Fragile and hopeless is the best way to describe this New York Rangers group right now. Despite holding a two-goal lead on Monday night against the Seattle Kraken, the Rangers unraveled and were unable to recover, en route to a 4-2 loss.

Most of Drury’s moves last season were aimed at shedding veterans to shake up the Rangers’ core, but Miller was a very notable exception. He was coveted for his ferocious play style and fiery leadership, then promptly named the franchise’s 29th captain less than eight months after being acquired from Vancouver.

In Monday’s 4-2 loss to Seattle, he was ineffective again skating alongside Noah Laba and Brennan Othmann — although Othmann provided a brief early spark after being recalled from AHL Hartford.

RANGERS RUNDOWN The New York Rangers are back at The Garden on Monday to face the Seattle Kraken in their second and final matchup of the regular season (7:00 PM - TV: MSG/NHL Network - Radio: ESPN 880 AM).

Josh Doan scored, Colten Ellis made 30 saves in his first game in a month and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Rangers 5-2 to give them 12 victories in their past 13 games.

It’s hard to measure culture, but so far, the wins on the ice have been few and far between, with the Rangers far closer to the bottom of the Eastern Conference than the top.

The New York Rangers are bereft of impact players. We know it, and head coach Mike Sullivan will know it. The vaunted 2026 free-agent class is now a dud. There are no obvious top players the Rangers can anticipate will be available either at the trade deadline or in the offseason.

The New York Rangers and Boston Bruins meet Saturday in Boston, Massachusetts, with puck drop slated for 1 p.m. ET.

The Rangers (20-21-6) raced to a 2-0 lead less than six minutes into the game, and carried that advantage into the second period. But it was the Kraken who scored the next four goals, including Shane Wright’s go-ahead tally at 12:02 of the third period to hand the Rangers their seventh loss in the past eight games (1-5-2).