Rangers best, worst, and everything in between at NHL Olympic break
Perhaps no team in the NHL needed the three-week break for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics more than the New York Rangers. One of the most disappointing teams in the NHL, the Rangers couldn’t have scripted a much worse centennial season.
The Rangers (22-29-6) are last in the Eastern Conference and 30th overall in the League. Their goal differential is a horrifying minus-29, due in large part to being 27th in the League, averaging 2.61 goals-for per game.
Extended injury absences to Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller, and Matt Rempe haven’t helped, and exposed the lack of quality organizational depth. But no excuses. This Rangers team simply hasn’t been good enough through the first 57 games this season.
Like any season, though, there’s been a mix of good and bad. So, let’s get to it and break down the best, worst, and everything in between for the Rangers so far this season.
MVP: Igor Shesterkin
All you need to know is that the Rangers are 5-17-2 when Shesterkin (17-12-4, 2.45 goals-against average, .913 save percentage) doesn’t play or receive a decision this season, including 2-11-1 since he sustained a lower-body injury Jan. 5. So, remember that MVP stands for most valuable player. Igor is that, and then some. The 30-year-old goalie is their most irreplaceable player and the very definition of most valuable. And that was proven by how the Rangers cratered without him following his injury.
Best Player: Mika Zibanejad
Give Mika Zibanejad credit, he did a complete about-face following his extremely disappointing showing last season. The 32-year-old committed to playing a 200-foot game on a nightly basis, and was properly engaged from the first puck drop this season. He leads the Rangers with 23 goals, 11 power-play goals, two short-handed goals, 22 power-play points, and is second with 29 assists and 28 even-strength points. Mika will soon pass Artemi Panarin for the team lead in scoring, and remains one of the few bright spots for the Rangers this season.
Most Disappointing Player: Braden Schneider
There’s a lot of competition on this roster for most disappointing player. But Braden Schneider gets the nod here because he finally got his big opportunity to move up the lineup and prove he’s a top-four defenseman, after years sheltered in a third-pair role, and didn’t quite meet the moment. That’s not to say Schneider’s been terrible filling in on the top defense pair during a pair of extended injury absences by Fox. But there’s a reason his xGF is 43.68 percent, per Natural Stat Trick, and he’s been on ice for a minus-18 goal differential 5v5 (team-worst 48 goals against). The 24-year-old competes hard and cares deeply about this team, there’s no question. His 90 blocked shots leads the team, and he’s third with 123 hits. But his overall game simply may not be as good as we all hoped.
Best Game: 5-1 win over Panthers at Winter Classic (Jan. 2)
The Rangers throttled the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions outdoors in Miami, generating a feel-good vibe that maybe, just maybe, they could make a run at a playoff spot in the second half of the season. Zibanejad recorded the first hat trick in Winter Classic history and notched the first five-point game in any NHL outdoor game; Panarin scored twice; Alexis Lafreniere had a career-high three assists; and Shesterkin made 36 saves.
Worst Game: 10-2 loss to Boston Bruins (Jan. 10)
Seriously, where do we even start? The list is painfully long, with any number of their League-high nine shutout defeats worthy of some level of consideration. Not to mention all of the games where their weak effort mirrored poor execution. But let’s go with this humiliating beatdown in Boston, just eight days after that exhilarating Winter Classic victory. The Rangers actually started on time and took an early 1-0 lead in this one before the roof caved in and they allowed a season-worst 10 goals.
Best Stretch: Oct. 28 – Nov. 15
From October 28 through November 15, the Rangers won seven of nine games and improved to 10-7-2 overall. They appeared to be stabilizing after a wonky start to the season, and even finally won their first home game (6-3 over the Nashville Predators on Nov. 10) after seven straight losses at MSG. Their torrid success away from the Garden continued with six consecutive road wins, including a 7-3 thrashing of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 12 and an exciting 2-1 victory on Miller’s shootout winner three days later. With three of these seven wins coming in overtime, it appeared the Rangers regained their mojo.
Worst Stretch: Jan. 5 – Feb. 5
Everything came undone for the Rangers on the night of Jan. 5, and completely collapsed thereafter. In their next game after the Winter Classic, the Rangers not only lost (again) on home ice to the Utah Mammoth, blowing 1-0 and 2-1 leads on their way to a 3-2 defeat in overtime. But they lost Shesterkin and Fox, each to a lower-body injury. Neither’s played since, and the Rangers stumbled to the Olympic break losing 12 of 14 games. It was enough for general manager Chris Drury to publicly announce a retool of the roster, which included trading Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 3 and is far from complete.
Biggest surprise (positive): Matthew Robertson
So, who had Matthew Robertson averaging 17:15 TOI as a steady regular on the Rangers defense corps? Put your hands down, you’re not being truthful. The 24-year-old rookie, a late-bloomer for sure after four uneven seasons with Hartford of the American Hockey League, didn’t exactly wow anybody during training camp, and not surprisingly started the season on Broadway as the extra defenseman. But when he got his chance on the third pair, Robertson took off, playing a solid two-way game, full of poise and confidence, which grows by the day. He’s now on the second pair with veteran Will Borgen, has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 47 games, and scored one of the most memorable goals of the season, capping an inspiring rally with a solo rush and overtime winner against the Bruins on Jan. 26.
Biggest surprise (negative): Madison Square Garden struggles
You can go up and down the roster to find a long list of individual candidates to be the biggest negative surprise this season. But let’s go with an absolute collective fail here. The Rangers are 6-15-4 at MSG this season. Those six home wins are fewest in the Eastern Conference — less than half the total of the teams who have the next least amount (13). Only the last-overall Vancouver Canucks have as few losses at home (6-17-4). Great way for the Rangers to celebrate their centennial anniversary at The World’s Most Famous Arena.
Coach’s Pet: Noah Laba
Noah Laba could’ve been listed as the most pleasant surprise this season, though he ranked just below Robertson. But the rookie center, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, is an absolute keeper, and a clear favorite of coach Mike Sullivan. Laba forced his way on to the opening-night roster and won his coach over with a tremendous prospects camp and then full training camp. His non-stop motor, 200-foot game, speed, tenacity, and maturity make him a future leader on this team, and a core piece coming out of this retool. A perfect fit as the 3C, the 24-year-old has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists), averaging 13:18 TOI over 54 games.
Doghouse: Brennan Othmann
Where Laba’s quickly earned Sullivan’s trust, the opposite is true of Brennan Othmann. The 2021 first-round draft pick clearly is in the coach’s doghouse, and that started all the way back in training camp when Sullivan questioned Othmann’s commitment defensively. It was a telling sign that Othmann was an early cut in camp, and it appears his confidence is pretty much at an all-time low. The 23-year-old only plays in the bottom-six, often on the fourth line, and averages less than 10 minutes of ice time over his 16 NHL games this season. He did score his first NHL goal, but more telling is that he was a healthy scratch in the final game before the Olympic break.
Best offseason move: Signing Vladislav Gavrikov
That seven-year, $49 million contract the Rangers handed Vladislav Gavrikov in free agency last summer appears to be money well spent. The 30-year-old defenseman’s been everything the Rangers could hope for as a steady, top-pair blueliner. And his career-high nine goals is an added bonus for a team that doesn’t score a lot. When Fox is healthy, he and Gavrikov had the best underlying numbers and metrics of any defense pair in the League. And with Fox missing 27 games with two separate injuries this season, Gavrikov stepped up in all areas, and leads all Rangers by averaging 24:04 TOI.
Worst offseason move: Chris Drury contract extension
That the Rangers rushed to re-sign Drury to a contract extension AND publicly announced it shortly after the disastrous 2024-25 season ended was poor optics at best and foolhardy at worst. Keep in mind, the Rangers never publicly announce new contracts for their front office executives, except when they hire a new one. Clearly, owner James Dolan wanted the players and fans to know that Drury’s in charge no matter how terrible the results were the season before. And make no mistake, Drury’s fingerprints were all over that terrible season, mainly how the downturn directly started with his mishandling of veteran players and their exits from the organization. Of course, things only got worse for the Rangers this season and few — outside of Dolan — have faith in Drury to pull off this latest organizational retool moving forward.
