Rangers Week Ahead: Look to extend road success out West again
With apologies to Willie Nelson, here’s a musical look at the upcoming week for the New York Rangers.
On the road again
I just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is playing hockey with my friends
I can’t wait to get on the road again.
The Rangers head West this week for the second time in less than a month. They hope to extend their NHL-best 9-1-1 road record during their swing through Las Vegas, Colorado and Utah after a 3-1-0 trip against the three Western Canada teams and the Seattle Kraken from Oct. 26-Nov. 1.
New York has won six in a row away from Madison Square Garden, the last two in dramatically different ways. The offense erupted on national TV in a 7-3 takedown of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday before J.T. Miller scored the game-winner for the Rangers in a 2-1 shootout victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
The Blueshirts sought a perfect 4-for-4 week on Sunday when they hosted the Detroit Red Wings, a team they defeated 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena nine days earlier. But they came up short as their struggles to score at home returned. The Red Wings outshot the Rangers 42-19 and got the go-ahead goal from Lucas Raymond with 3:47 remaining for a 2-1 win – ending their seven-game losing streak against New York.
Heading back onto the road after dropping to 1-7-1 at Madison Square Garden could be just what the Rangers need to wash away the taste of getting badly outplayed by a team they’re likely to battle for a playoff berth the rest of the season. Jonathan Quick did everything but stand on his head, but it wasn’t enough. For the second straight night, the Rangers did not score a 5-on-5 goal; Mika Zibanejad scored a second-period power-play goal, just as he did Saturday in Columbus.
They’re hoping coach Mike Sullivan will be back at some point during the trip. Sullivan missed the game Sunday for what the team called personal reasons; assistants David Quinn and Joe Sacco split the coaching duties.
“I don’t have an update right now,” Quinn said after the game. ”Obviously, from the coaches to the players to the organization, we certainly are thinking about Mike and his family. Never an easy situation when you’ve got to attend to your family.”
Who’s hot
Shesterkin had his best week of the season. He won all three of his starts, allowing a total of seven goals on 91 shots, a .923 save percentage.
Artemi Panarin also had his best week, scoring twice in the Rangers first home win, a 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators last Monday, then piling up six assists in the next three games – including four against the Lightning.
Who’s not
Taylor Raddysh, who had a hat trick against the San Jose Sharks among his five goals in October, is 0-for-November. He was scoreless and minus-1 in the Rangers’ four games last week and averaged less than 12 minutes of ice time, after he was dropped to the fourth line.
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
The season’s second Western swing — all against teams with winning records, at least by NHL standards.
Rangers at Vegas Golden Knights (Nov. 18, 10 p.m.; MSG)
Las Vegas is a fun place to spend some time for most of us. But that’s not necessarily true for the Rangers, whose 2-1 win at T-Mobile Arena last Jan. 11 was just their third in eight trips to Sin City. Overall, the Rangers are 6-6-2 against the Golden Knights, who are still trying to put the pieces together after bringing in high-priced forward Mitch Marner over the summer but losing captain and first-pair defenseman Alex Pietrangelo for the season (and perhaps his career) with a hip problem that required surgery.
The Rangers figure to have a huge edge in goal, with Shesterkin playing at an All-Star level. Vegas juggles between ex-Devils goalie Akira Schmid and rookie Carl Lindbom in hopes of staying afloat with the NHL return of former Flyers goaltender Carter Hart still two weeks away.
Panarin thrives against Vegas, recording 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 17 games.
Rangers at Colorado Avalanche (Nov. 20, 9 p.m. MSG)
The Avalanche entered the week with one regulation loss in 19 games this season (13-1-5), sitting atop the NHL standings. So, the Rangers must be at their best Thursday night.
Don’t be surprised if this one goes past regulation. Before Colorado’s 5-4 win at the Garden on Jan. 14, the Rangers and Avalanche played five straight games that needed more than 60 minutes to produce a winner.
Colorado is 6-0-3 in its past nine games overall against the Rangers (2-0-0 last season) and 5-0-2 (both losses via shootout) in their past seven home games against New York. The Blueshirts haven’t beaten the Avs in regulation at Ball Arena since a 6-2 win on Dec. 31, 2016.
Shesterkin is 3-1-2 against Colorado, but has an excellent 2.54 GAA and .922 save percentage.
The Rangers must shut down Colorado’s two best players, center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar – each is averaging 1.1 points per game against New York. MacKinnon has 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 20 games; Makar has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 10 games.
Rangers at Utah Mammoth (Nov. 22, 9 p.m. MSG)
The Rangers and Mammoth (known last season as the Utah Hockey Club) split their two games last season, with the Rangers winning 5-3 on Jan. 16 in their first visit to Delta Center. The former Arizona Coyotes (though the NHL doesn’t count their stats as part of the Mammoth’s history) lost their past four home games against the Rangers.
Utah enters the week 5-1-1 at home. Nick Schmaltz, coming off a career-high 63-point season in 2024-25, already has 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 18 games.
The Mammoth might use former Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek on Saturday – their No. 1 goalie, Karol Vejmelka, is 0-3-0 with a 6.00 GAA in three career starts against New York.
