The NHL's 4 Nations Faceoff has officially concluded, and on Saturday, the NHL regular season resumes play. For the New York Rangers, it's crunch time.
New York has 27 games remaining. The Blueshirts resume play with a back-to-back, starting on Saturday afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres. Right after, they travel to Pittsburgh to play the PenguIns, who defeated the Rangers 3-2 on Feb. 7th.
With how many teams are competing for the Eastern Conference playoffs, every win and point is going to matter. There are plenty of storylines to watch for the Rangers down the stretch if they are going to make the postseason. Let's get into a few of them.
1. Does this Rangers' core have a run in them?
Going into this season, the NHL world knew that time was running out for this Rangers core to win a Stanley Cup. After being two wins away from the Stanley Cup in two of the past three seasons, New York has been close to the mountaintop.
This season, the Rangers' Stanley Cup dreams could have been put to bed in late December when they were last in the Metropolitan Division. But, after a good January New York is back in a position to compete for the playoffs.
No matter how far the Rangers go this season, it is going to be because of their core. Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren and others have all been on this team for numerous playoff runs but have failed to make the Finals. With this being the presumed last run of the New York core, key players need to perform.
2. Can Igor Shesterkin limit bad stretches?
It's been a whirlwind of a season for goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The day before the season started, it was reported that Shesterkin denied a contract extension that would have made him the highest-paid goalie in NHL history. He had a strong start to the season, and then when the Rangers went on a losing stretch he inked an eight-year, $11M AAV deal.
This season, while Shesterkin has been great for stretches and has stolen some wins for the Rangers, there have also been times when he's struggled. An example is before the break, where he was 1-4-0 and did not post a save percentage above .900 in his last five games.
If Shesterkin is what he's supposed to be -- one of the best goaltenders in hockey -- the Rangers can be a legitimate contender. If not, New York's flaws become much more apparent.
3. Will the Rangers be buyers or sellers?
The NHL trade deadline is on March 7, and the Rangers are in an interesting position. While they are on the outside looking in on the postseason, they already made one of the biggest trades, acquiring J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a future first rounder.
Depending on how the Rangers play over the next week, they have a few options. New York can spend some assets for rentals — possibly a left-handed defenseman or another bottom-six forward — or, if it is out of contention, trade some players on expiring contracts. Ryan Lindgren, Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey are a few that could be traded.
4. Can Alexis Lafreniere make a jump in play?
Alexis Lafreniere had a career season in 2023-24, tallying 57 points in the regular season, and in the postseason he was tied for New York's leading goalscorer. This led to him inking an seven-year, $7.45 million contract extension to keep him in New York long term.
While he was expected to make a leap this season, Lafreniere has not lived up to the bargain. He had only 32 points in 55 games and has been the center of criticism.
If the Rangers are going to go on a run, Lafreniere has to be a contributor every single night.
5. Every win, and every point, matters.
GAME DAY. pic.twitter.com/3cbkrpu2Iy
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 22, 2025
Plain and simple. Not many thought the Rangers would be fighting for their playoff lives at this point in the season, but here they are.
Inch by inch, game by game, New York just has to find a way into the postseason. Will it be easy? No. But that's what the situation is.
Let's see how it all unfolds.