The New York Rangers are looking to put last season behind them as the start of the 2025-26 season inches closer. They hope that this upcoming season will see them fighting to get back into the playoffs, and not fighting for the first overall pick. While getting back to the playoffs is the goal, there are 82 games to be played first in order to get there. In this piece, we are going to look at five must-watch regular-season games for the Rangers as we get closer to the start of the 2025-26 NHL season.
Oct. 7, 2025 & Oct. 11, 2025: Home Opener vs. Pittsburgh Penguins & Mike Sullivan’s Return to Pittsburgh
For the first time in three years, the Rangers will begin their season at home inside Madison Square Garden. This season’s first opponent is the same as last year, with the Pittsburgh Penguins coming into MSG. However, compared to last season, this season has much more intrigue given the changes both teams have made this offseason. The Penguins let go of their long-time head coach, Mike Sullivan, and he was almost immediately brought in to be the new coach of the Rangers. Similarly, Dan Muse, who was an assistant coach with New York last season, is now the new head coach of the Penguins. So, it will be two coaches who know the other team very well going against each other to start the season.
In the Rangers’ third game of the season, they head to Pittsburgh, and this will be Sullivan’s first time back in the city to go against his former team. It will definitely be an emotional time for him, and he is likely to get a big video tribute before the game begins. He won two Stanley Cups in back-to-back seasons, his first two seasons as head coach. He brought lots of success to the Penguins organization, and now, he hopes to bring the same to the Rangers.
Oct. 28, 2025: J.T. Miller’s Return to Vancouver vs. the Canucks
The Rangers will head to Western Canada to conclude the month of October, and one of those games will be in Vancouver against the Canucks. While it may just seem like any other game, this will be the first time J.T. Miller will return to Vancouver to face his former team since his trade back to the Rangers. While he has already faced them since then, that game happened at MSG. Miller spent parts of six seasons with the Canucks, scoring 152 goals and 437 points in 404 games played. He was an elite player for them, but locker room issues were the main reasons why he was sent back to New York. He played well after the trade, scoring 13 goals and 35 points in 32 games, and will look to be even better for the team going into this season.
Nov. 4, 2025: K’Andre Miller’s Return to MSG
In one of the biggest trades made in the offseason so far, the Rangers made a deal with their divisional rival, the Carolina Hurricanes, that saw K’Andre Miller be dealt to Carolina in exchange for Scott Morrow, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick. He was drafted 22nd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft and spent five seasons in New York. While he did show flashes of brilliance from time to time, he could never fully put his game together, and last season was a major step back from what he was playing like two seasons ago. With him being a restricted free agent, now seemed like the best time to move on from him, and many feel the Rangers got a great return for a player they knew they did not want anymore.
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While it is a shame Miller never turned into the player fans wanted him to become in New York, he was still part of two teams that went to the Eastern Conference Final, and he had some memorable moments himself. Whether it was going coast-to-coast to score a goal or tying the game in the final seconds, Miller made an impact during his five seasons with the team. It will take time to get used to him being in a Hurricanes uniform, but this will be a game to watch as he makes his return to MSG.
Dec. 15, 2025: Chris Kreider & Jacob Trouba Return to MSG
This is going to be one of the most interesting games to watch for any team going into this season. The Rangers and Anaheim Ducks have made two big trades over the past few months. The first one sent Jacob Trouba, the captain of the Rangers at the time, to the Ducks in exchange for Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round pick. The next trade happened earlier this offseason, when they dealt the longest-tenured player on the team, Chris Kreider, to Anaheim in exchange for Carry Terrance and a 2025 third-round pick. Kreider could be seen as a franchise icon, as he holds many of the goal-scoring records for the Rangers, both in the regular season and the playoffs. His being traded hurt the fan base, but the timing seemed right for both parties to move on. Now, both of them will be back to play their first games against the Rangers at MSG in what will surely be an emotional and exciting game.
Jan. 2, 2026: Winter Classic vs. the Florida Panthers
In the Rangers’ first game of 2026, they will be taking part in the Winter Classic once again, this time against the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. These two teams met in the 2024 Eastern Conference Final, where the Panthers won in six games. Both teams have gone in completely different directions since then, with the Rangers falling off hard and going through a retooling process, while the Panthers went on to win another Stanley Cup. Now, both of these teams will meet once again in Miami for the Winter Classic. While they aren’t the biggest rivals, it will be an entertaining game, and the atmosphere alone should be enough to get people to watch as the NHL enters 2026.
The Rangers have gone through a lot of changes over the last calendar year. Many familiar faces are gone, and new faces were brought in to help turn this team back into a contender. As the new season approaches, these are just some of the games fans should be tuned in for, as they look to be some of the most exciting and emotional games of the season.
