When do the NHL Playoffs Start?

The Rangers have been one of the better regular season teams for the last two years, and barring a sudden decline in play, they will make the NHL Playoffs once again in 2024. But this year, the Rangers have played so well they can enter the postseason with the best overall points total in the Eastern Conference.

And in their first two games following the All-Star Break, New York has been outstanding following what was mostly a rather rough January. Dating to January 27th, New York has outscored their opponents 12-4. So if the trend continues, they will end up running away with the Metropolitan Division and land the top seed. 

When do the 2024 playoffs begin?

The Rangers only need to keep playing their brand of hockey for another 31 games, and they will return to the postseason when it begins on April 20th. 

What must the Rangers do to earn a top seed in the NHL Playoffs?

Over the past three contests, the Rangers have rolled with Jonathan Quick at goaltender, and in the three games before that, Igor Shesterkin. Since then, the Rangers have been 4-1-1 and have allowed just 14 goals. While a goaltender controversy is the last thing the team needs, if it takes a timeshare to keep this team playing its best hockey, then at least until the playoffs commence, they need to keep it up. 

A recent history of the Rangers in the NHL Playoffs

After finishing the 2022-23 season with 107 points, the Rangers were supposed to make a deep playoff run. But the upstart New Jersey Devils had other ideas and ended New York’s Stanley Cup hopes in an exciting but disappointing seven-game series. But the season before, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals before they lost in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

They are still good enough in 2024 to make another deep run, so let’s see if they duplicate most of what we saw in 2022 but with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.