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.

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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.”