Rangers Week Ahead: After ‘Letter 2.0,’ it’s ‘California, here we come’
The New York Rangers get away from the cold on the East Coast this week, heading to California for three games. The trip might also give them a chance to get away from the attention radiating from general manager Chris Drury’s message to fans last week that he intends to retool and make changes to a team that sits last in the Eastern Conference.
The fifth-year GM wrote Friday that while “no one in the organization is happy with what transpired” this season, “we must be honest and realistic about our situation.” He’s adamant that “this will not be a rebuild. This will be a retool around our core players and prospects.” Of course, he didn’t name any names but admitted it could involve “saying goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments throughout the years.”
“Letter 2.0” (very similar to one from then-team president Glen Sather and GM Jeff Gorton in February 2018) came after home losses to the Seattle Kraken and Ottawa Senators dropped them below .500 and into last place in the Eastern Conference. They begin the week nine points behind the Buffalo Sabres, who hold the second wild card in the East – and that’s after they shook off their GM’s message and defeated the Flyers 6-3 in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.
That win was fueled by Mika Zibanejad’s second hat trick this month and a two-goal, one-assist game from team scoring leader Artemi Panarin, whose name is out there as potential trade bait after Drury reportedly told the impending unrestricted free agent that the Rangers won’t offer him a new contract. The 34-year-old is the final season of the seven-year contract he signed on July 1, 2019; it includes a no-move clause, meaning that Panarin can decide if he wants to be traded and where he’d be willing to go.
The trip begins with a back-to-back set in SoCal – Monday against the Anaheim Ducks and Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings. They get a two-day break before finishing with a visit to the San Jose Sharks on Friday. After that, they play 19 of their next 27 games at Madison Square Garden.
Who’s Hot?
Zibanejad (eight games) and Panarin (nine) are riding lengthy point streaks. Zibanejad’s second hat trick of January in the win against the Flyers was his ninth with the Rangers, tying him for the franchise record with original Ranger Bill Cook. Panarin had five points in three games last week.
Who’s Not?
Jonathan Quick’s hot start to the season is a distant memory. The winningest U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history was pulled for the second time in three games after allowing six goals in less than two periods of the loss to Ottawa on Jan. 13. He’s dropped to 3-10-2 with a 3.13 goals-against average and .887 save percentage, and he hasn’t won a game since Nov. 7.
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
Three games in five nights in the Golden State.
Rangers at Anaheim Ducks (Jan. 19, 10 p.m.; MSG)
Call this another reunion of Rangers alumni. Ex-Blueshirts Jacob Trouba and Ryan Strome face their former team for the second time this season, and the Ducks hope Chris Kreider returns from an illness that forced him to miss the past two games. Kreider has 15 goals but just two since Dec. 1. Another former Rangers forward, Frank Vatrano, is out with a broken shoulder.
The Ducks whipped the Rangers 4-1 at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 15, though only Trouba (one assist) hit the score sheet. The win gave the then-surprising Ducks a 20-12-1 record, but they came crashing back to earth with one victory in their next 12 games (1-9-2). However, coach Joel Quenneville’s troops put the wheels back on the bus by winning their past three games, including a sweep of a weekend back-to-back set against the archrival Kings.
Cutter Gauthier scored twice in the win at the Garden and has three goals in as many career games against the Blueshirts. Team scoring leader Leo Carlsson has eight points in five games against New York but is out with a thigh injury.
Zibanejad is among a number of Rangers who’ve enjoyed success against the Ducks. New York’s hottest scorer has 12 goals and 26 points in 22 career games against Anaheim.
Rangers at Los Angeles Kings (Jan. 20, 10 p.m.; MSG)
Don’t be surprised if there’s not a lot of scoring in this one. The Rangers enter the week 27th in the NHL with an average of 2.65 goals per game; the Kings are 31st at 2.54. Defense is a different story; Los Angeles is fourth in average goals allowed (2.71 per game), though the Rangers dropped to 16th at 3.06.
It’s hard to imagine that Quick won’t get the start against the team he led to Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014 (when they defeated the Rangers in five games) if he wants it. He is 1-1-0 in three appearances (two starts) against L.A. with a 1.18 GAA and .952 save percentage.
The Kings swept the season series in 2024-25 and won three in a row against the Rangers, allowing one goal in each game.
J.T. Miller has the Rangers’ best offensive numbers against the Kings with eight goals and 27 points in 27 games. Kings forward Kevin Fiala has 10 goals in 16 career games against New York.
Rangers at San Jose Sharks (Jan. 23, 10 p.m.; MSG)
The Sharks were 0-4-2 before they got their first win of the season on Oct. 23, when they came to the Garden and topped the Rangers 6-5 in overtime. But New York won the previous three meetings between the teams and is 35-10-4 with three ties against the Sharks since they entered the NHL in 1991.
San Jose was last in the NHL standings in 2024-25, but they’re one of the most entertaining teams in the NHL this season. The Sharks hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference at 24-20-3.
Much of their success is due to second-year sensation Macklin Celebrini. The 19-year-old begins the week third in the NHL scoring race with 72 points (24 goals, 48 assists) in 47 games. Perhaps even more impressive is that he’s plus-14, up from minus-31 last season. Celebrini had a hat trick and two assists in the Sharks’ win at MSG in October.
Taylor Raddysh has great success against the Sharks. He had a hat trick in the OT loss, giving him six goals in 13 career games against them. Miller also has big numbers vs. San Jose – 34 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 27 games.
