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Rangers hold players-only meeting after 4-1 loss to Caps

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James OBrien

The New York Rangers held a players-only meeting after the Washington Capitals beat them 4-1 on Sunday, discussing a lack of desperation and urgency, ESPN’s Katie Strang reports.

Brad Richards told Strang that the team needs to start “getting uncomfortable.”

“It’s getting old,” Richards said.

The Rangers fell to Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 30 out of 31 shots to earn his first career NHL win. The Rangers are now on a two-game losing streak and have been middling since mid-November. They’re 6-7-1 in their last 14 games since Nov. 12.

Head coach Alain Vigneault didn’t seem too moved about the meeting after the game - saying that the Rangers’ compete level fits that of a .500 team - as New York Newsday’s Steve Zipay reports.

“You can talk all you want behind closed doors,” Vigneault said. “It’s the 200 by 85 that games are decided.”

For Ryan McDonagh, failing in front of fans at Madison Square Garden cut a little deeper.

“The crowd had nothing to stand for tonight,” McDonagh said. “And that’s something we’re ashamed of.”

The Rangers play their next seven games at home, so they have a lot to gain or lose in turning things around after that meeting.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins