The New York Rangers somehow managed to have a worse season than their 2024-25 campaign. Sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference by a wide margin, it felt like a foregone conclusion that they would be eliminated from playoff contention. On Wednesday night, it became official.
On the road, the Rangers lost 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, which officially knocked them out of playoff contention. The Rangers resembled a professional hockey team as compared to their no-show against the Ottawa Senators this past Monday. The Rangers had 43 shots on goal as compared to the Maple Leafs' 18.
After the game, team captain J.T. Miller talked about the tough feelings regarding missing out on the playoffs. But Miller did praise the Rangers' play on Wednesday night as compared to the Senators game, saying they outplayed the Maple Leafs, and that "you can sleep well when you're playing like that."
"Definitely the opposite of last game. Thought we outplayed them for pretty much the entire game, shot the puck a lot more, had a more direct mentality, skated more," said Miller, h/t The Athletic's Peter Baugh
J.T. Miller's positive review of Rangers' loss to Maple Leafs is too little, too late
Yes, the Rangers did play a lot better than they did against Ottawa. You can say that for virtually any other game they played last season, even the brutal losses. The Rangers did put the pressure on the Maple Leafs. Mika Zibanejad, the team's top scorer, notched two goals in the game. Not to mention, Alexis Lafreniere continued his strong play since the Artemi Panarin trade, scoring a goal to secure his first 50 point season since his career 2023-24 season.
But of course, this type of game comes as the Rangers are on the verge of being eliminated. The team has had a consistency issue throughout this season. They will look good for a stretch of games and then looking downright unwatchable this season.
After the Olympic break, the Rangers had an impressive stretch, where they won six of their first nine games back, including against playoff contenders like the Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild. Yet, after that win against Minnesota, the Rangers fell back into their old ways, and have looked abysmal during this six game losing streak. From the 10 shots on goal against the Senators, to getting outplayed by a fellow team set to miss the playoffs in the New Jersey Devils.
The Rangers were supposed to be better on paper entering this season. They had seemingly improved at coaching with Mike Sullivan taking over behind the bench. Not to mention, they were hoping that J.T. Miller could replicate the production that he had during his time with the Vancouver Canucks. Instead, Sullivan watched as the season fell off the rails from the get go, while Miller didn't even get close to his production in Vancouver due in part to his play and numerous injuries.
With the clock ticking on the regular season, this is an evaluation period for the Rangers. They will get to see who can be a factor on the team heading into next season, while determining who will be traded elsewhere.