As the Rangers prepare to face two of the top teams in the NHL this week — Vegas and Colorado — the conversation surrounding the team is a lot different than it was expected to be for a club coming off an Eastern Conference Final appearance last season.

The questions were supposed to be: Are the Rangers on the same level as the Avalanche, the reigning Stanley Cup champions? Can they assert their dominance over two elite teams and establish themselves as part of the upper-echelon of the NHL?

Now, though, it seems far-fetched to compare the Rangers to those organizations, both of whom rank higher than the Blueshirts in their respective divisions. Instead, the Rangers are facing questions about what is missing, or if significant personnel and management changes have to be made to turn things around. And more to the point: How did the team end up here?

The Rangers have fallen drastically short of the expectations that hovered over them to start this season, even after Monday’s come-from-behind 6-4 win over the Blues. Perhaps the most befuddling part of it all is the fact that the team is rolling primarily with the same players it started the 2021-22 campaign with, aside from the notable tradeoff of centers Ryan Strome for Vincent Trocheck and backup goalies Alexandar Georgiev for Jaroslav Halak.