The New York Rangers have now lost four games in a row, picking up just two points in the process, but somehow the Blueshirts still find themselves just one win outside of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
With just 17 games remaining in the season, New York is among seven teams currently embroiled in a fight to claw their way into the postseason. To say the Rangers have been streaky this season would be a massive understatement, and with such a small part of the campaign remaining, the Rangers will need a quality run of form if they want to appear in the first round.
The question of whether the Blueshirts can make the playoffs is one thing, but should they even want to?
Last season the Rangers won the President's Trophy for amassing the most points in the National Hockey League, but 2024-25 has seen the Blueshirts trade away almost one-third of their roster amidst a fall-off for the ages.
New York Rangers Trade Recap this season #NYR pic.twitter.com/sIisShucEa
— Talkin’ Rangers (@talkin_rangers) March 7, 2025
It's safe to say that thus far the Rangers' season has been predominantly a failure in every sense of the word.
The campaign could and would only seem to be a success if the Blueshirts not only qualified for the playoffs, but made a push to the second or third round. Many Rangers fans were hoping the squad would finally get over the hump and reach a Stanley Cup Final this season, but at the moment, the Stanley Cup might as well be the moon.
Rangers lose to Winnipeg. More good news for #Sens this evening.
— Murray Pam (@Pammerhockey) March 12, 2025
Updated Wild Card standings
OTT GP 64 PTS 73
CLB GP 64 PTS 70
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MTL GP 64 PTS 68 - if they beat VAN. MTL leads 2-0
NYR GP 65 PTS 68
BOS GP 66 PTS 68
DET GP 64 PTS 66@FullPressNHL
With the Blueshirts losing four of their last five games, and with the team having one of the hardest remaining schedules in the NHL, it's going to take something special for Rangers fans to be packed in Madison Sqaure Garden come late April.
What if?
All of this aside, what if the Rangers did pull it together enough to earn a wild card berth?
All hockey fans know that once the playoffs start, all bets are off. Every season sees at least one big upset, especially in the first round, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the Blueshirts could get hot and ride the play of goaltender Igor Shesterkin deep into the postseason. At the very least, Rangers fans would be given hope for the future if the current Rangers roster found a way to pull out of their current nosedive, and make the playoffs for the fourth straight year.