Ownership and management had no stomach for this. The hierarchy was not going to allow this flawed core to fire another head coach less than two years after beseeching GM Chris Drury to dismiss Gerard Gallant in May 2023 — 11 months after going to the conference final.

But that’s what this splintered core has effectively done, even if Peter Laviolette remains behind the Rangers bench much like a broken general pleading with his troops not to desert the battlefield. It is only a matter of time, whether it is this week, next month or the moment the season ends.

This is like the old movie plot in which a man has been poisoned and knows he will die in 24 hours but takes the time left to track down his murderer. But in this case, it does not take nearly that long to identify the culprit.

It’s the core.