Top 10 New York Rangers games in 2023-24 NHL season

By March 12, the Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes had established themselves as the teams to beat in the Metropolitan Division. When they met for the third and final time on this Tuesday night in early March, the Rangers and Hurricanes played like the two best teams in the League, much less their division. New York came away with a brilliant 1-0 road win on an Adam Fox first-period goal and Igor Shesterkin’s 28-save shutout.

When the Rangers hosted the Dallas Stars on Feb. 20, it was a highly anticipated game since the teams were tied for first in the overall League standings. The Rangers won their eighth straight, a 3-1 victory that was part of a franchise-tying 10-game winning streak. Igor Shesterkin had a season-high 41 saves in one of his best performances in 2023-24.

When the Rangers traveled to Mullet Arena on March 30, little did they know it would be the last time they would play the Arizona Coyotes, who were sold at the end of the season and are moving to Utah for the 2024-25 campaign. In one of the craziest games of the season, the Blueshirts blew a 3-1 lead, almost coughed up a 6-3 lead, and hung on to win 8-5 thanks to Alexis Lafreniere’s first NHL hat trick and five-point game. It also was Jonathan Quick’s 392nd career win, moving him into 1st place among all United States-born goalies in NHL history.

Since their first meeting in November, the Boston Bruins had been ahead of the Rangers in the overall NHL standings heading into their final meeting in late March. After breaking his NHL career high in goals, Artemi Panarin collected his third hat trick of the season to surpass 40 goals for the first time in a 5-2 comeback victory at TD Garden.

The Battle of the Hudson is one of the most intense rivalries in the NHL, so there’s no better way to get engaged in these games than starting a line brawl between the Rangers and New Jersey Devils just seconds after the opening puck drop. All 10 skaters dropped their gloves and eight players earned game misconducts, including Rangers rookie Matt Rempe and Devils enforcer Kurtis MacDermid, who fought in the Main Event. The Rangers collected a season-high 78 penalty minutes in the game, winning 4-3, to sweep the season series against the New Jersey Devils 4-0-0. 

Everything changed for the Rangers after a dominant 7-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre in the final game before the NHL All-Star break. New York limped through January with a 4-7-2 record before this game, one in which the Rangers played without the suspended Jacob Trouba and injured Ryan Lindgren. After the win, with Zac Jones netting the game-winner, the Blueshirts would go on to win their next nine games to tie a franchise record with 10 consecutive victories.

Although the Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout on Jan. 6 at the Bell Centre, the Saturday night affair was one of the season’s most entertaining games. Whether it was the highlight-reel saves from Jonathan Quick and Sam Montembeault or the odd-man rushes in overtime, there was no sitting down in the second half of this game. 

When the Boston Bruins visited Madison Square Garden on Nov. 25, it was a battle of the Titans as the top two teams in the NHL met on a Saturday night. In a wild first period, with five goals, the Blueshirts built up a 3-2 lead they never relinquished en route to a 7-4 victory and a spot atop the NHL standings for the first time in the season. Chris Kreider had two goals and an assist in the big win after Thanksgiving.

The Rangers had much to accomplish in the regular-season finale against the Ottawa Senators. They needed two points to win the Metropolitan Division and the Presidents’ Trophy. Artemi Panarin scored his 49th goal, Chris Kreider scored his 39th, and Igor Shesterkin picked up his fourth shutout in the 4-0 victory. The Rangers finished the best regular season in franchise history with their 55th win and won the Presidents’ Trophy for the fourth time.

The 2024 Stadium Series contest between the Rangers and Islanders at MetLife Stadium in front of 79,000 fans was simply epic. After falling behind 4-1 in the second period, the Blueshirts rallied to score two power-play goals in the closing minutes of regulation to force overtime. Fittingly, Artemi Panarin scored 10 seconds into OT to keep the Rangers undefeated (5-0) in outdoor games with a wild 6-5 victory.