In a season that’s now almost halfway over, every game is becoming that much more important. This is especially the case for the New York Rangers, who find themselves one point out of the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
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The Rangers have definitely had their share of turbulence and high moments this season. However, the team is going to have to find a way to string together more wins consistently before it’s too late.
What Needs to Happen
Again, the Rangers are very much a postseason contender despite everything not trending in their favor. That’s proven by the 16-13-4 record, which, if you count the overtime losses, tells you that the team is playing less than .500 hockey. Simply put – that’s not good enough. There has to be more to give from a results standpoint.
So what needs to change? First off, the 4-8-3 home record is frustrating. That has to improve, and you have to wonder if Saturday’s impressive comeback win against the Montreal Canadiens in overtime will jumpstart that.
The other thing is taking advantage of the upcoming schedule. Over the next week, the Rangers will play five teams – three of which are below them in the standings: the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators. And three of the games are at home. Plus, one of them is against the first wild card Philadelphia Flyers.
If the Rangers can go on a run and win, say four out of their next five games, that could change the narrative about the current mediocre state of the team, as our Lucas Standel recently made the argument about.
It’s Not Impossible
The disappointing results at home are a part of it – but regardless, the Rangers are going to have to put together a winning streak at some point before the end of the season, one way or the other. And it’s certainly plausible, as the March trade deadline approaches.
In fact, even with how disastrous 2024-25 went, the Rangers found a way to start off 6-1-1. And in January 2024, the Rangers had a streak of 7-0-3. Meanwhile, the best showing for the team so far this season was going 5-1-1 from November into early December – leaving more to be desired.
The Upside Is There
What should encourage fans? At the very least, the coaching staff has them playing structurally sound hockey for the most part. The Rangers have allowed the seventh-fewest high-danger chances in the NHL this season and rank 14th in expected goals for percentage in all situations, according to Natural Stat Trick. Add that to the fact that the Rangers have the consensus best goaltender in the NHL, Igor Shesterkin, between the pipes and hope to get Adam Fox back at some point, who is nursing an upper-body injury.
This all tells you there’s upside for more wins, whether that’s the results changing at home and a Norris-caliber defenseman returning to the lineup.
Now, look, the Rangers aren’t without their flaws, and it would be foolish to overlook them even during the next big winning streak. At some point, they will need to add more talent, with scoring wingers the main focus. But before that happens, the team must prove they are worthy of investing in. The way to do that is, again, putting together a meaningful winning streak that puts them into a playoff spot. There’s time to do that with the trade deadline still about three months away. This week presents a big opportunity.
So far, the Rangers have been up and down in the first half of the season. When you think they have hit a low point by blowing a game they should have won against the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 7, followed by an embarrassing 3-0 shutout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the team finds a way to rebound. But the opposite was said after the high point of going 4-1-1 recently.
Bottom line is, the story remains incomplete on the 2025-26 Rangers. Will they miss the playoffs for the second straight season, or will their play elevate enough to become buyers ahead of the trade deadline to go to another level?
