The New York Rangers started the 2024-25 season well, but that fell apart when they endured a prolonged slump in November and December, during which the franchise went 4-15. If you were not aware, that's bad. It's how you fall out of the playoff places at a rate of noughts, and that is the principal reason the Rangers are where they are. However, I wanted to undertake a fun theoretical exercise: what if the Rangers hadn't been that bad?
If we exclude that 19-game stretch from the season, the Rangers are a 31-17-7 team with a .627 points percentage. That would put the Rangers above the Devils in the standings. While this is primarily because of the good start to the season, the middling of the dog days post-trade deadline would be far more acceptable. That would have them seen a contending team in the Eastern Conference, but 19 bad games plummetted the Blueshirts.
Now, you cannot just exclude 25% of a season to alter the results, but it indicates that this Rangers team is far more potent than the standings suggest. Six bad weeks have sent the Rangers season into disarray. They know they stunk the division up for long enough that they now need to earn a wild card spot, but they are in with a chance. It's shocking because they were so dangerous early in the year.
Now, the Blueshirts know they need more out of their roster if they are going to finish in a playoff spot at the end of the year. They're currently outside the playoff places on points percentage, but with time remaining in the season, the Rangers can salvage the year and make it back to the postseason. They are a good team, and they can ensure the bad six weeks earlier in the year don't shape the team's future.