The New York Rangers have just 11 games left to play in the 2024-25 NHL season and are fighting for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Even the Rangers play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen, who will retire at season’s end, is trying to will them into the playoffs.
the “theyre not listening to me” hes so tired 😭 pic.twitter.com/8xlzSu12zO
— chris kreider respecter (@jonmoxIeys) March 22, 2025
While the Ottawa Senators have pulled ahead with 79 points, the Montreal Canadiens occupy the second wild card spot with 75 points. The Rangers and Islanders are tied on points with 74. However, the Islanders are ahead of the Rangers because they have played fewer games.
The Rangers may be in the thick of the race for that second wild card spot right now, but will they be there when these 11 games are finished with? It’s a question worth asking because the Blueshirts have one of the toughest remaining schedules in the NHL.
A Hard Road Ahead
The Rangers’ remaining schedule begins with a trip out to the West Coast where they take on the third-place team in the Pacific Division, the Los Angeles Kings on March 25. Then they play against two weaker opponents in the Anaheim Ducks on March 28 and San Jose Sharks on March 29 before heading to Minnesota to play the Wild on April 2. The Wild currently sit in the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. After the game against Minnesota the schedule gets even harder.
It starts with a New Jersey Devils team on April 5, who recently lost alternate captain Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton for the remainder of the regular season due to injuries. However, the Devils are still a playoff team as they occupy third-place in the Metropolitan Division even though they have lost three of their last four games as of this article.
After a date with their archrivals, the Blueshirts return home to Madison Square Garden where they will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 7. The Lightning are a significantly better team than the Devils right now as they are 4 points ahead of the Devils and occupy fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Rangers only respite will be facing the Flyers and Islanders in back-to-back games on April 9 and 10. The Flyers are 15th in the Eastern Conference and the Islanders are ninth and both are currently below the cut line.
As far as non-playoff teams that is it as the Blueshirts then close out their season with a murderer’s row of playoff-bound teams from the Metropolitan and Atlantic divisions. They play the Hurricanes on April 12, the defending Stanley cup champion Panthers on April 14 and the Lightning on April 17.
Which Rangers Need to Step up?
There are a few Ranger forwards who have had sub par years by their standards. They are Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere and Chris Kreider. Zibanejad currently has 49 points and just one assist in his last five games. The 31-year-old from Stockholm, Sweden has been playing second line right wing on a line centered by J.T. Miller, who should be able to spark Zibanejad’s offensive game.
Lafreniere came alive in the Rangers most recent game against the Vancouver Canucks, providing two assists. The problem is, the native of St. Eustache, Quebec has scored just 5 points in his last 10 games. Also, Lafreniere’s got just 15 goals and 40 points this season after he scored 28 goals and 57 points last season. The 23-year-old has been playing first line right wing and these stats aren’t good enough for a first line player. Playing alongside the team’s leading scorer Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck should help spark Lafreniere’s offensive game down the stretch.
This season, Kreider has scored just 23 points in 57 games and is on pace to finish with the lowest point total of his career. In Kreider’s last 10 games, the Boxford Massachusetts native has just three points, all of them goals. Kreider has been demoted to third line left wing recently. Fans are used to seeing the Rangers alternate captain using his size, speed, and strength to drive the puck to the net and Laviolette’s team will need more of that Chris Kreider as the calendar turns to April.
There is one defenseman on Broadway who can raise his game to a higher level and that is Carson Soucy. Since joining the Rangers in early March, the Canadian has played in six games and has scored one goal and two assists. Soucy was a healthy scratch for three games before being slotted back into the lineup before the Rangers’ game on March 20 against the Maple Leafs. Soucy has played in 355 NHL games and never scored more than 21 points in a season. Soucy was not brought in to be an offensive defenseman, but to replace the hole left by Ryan Lindgren, on a pairing with Adam Fox. He ranks third on the Rangers in blocked shots (97) this season, but 92 of those came in Vancouver. Soucy needs to start playing like the shutdown defenseman that the Rangers thought they were getting when they traded a 3rd round pick for him.
How the Rangers Can make the Playoffs
Right now the Rangers are 10th in the Eastern Conference. For them to end up above the cut line when the season ends, I predict they need to win eight of the last 11 games, which would give them 90 points. This is a tall order considering their longest winning streak this season was four, which happened in October, but if top six forwards like Zibanejad and Lafreniere can step up their scoring, Chris Kreider becomes himself again and Carson Soucy starts playing a tough, physical brand of hockey, the Rangers can do it.
