3 takeaways from the Rangers' loss to the Islanders at Madison Square Garden

Getting blown out by the  Islanders on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden left the Rangers 7-7-2 and still winless at home (0-6-1). And with another home game coming up Monday against the  Nashville Predators (5-8-4), they are desperately searching for answers.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s 5-0 loss:

1. Like the Starship Enterprise, they are going where no man has gone before

Usually, when a team is inept at home, it’s just a bad team  everywhere. The 1942-43 Rangers, whose 15-game winless streak to start the season is the NHL record for futility, were 0-5-1 in their first six games at home and 0-10 in their first 10 road games. They started 0-14-1 on their way to an overall record of 6-39-5.

The current Rangers are 7-1-1 on the road. Coach Mike Sullivan, who coached the Penguins for 10-plus seasons, has been an assistant coach and played 11 seasons in the NHL, has never seen anything like it.

“I haven't,’’ Sullivan said Saturday night. “This is a first for me.”

He added, “We’ve won a lot of games on the road, with the same game plan, with the same concept. So I know when we play the game a certain way, we're competitive.

“I think it starts with just having an inner belief, as an individual, and as a group. And then we've got to go out and we've got to put [the same] game on the ice like we do when we go on the road.’’

2. At this point, it’s clearly mental

Against the Islanders, the Rangers dominated the first half of the first period. Mika Zibanejad had two great early chances to score, including a shot that went off the crossbar. But once Bo Horvat scored the first goal for the Isles and Jonathan Drouin made it 2-0 with 33 seconds left in the first period, the Rangers didn’t have much fight after that.

“It’s human nature,’’ Zibanejad said. “As much as you talk about it, you try to stay the course,  but . . .  everyone's aware of our record at home and us not having a win yet . . .  And obviously I think we have a good start, but we don't get anything out of it. So as they score one, they get two. And then I feel like we were pressing. We're kind of getting away from our game. I think we're gripping onto our sticks a little bit too much.

“I probably can do a better job of not getting caught in that and feel sorry for myself, or dwell on the missed chances. But I don't know,’’ he said. “Honestly, it's not two games or three games. It is frustrating not getting results at home. And then when you're feeling good, you're feeling energized . . .  and the puck doesn't go in, it's frustrating.’’

3. Help is on the way

Vincent Trocheck, who has missed the last 13 games with an upper-body injury, is just about ready to return. If he doesn’t play Monday night against Nashville, he’ll surely play on the upcoming road trip to Tampa and Columbus this week. Will his return be the thing that turns it around?

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.