly inspire any excitement for the 2025-26 season ahead.

“It’s one game,” Adam Fox said. “We obviously want a better start and know how every point does matter, but I think for us, we can’t let the lows be too low or the highs be too high. A lot of games coming up here, so just got to respond, be better, learn from this. Respond the next few games.”