MacKinnon broke a 1-1 tie when he scored with 4:34 remaining in the third period. But with Igor Shesterkin on the bench for an extra attacker, Artemi Panarin forced overtime when he beat Mackenzie Blackwood through traffic from above the left circle with 40.9 seconds left.

However, MacKinnon dangled his way past defenseman Will Borgen during the 3-on-3 overtime and beat Shesterkin with a high backhander for the win, leaving the Rangers disappointed but not heartbroken after another solid effort.

“I thought we played a good game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We played hard and competed all night against one of the best teams in the League.”

It was a disappointing ending for the Rangers, who went toe-to-toe with the team that leads the League with 46 points all afternoon. Shesterkin made 39 saves to keep the Rangers in position to earn a point, and Conor Sheary scored his first goal with the Rangers.

The Rangers (15-12-3) lost for the first time in three games. But they’re 5-1-1 in their past seven entering the second half of a back-to-back against the Vegas Golden Knights at The Garden on Sunday.

ARTEMI PANARIN.

TIE GAME WITH UNDER A MINUTE LEFT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/6N8xnFLxwe

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) December 6, 2025

The Rangers had the better of the play for most of the scoreless first period, holding the League’s highest-scoring team without a shot on goal for more than 10 minutes in one stretch. New York got the only power play of the period when Cale Makar went off for interference at 7:26 and beat Blackwood twice in a 17-second span – but Panarin drilled the left post on a one-timer from the left circle and Will Cuylle did the same from close in.

Shesterkin made his best save of the period and drew chants of “Igor” from the Garden crowd with 1:34 left by denying Martin Necas after he got behind the defense and came in alone.

The Avalanche stepped things up in the second period and took a 1-0 lead at 7:06. Sam Malinski took a shot from the right point that Parker Kelly, while on his knees, deflected just enough to beat Shesterkin, who never saw the puck through a maze of bodies.

But after Colorado dominated the first 12 minutes of the period, the Rangers found their game again. They pressed the play and controlled the tempo but still couldn’t beat Blackwood, who made his best stop in the final minute on a snap shot through traffic by Panarin from the high slot.

Sheary got the Rangers even at 4:23 of the third period with his first NHL goal since April 11, 2024, with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 33-year-old forward took a pass from Vincent Trocheck near the red line, raced into the Colorado zone and saw that Necas was the only Colorado player back. Sheary drove into the left circle and shot against the grain, beating Blackwood past the catching glove.

SHEARY ON THE BREAKAWAY pic.twitter.com/Qmz9WZlHuz

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 6, 2025

MacKinnon batted an airborne rebound into the net to put Colorado ahead, then got the game-winner after Panarin forced overtime – giving him four goals (and two game-winners) in two games against the Rangers this season.

“It was a hell of a hockey game I think for both teams,” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said. “There’s a lot of things we can look for and build on going into tomorrow.”

Key takeaways after Rangers lose 3-2 to Avalanche in OT

Shesterkin steals a point

No. 31 had to settle for being the game’s No. 2 star after being No. 1 on Thursday in the 4-2 win at the Ottawa Senators. But make no mistake – he was the Rangers best player, as he’s been for most of the season.

Shesterkin did his best work in the third period, when the Rangers were outshot 19-8 and allowed seven of the nine high-danger chances at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick. MacKinnon’s go-ahead goal in the third period came when he swatted a rebound out of the air and into the net; the puck was barely below the crossbar, and Shesterkin had no chance. The game-winner was a great shot by MacKinnon after he slipped through the defense.

Without another Grade A effort from Shesterkin, who made his season-high seventh straight start, the game would never have gotten to overtime and the Rangers wouldn’t gained an important point in the standings.

“He looks so comfortable out there right now,” Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said on MSG Network’s postgame show. “He’s patient and on his feet all the time.”

Sheary scores at last

The Rangers signed Sheary to a PTO during the summer, and he earned a roster spot with a solid training camp. But he produced just six assists in 26 games and was scratched for three in a row before injuries gave him an entry back into the lineup this week.

Sullivan, who coached Sheary with the Pittsburgh Penguins, moved him into a top-six role for most of the win Thursday and kept him there Saturday as the left wing on a line with Trocheck and Miller. It paid off in the third period.

“I feel like I’ve been getting a lot of good chances, and throughout this year it’s a relief to get one,” Sheary said. “Hopefully I can build off that.”

Right back to work

The Rangers are playing back-to-back games for the second straight week and the fourth time this season. Shesterkin played both ends last week, when they won 6-2 against the Boston Bruins on Friday before no-showing (except for their goaltender) in a 4-1 home loss to the Lightning on Saturday.

But with Jonathan Quick activated off IR before the game Saturday and Shesterkin having played seven straight games, expect the winningest U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history to be in the crease against Vegas on Sunday.

Quick hasn’t played since Nov. 22, when he sustained a lower-body injury during a 3-2 road loss to the Utah Mammoth. He finished the game after Michael Carcone slid into him late in the third period but hasn’t played since.

The 39-year-old, who was on the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup-winning team in 2023, is 3-3-0 this season. But he has the lowest goals-against average (1.69) and is tied for the best save percentage (.944) of any NHL goalie who’s played at least six games.

Isles GM Lou Lamoriello threw in the towel on his team’s slim playoff hopes late Thursday, trading the much sought-after center and minor-league forward William Dufour to the Colorado Avalanche for 20-year-old forward Calum Ritchie, a first-round selection in the 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft, a conditional third-round pick in the 2028 draft, and defenseman Oliver Kylington. The Islanders quickly wheeled Kylington to the Anaheim Ducks for future considerations.

New York reportedly retained 50 percent of Nelson’s cap hit. The 33-year-old is in the final season of a five-year contract that has an average annual value of $6 million and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Reports say he turned down a three-year contract with an AAV of more than $7.5 million, spurring the move.

The Islanders (28-26-7) began Friday four points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. But unlike last season, when a late-season surge carried them into the playoffs because so many teams in the East were dreadful, this time there are four clubs, including the Rangers, between the Islanders and that last playoff berth. The Islanders, who begin a three-game California trip against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, are also without their most dynamic forward, Mathew Barzal, who hasn’t played since Feb. 1 and recently had surgery on his left kneecap.

The Rangers (31-26-5) and Ottawa Senators (31-25-5) are tied in points for the second wild card with 67 entering their showdown at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday afternoon; however, the Senators have a game in hand.

The Islanders’ first-round pick (No. 30) of the 2010 draft, has been the subject of trade rumors for weeks before Lamoriello pulled the trigger. However, the Hall of Fame GM opted to keep two other players widely regarded as trade possibilities — impending UFA forward Kyle Palmieri and center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who is signed through 2025-26.

Nelson is fourth in Islanders history with 901 games played and fifth with 295 goals. He has 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) this season despite a 17-game goal drought after three straight seasons of 34+ goals and should fit in well with Colorado’s highly skilled top-six forward group — likely as the No. 2 center behind NHL scoring leader Nathan MacKinnon. He can also play wing, as he did for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off last month.

“On most of the trade boards I watched, he was the top guy available,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Friday. “Centers are hard to find, and he’s a real good one.”

Brock Nelson joins two former Rangers looking to help Avalanche win Stanley Cup

Nelson was the First Star on Tuesday, when the Islanders defeated the League-leading Winnipeg Jets 3-2 at UBS Arena. The 12-year veteran got teary-eyed in a post-game interview when asked what playing on Long Island meant to him. As it turned out, that was his last game in blue and orange.

An emotional first star Brock Nelson discusses his @nyislanders big win over the league leading Jets and what it’s meant to wear an Islander jersey his entire career. #Isles | @Shannon_Hogan pic.twitter.com/hr3DyFhYgE

— Isles on MSGSN (@IslesMSGN) March 5, 2025

“I’ve had conversations with Lou [Lamoriello] and I’ve been honest,” Nelson said after that game. “I really, truly, have been worried about here and playing and doing everything we can to win.”

Nelson is a reliable player at both ends of the ice, a trait that Bednar is delighted to add to his team, which owns the first wild card in the Western Conference and is even in points with the Minnesota Wild for third place in the Central Division after a 7-3 win against San Jose at Ball Arena on Thursday. He’s expected to make his debut with the Avs (37-24-2) when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

“He’s always been a trusted 200-foot player,” Bednar said. “If you look at his history, he’s scoring 30+ goals most years, too. To get a player of that caliber is hard to do — and yeah, I think it’s an amazing add for our team.”

Just this past Saturday, the Avalanche made a trade with the Rangers to acquire two other veterans on expiring contracts, pending UFA defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey. Lindgren drew praise from Bednar after his Avalanche debut on Tuesday.

Lindgren is averaging just under 21 minutes TOI in two games with Colorado. Vesey made his Avalanche debut in the win against the Sharks on Thursday and was minus-1 playing a bit more than 13 minutes.

Though first-round picks are nice to have, especially for a team that looks like it’s starting a rebuild, the key to the deal for the Islanders may be Ritchie, a big (6-foot-2, 190 pounds), skilled, smart center who’s on course for his second straight 80-point season in the Ontario Hockey League. He scored one goal – against the Islanders on Oct. 14 – in seven games at the start of the season before being returned to Oshawa of the OHL, where he has a team-leading 67 points (14 goals, 53 assists) and is plus-33 in 41 games.

He is known for his hockey IQ, playmaking ability, on-ice vision, and footwork — and he’s still filling out physically.

Ritchie, an alternate captain for Canada at the 2025 World Junior Championship, was Colorado’s first-round pick (No. 27) in the 2023 draft and was regarded as the top Avalanche prospect. He could eventually end up paired with Cole Eiserman, the Isles’ top pick in the 2024 draft, who has 19 goals in 32 games as a freshman for Boston University and helped Team USA win the World Juniors.

For now, Ritchie is likely to stay with Oshawa, which has already clinched an OHL playoff berth. But expect him to contend for a spot on the Islanders at training camp this fall.

“He was solid. Tonight, as far as puck play goes and defending hard in the zone, I thought he was our best D tonight,” Bednar said postgame. “It’s not flashy, he’s not gonna wow you, but he’s effective getting things done.”

Lindgren played his first game with the Avalanche in a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even though he was wearing a sweater other than the Blueshirt for the first time in 388 NHL games, it was familiar territory for Lindgren to play against the Penguins, a Metropolitan Division rival of the Rangers.

But instead of playing with Adam Fox on defense, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad up front and Igor Shesterkin in net, Lindgren’s new team featured its own stars, led by defenseman Cale Makar and forward Nathan MacKinnon.

Lindgren logged 20:33 TOI, including 1:52 on the penalty kill. He had one hit and one blocked shot. But his underlying numbers weren’t great.

Per Natural Stat Trick, the Avalanche were outshot 14-7 with Lindgren on the ice 5v5 and out-chanced 7-2, though he was not on for either a goal for or against. His xGF was not pretty, 24.14 percent.

COL #GoAvsGo Game Score Report Card vs PIT – 2025-03-04

Best Players: Artturi Lehkonen / Cale Makar
Worst Players: Miles Wood / Ryan Lindgren pic.twitter.com/fx4FsCXwLH

— HockeyIceStorm (@HockeyIceStorm) March 5, 2025

Still, Bednar was pleased with what he saw from Lindgren, and the defenseman appeared satisfied with his debut, as well.

“Personally, I thought I had a pretty good game,” Lindgren said. “I’m still learning obviously, learning the systems … but, yeah, being here at Ball Arena, it’s a lot of fun, it’s a great crowd here, great energy. It was a lot of fun tonight.”

"Being here at Ball Arena, it's a lot of fun."

Ryan Lindgren pic.twitter.com/xfbDPAWwOC

— DNVR Avalanche (@DNVR_Avalanche) March 5, 2025

Makar, Devon Toews and Samuel Girard each logged more ice time than Lindgren among Avalanche defenseman. Bednar said after Lindgren was acquired that he could see the former Rangers defender playing a similar role as he did in New York, helping lighten the load on Colorado’s top defensemen.

“That’s a big add … getting another really strong penalty killer, the physicality around the net front and down low in your own zone to be able to help close plays out,” Bednar said about Lindgren. “He can play a lot, and I think that will lighten the load and allow us to be able to, especially on the penalty kill, save some ice time off of 7 and 8 (Toews and Makar) so their energy can be used in some other situations.”

Related: Rangers trade grades after acquiring Calvin de Haan, Juuso Parssinen from Avalanche

Ryan Lindgren says good to ‘move on’ with Avalanche after trade from Rangers

The Rangers traded Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey to the Avalanche on Saturday for defenseman Calvin de Haan, center Juuso Parssinen and a second- and fourth-round pick in this year’s draft.

Lindgren and Vesey were respected veterans in New York, but each is a pending unrestricted free agent, and neither was going to be re-signed this offseason by the Rangers. The draft picks received from Colorado were crucial to making the deal from New York’s point of view, to help rebuild draft capital.

Parssinen is a wild card in the trade, a 24-year-old with good size (6-foot-3, 212 pounds) and flashes of skill. He centered the third line in consecutive Rangers wins against the Nashville Predators and New York Islanders, though clearly was finding his way on the ice where he had minimal impact.

De Haan had an assist in his Rangers debut Sunday against the Predators and has played well on a defense pair with Zac Jones. The 33-year-old is a pending UFA and not expected to return next season.

As for Vesey, his Avalanche tenure began the way most of his final season with the Rangers was spent — in the press box as a healthy scratch. Still, Bednar is happy to add the 31-year-old to Colorado’s roster.

“Jimmy’s a little bit of a Swiss Army knife,” Bednar explained. “Over his career, he’s been moving around a little. Another top penalty killer as a forward – you can’t have enough of those.”

The Avalanche (36-24-2) are the first wild card in the Western Conference, three years after winning the Stanley Cup. They’ve retooled a bit this season, trading pending UFA forward Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in a massive in-season deal that saw forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury land in Colorado. The Avalanche also swapped goalies, acquiring MacKenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks for former Rangers netminder Alexandar Georgiev earlier in the season.

“Obviously a lot of emotions go on, but to find out you’re coming to Colorado and what a great team they have here and just meeting all the guys, I’m just really excited to be here,” Lindgren shared.

The heart-and-soul warrior also added this about leaving behind what was a messy final season with the Rangers.

“New York definitely was up and down. There was a lot of stuff going on, so it’s nice to just come here and move on. It’s a new chapter here. Gotta get up for the playoffs, so I’m really excited.”

“Change is always tough,” coach Peter Laviolette said after the morning skate, “but that being said, the focus shifts to the game and getting the two new players we received up to speed.”

Each will be in the lineup Sunday night when the Nashville Predators (21-31-7) come to Madison Square Garden – a game the Rangers desperately need to win. De Haan skated with Zac Jones on the third defense pair at the morning skate; Parssinen centered the third line, playing between Brennan Othmann and Jonny Brodzinski.

Laviolette, whose team entered Sunday four points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, had words of praise for both newcomers.

“De Haan has been around so long, as a player and quality person, quality player,” he said of the 33-year-old, who was selected with the 12th pick in the 2009 draft. “He’s got around 700 games in the NHL. So we add a good piece to the back end.”

The veteran defenseman actually has 148 points (24 goals, 124 assists) in 676 regular-season games, including seven points, all assists, with the Avalanche. He signed with Colorado as a free agent last summer, and the Rangers will be his seventh NHL team.

At this stage of his career, de Haan has no illusions about his role with his new team.

“I’m just trying to play good, solid defense, move pucks up to the forwards and go from there,” de Haan said. “If everyone’s on my hockey DB (page) right now, my stats aren’t too sexy. But my underlying numbers – the fancy stuff – has been pretty good for most of the season. Sometimes it doesn’t maybe match the ice, just by my style of play, but I just try to play reliable hockey.”

Jones and de Haan each shoot left-handed, and Laviolette said determining who plays where is a work in progress.

“They’ve both played a little bit of right (side), so we’ll get to that,” he said. “There will be conversations about that.”

Related: Rangers trade grades from 4-player deal with Avalanche

Calvin de Haan, Juuso Parssinen set to make Rangers debut after trade

Parssinen is the only player in the trade on either side who could have significant upside. At 24, he’s already defied the odds by playing 126 NHL games after being selected by Nashville in the seventh round (No. 210) in the 2019 draft. Colorado acquired him from Nashville in December; he had six points (two goals, four assists) in 22 games with Colorado while averaging just 9:47 of ice time.

“Parssinen is a good young centerman,” Laviolette said. “I know he’s been playing a little bit of wing, but in conversations with him, he’s a centerman. He wants to play center. I was thinking back to his Nashville days, he was playing with some pretty good players. It’s a great opportunity to come in and show what he can do.

“He’s young, he’s big (6-foot-3, 212 pounds), he’s strong – that’s a good pickup for us.”

Parssinen said he’s looking forward to getting more opportunities in New York.

“A little bit shocked, but then when you heard it’s the Rangers, it’s a pretty legendary organization,” he said. “It feels pretty special today to put on the jersey.”

Laviolette admitted that the departure of Lindgren and Vesey left some holes in the locker room as the Rangers try to battle their way into a playoff berth.

“Those players who moved yesterday have been here for a bit, and they’re connected inside the room,” he said. “There’s a business side of things in hockey as well. We had some new players out on the ice today, and that’s a positive. We can’t thank Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy (Vesey) enough for what they’ve done for the organization, long before I got here and since I’ve been here. Two really good human beings and two really good hockey players who played hard for the New York Rangers.”

Change isn’t easy on a team that’s largely stayed together for the past few years and has had more success than most, winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the regular-season champion in 2023-24 and getting within two wins of the Stanley Cup Final in 2022 and 2024.

It’s the fourth major trade by the Rangers in less than three months — and with veteran forward Reilly Smith, who can be an unrestricted free agent this summer, being scratched against the Predators in favor of rookie Brett Berard, there could be more moves before the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.

“I don’t think anyone enjoys it,” forward Mika Zibanejad said of this season’s turnover, especially Lindgren and Vesey. “I don’t know if it’s even fun for the GMs to trade guys like that, either. We’ve been fortunate the last couple years to kind of stick with the team that we’ve had for some years now. But we’ve had some changes this year, and it’s the tough part of the business when you lose guys like that.”

The Rangers reportedly will retain half of Lindgren’s contract, which carries an average annual value of $4.5 million. He and Vesey can become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Colorado owns multiple selections in both rounds, so the picks the Rangers receive will be whichever is the highest in the draft order in that round.

The trade came less than 24 hours after a disappointing 3-2 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs that kept the Rangers four points behind the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets, who own the two wild cards in the Eastern Conference entering play Saturday..

It’s the fourth significant deal this season by the Rangers, who previously traded away their captain, defenseman Jacob Trouba, as well as forwards Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil while bringing in defensemen Urho Vaakanainen and Will Borgen as well as center J.T. Miller.

The newcomers could make their Rangers debut on Sunday when the Nashville Predators visit Madison Square Garden.

Related: The trade Neil Smith regrets most from Rangers tenure

Rangers add veteran defenseman, promising forward, deal away 2 pending UFAs

De Haan, taken by the New York Islanders with the 12th pick in the 2009 draft, signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Avalanche as a free agent on July 1, 2024, and has seven points, all assists, in 44 games. The 33-year-old has 148 points (24 goals, 124 assists) in 676 NHL games during 13 seasons with the Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Avalanche. He has been credited with at least 100 hits and 100 blocked shots six times.

He can become a UFA on July 1.

Parssinen, 24, was acquired by Colorado from Nashville on Dec. 28, 2024. He has 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) in 126 NHL games, including 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 44 games this season. The 2019 seventh-round pick had his best NHL season in 2022-23, finishing with career highs in games (45), assists (19), points (25) and game-winning goals (3). His NHL career high in goals is eight, set last season.

The native of Hameenlinna, Finland, skated in his 100th NHL game on Nov. 17. He can become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1.

Lindgren, the longtime partner of Adam Fox on the Rangers top defense pair, has a career-high 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 54 games this season, averaging 19:56 TOI per game. He was slowed by a broken jaw sustained during training camp and only recently started to play the kind of physical hockey the Rangers were accustomed to.

He has 99 points (12 goals, 87 assists) in 387 regular-season games, all with the Rangers, and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 43 Stanley Cup Playoff games, helping the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024.

Vesey missed the first 10 games of the season and has struggled to find playing time since his return. The 32-year-old has six points (four goals, two assists) in 33 games this season while averaging a career-low 10:40 of ice time. Vesey has 192 points (100 goals, 92 assists) in 616 NHL games and scored his 100th career goal in the Rangers’ 5-3 road win against the Pittsburgh Penguins last Sunday.

Kampf is playing his senior season at Cornell University and has seven points (two goals, five assists) in 28 games. The 22-year-old, selected in the seventh round (No. 208) in the 2021 draft has 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) in 126 games for the Big Red.

The Rangers twice overcame two-goal deficits against the Avs, only to have Artturi Lehkonen capitalize on a takeaway by Cale Makar to score the winning goal with 14.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The regulation loss ended New York’s 10-game point streak (7-0-3) and left the Rangers at 24-21-4, three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s tough to take a moral victory in a game like that where you don’t get any points,” coach Peter Laviolette said after his team’s four-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden ended. The five goals scored by Colorado were two more than the total allowed by the Rangers in the four wins.

What made the loss even tougher was that most of the other teams the Rangers are competing against in the playoff race won over the weekend. The Rangers also enter the week three points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and one behind the Montreal Canadiens. They are one ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, two in front of the Philadelphia Flyers and three ahead of the New York Islanders.

The hardest thing for the Rangers during the next few days is that they’ll be doing a lot of scoreboard watching while everyone else battling for a playoff spot is busy playing.

Their only weekday game is Tuesday, when the Metro Division rival Carolina Hurricanes come to the Garden. After that, there’s a three-day break before they visit the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon and host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.

Who’s hot

Matt Rempe scored his first goal of the season in a 5-0 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday and a primary assist on Sam Carrick’s goal Sunday. He was also plus-1 in each of New York’s three games last week.

THE REMPIRE STRIKES BACK!!!

The @NYRangers had a goal disallowed in the first period after Matt Rempe was caught offside, but big #⃣7⃣3⃣ made up for it and picked up his first of the season! #NYR | #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/a1cTOQ48GZ

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) January 22, 2025

Rempe is earning more trust from the coaching staff; he averaged more than nine minutes of ice time in those three games after averaging 6:28 in 11 games before last week.

Adam Fox had his streak of three straight two-point games snapped Sunday, but he’s plus-6 in his past four games. Fox reached the 40-point mark for the sixth straight season with a goal and an assist in the 6-1 win against the Flyers; the only defenseman in Rangers history with a longer streak is James Patrick (7).

Who’s not

Chris Kreider continues to struggle offensively. He’s been dropped to the third line, was scoreless in three games and had just three shots on goal last week. Kreider was on the ice for Colorado’s winning goal Sunday, dropping him to minus-6 this season.

Related: No moral victories for Rangers when ‘points are at a premium’

Rangers lookahead this week includes …

A lot of watching and waiting after facing the Hurricanes on Tuesday before the weekend back-to-back.

Carolina Hurricanes at Rangers (Jan. 28, 7 p.m. ET; MSG)

The Rangers will be looking for their first win in three tries against the remodeled Hurricanes, who pulled off a blockbuster trade on Friday by acquiring one of the NHL’s top scorers, Mikko Rantanen, from the Avalanche and adding 2018 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks. The ’Canes, who are chasing the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metro Division, will have had two days off to get the newcomers acclimated after neither made much of an impression in a 3-2 overtime loss Saturday night on Long Island.

It will be interesting to see how the Rangers fare against the Hurricanes now that they’re out of the 4-15-0 slump that ended 2024. Carolina accounted for two of those losses, 4-3 at Raleigh on Thanksgiving Eve and 3-1 at the Garden three days before Christmas. But these Rangers look nothing like the team that was outplayed by Carolina during their slump.

Carolina has won three of its past four games against the Rangers, including each of its past two visits to MSG. Rantanen has eight goals and 12 points in 14 career games against the Rangers, including an assist in Colorado’s 3-2 overtime win on Jan. 14.

Shesterkin is 5-6-0 against the Hurricanes in the regular season —  but carried the Rangers to second-round playoff series victories over Carolina in 2022 and 2024.

Rangers at Boston Bruins (Feb. 1, 3:30 p.m.; ABC)

The Rangers make their only visit of the season to TD Garden for a nationally televised game to begin their weekend back-to-back set.

Shesterkin has struggled against the Bruins during his career. He is 4-7-0, though his 2.78 GAA and .909 save percentage hint at a lack of support. With games on consecutive days, don’t be surprised if coach Peter Laviolette uses backup Jonathan Quick, who made 32 saves in a 2-1 win against the Bruins at the Garden on Jan. 2.

Mika Zibanejad’s goal in that game was the 17th of his career against Boston, more than he’s scored against any team except the Flyers and Washington Capitals (19). The Rangers have won four in a row against the Bruins after losing four straight to their Original Six rival.

Boston’s David Pastrnak is a point-a-game player against the Rangers with 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 35 games.

Vegas Golden Knights at Rangers (Feb. 2, 6 p.m. MSG)

New York goes for a sweep of its two-game series against the Golden Knights after winning 2-1 at T-Mobile Arena on Jan. 11. However, Vegas has won eight of the 13 games between the teams and is 4-2-0 at MSG. The Rangers do have the only shutout by either team, a 5-0 win at Vegas on Dec. 8, 2019.

It’s the first of a four-game trip through the Metropolitan area and Boston for the Golden Knights, whose slump since the loss to the Rangers has left them scrambling to hold off the Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division.

Zibanejad has feasted on Vegas since the Golden Knights entered the NHL in 2017. He has nine goals and 16 points in 13 games against them, including an assist in the win in Vegas. Golden Knights captain Mark Stone scored the only goal in that game and has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 24 games against New York.

One of three teams who recently denied the Rangers an extra point by defeating them in overtime is next up when the Colorado Avalanche visit Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.

The Rangers (24-20-4) will take the ice after two days off following their impressive 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, when six different players scored and 12 players registered at least a point. Their second-most lopsided win gave the Rangers 52 points, and they are three points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (24-19-7) for the second wild-card spot in the East.

Fil with a beautiful deflection in front. pic.twitter.com/k0XD5CtRPd

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 24, 2025

New York is 7-0-3 in its first 10-game point streak since winning 10 in a row nearly a year ago. The Rangers also are 8-1-3 since their ugly 4-15-0 slide knocked them below the playoff line and their 43 goals are the most in the NHL since Jan. 2.

One of the teams to deny the Rangers a win in the past 10 games is the Avalanche, who rallied for a 3-2 overtime win on Jan. 14 during New York’s successful three-game road trip. Artturi Lehkonen scored the tying goal with 1:13 left In regulation and Devon Toews scored the game-winner 4:23 into overtime.

The Avalanche are 4-5-2 in their past 11 games since winning six straight. In the first game since trading Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas and Jack Drury, Colorado lost 3-1 to the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon.

Scott Wedgewood was in goal Saturday, meaning the Rangers are likely to see Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 27 saves in the first meeting between the teams and is 9-4-2 with a 2.04 goals-against average since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks for ex-Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev.

Related: Rangers sign Will Borgen to 5-year, $20.5 million contract

3 things to watch for when Rangers host Avalanche

1. Get to the net

Establishing a presence in front of the opposing net is an emphasis of every team, but it does not always work out. On Thursday, getting close to the opposing net worked out extremely well, when the Rangers scored three goals on tips or deflections and got two other goals due to someone establishing a presence by the net.

Braden Schneider scored on a shot that was deflected by a Philadelphia defenseman and Adam Edstrom scored on a tip-in in the opening period. Filip Chytil also scored on a deflection in the three-goal third period.

K’Andre Miller scored on a shot that was aided by Vincent Trocheck parking himself at the crease and Reilly Smith scored by crashing the net and flipping a loose puck over the goal line.

During their 12-game hot streak, nine of the 43 non-shootout goals are on tip-ins or deflections. In the 19-game slide, the Rangers netted five of their 41 goals on those plays.

2. Turn defense to offense

Getting points from all six defenseman is rare but it happened for the first time since Dec. 8, 2019 for the Rangers on Thursday.

Overall, the defense corps combined for three goals and five assists. Schneider, Miller and Adam Fox scored. Fox and Miller also had assists; Will Borgen, Urho Vaakanainen and Ryan Lindgren had one assist apiece.

It was the first time the Rangers saw three different defenseman get goals since Fox, Miller and Schneider scored in a 6-4 road win over the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 5, 2022.

Fox’s multi-point night gave him two goals and 10 assists in the past 10 games. Miller scored for the first time in 16 games since Dec. 8, when he also produced his previous multi-point game. Schneider scored for the first in 42 games since Oct. 22 and recorded a point in consecutive games for the first time this season.

3. Familiar faces in new place

“Upset about the loss but bigger picture obviously losing Mikko, really great friend.. it’s just sad”

MacKinnon talks about Mikko being traded ⬇️#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/rolgrEjNF8

— AltitudeTV (@AltitudeTV) January 25, 2025

The Rangers host the Avalanche and Hurricanes in their next two games, meaning they will oppose the two centerpieces of a blockbuster trade Friday.

The Avalanche acquired Necas along with Drury, the nephew of Rangers general manager Chris Drury.

Necas had 16 goals and 39 assists in 49 games, putting him on pace to break his career high of 71 points from two seasons ago. Necas has one goal and eight points in 17 career games against the Rangers and collected two assists in Carolina’s 4-3 win on Nov. 27.

Necas also scored three times in last spring’s second-round series against the Rangers and made his debut Saturday as a linemate of Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin. He recorded two shots on goal in 21:38 TOI and was on the ice for each of Boston’s even-strength goals.

Drury has three goals and nine points in 39 games and scored against the Rangers in the first meeting in Raleigh.

New York Rangers projected lineup

Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere

Cuylle – Zibanejad – Smith

Kreider – Chytil – Kaliyev

Edstrom – Carrick – Rempe

Lindgren – Fox

Miller – Borgen

Vaakanainen – Schneider

Shesterkin

Quick

Rangers vs. Avalanche: When, where, what time, how to watch

Who: New York Rangers vs. Colorado Avalanche

When: Sunday Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. ET

Where: Madison Square Garden

How to watch: MSG

Carolina took a swing for the fences by acquiring high-scoring forward Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche and 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-way trade. Colorado will receive Carolina’s leading scorer, forward Martin Necas, as well as bottom-six center Jack Drury, a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2026, all from Carolina. To balance the salary cap numbers, Carolina is sending a third-round pick in 2025 to Chicago in exchange for Hall and the Blackhawks retaining 50 percent of what’s left on Rantanen’s $9.25 million cap hit.

THIS IS A BIG DEAL‼️

Details » https://t.co/CI5CL23V8M pic.twitter.com/9WRKWRt2Aw

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 25, 2025

It’s a bold move for Carolina, which enters its game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Saturday second in the Metro at 30-16-3, eight points behind the division-leading Washington Capitals and three in front of the third-place New Jersey Devils. The ’Canes are 10 points ahead of the fourth-place Columbus Blue Jackets, who hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and 11 ahead of the Rangers.

However, while the Hurricanes are on track for their seventh straight trip to the playoffs and their fourth consecutive season with more than 100 points, they haven’t reached the Stanley Cup Final since winning their only NHL championship in 2006. Carolina has made the Eastern Conference Final twice in the past six seasons but was swept by the Boston Bruins in 2019 and the Florida Panthers in 2023. The Rangers eliminated the Hurricanes in the second round in 2022 and 2024.

It’s the second straight season that the Hurricanes have opted to add a big-name forward who can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer; they brought in Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins last year. Although Guentzel played well, the Hurricanes lost to the Rangers in the second round — and Guentzel opted to sign as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning this past offseason.

Related: Controversial former Rangers defenseman signs with rival Islanders

Rangers division rival roll dice by trading for Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall

Rantanen, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, leads the Avalanche with 25 goals and was sixth in the NHL entering Friday with 64 points. The first-round pick (No. 10 overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft has been a big piece of Colorado’s core for the past several years. He set a career high with 55 goals and 105 points two seasons ago and has had back-to-back 100-point seasons. Rantanen has eight goals and 12 points in 14 career games against the Rangers.

The 28-year-old was part of Colorado’s Stanley Cup-winning team in 2022 and has been part of Colorado’s “Big Three” for the past four seasons alongside center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar. Rantanen is sixth in Avs/Quebec Nordiques history with 287 goals and seventh with 681 points. His 55 goals in 2022-23 are tied for third in franchise history and is the most by any player since the club moved to Colorado for the 1995-96 season.

“Mikko is one of the premier power forwards in our sport,” Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky said. “It’s no secret that we’ve wanted to add elite skill to our lineup, and this is a player who should fit our system and locker room well. And Taylor gives us another high-skill option to bolster our attack.”

Rantanen figures to play on the right side of a line with center Sebastian Aho. They will also be teammates on Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-off next month.

Welcome to Raleighwood, Taylor Hall 🚨 pic.twitter.com/gYVulvXNFi

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 25, 2025

Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft by the Edmonton Oilers, won the Hart Trophy with the Devils in 2017-18 but hasn’t come close to that level of play since. He had 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 46 games with Chicago this season. Carolina will be the seventh different team Hall has played for; he hasn’t had more than 20 goals or 61 points in any season since winning the Hart seven years ago.

Trade alert. pic.twitter.com/7AX82rf9Np

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 25, 2025

The Hurricanes took Necas in the first round (No. 12) of the 2017 draft. He set career highs in goals (28) and points (71) in 2022-23. While Necas and Rantanen are similar in size and position, he is faster and less physical.

Necas has one goal and eight points in 17 career games against the Rangers.

Drury, the nephew of Rangers general manager Chris Drury and a New York native, turns 25 next month. He has three goals and nine points in 39 games this season while averaging 12:53 of ice time. The 5-foot-11 center was a second-round pick in 2018, and he’s in the first season of a two-year contract that carries a $1.725 million cap hit.

The Rangers got points in all four games, are 5-0-3 in their past eight games and 6-1-3 since the beginning of 2025. They’ve climbed back over NHL .500 at 22-20-4 and are three points out of a playoff berth.

New York was 2-0-2, playing in four cities from Tuesday through Sunday, a grind for any team. But there are good overtime losses and bad ones – and the two last week definitely fit into the latter category. The Rangers couldn’t hold a 2-1 late-game lead against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, allowing the tying goal with 1:13 remaining in regulation, failing to capitalize on a power-play in overtime and allowing the game-winner with 36.1 seconds left.

Five days later, they failed to hold four separate one-goal leads against the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal scored the tying goal with 7:08 remaining in the third period and got the winner at 3:20 of OT for a 5-4 win that cost the Rangers another much-needed point.

Even the wins didn’t come easily. The Rangers had to score three times in the third period to earn a 5-3 road win against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday, then battled the Columbus Blue Jackets to a scoreless draw through 65 minutes before winning 1-0 in a shootout.

At least this week’s three games are at home. The last time the Rangers played that many consecutive games at home was Nov. 30-Dec. 9, when they were 2-3-0 on a five-game homestand.

Who’s hot

Igor Shesterkin had his best week in two months. The No. 1 goalie was 2-0-1, allowed six goals in three games and became the first Rangers goaltender in more that seven years to win a game 1-0 in a shootout. He is 4-0-1 since returning from an upper-body injury and is playing like the goalie who carried the Rangers within two wins of the Stanley Cup Final last spring.

Together. pic.twitter.com/4UCxiqWW8g

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 19, 2025

Chris Kreider has looked much better after returning from the injured list against Colorado on Jan. 14. He had the game-winning goal in Utah and scored the goal that gave the Rangers a 4-3 lead after two periods in Montreal.

Who’s not

Jonathan Quick started the season 4-0-0 and allowing a total of three goals in the four wins. He is 2-5-2 since then, and took the loss at Montreal on Sunday despite making 33 saves. Quick has seen his goals-against average climb to 3.11 and his save percentage drop to .897. The 38-year-old still needs one more victory to become the first U.S.-born goaltender with 400 NHL wins; he is 0-1-2 since getting win No. 399 by defeating the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Jan. 2.

Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from another bitter overtime loss to Canadiens

Rangers lookahead this week includes …

Some time to breathe. They play three games, each at Madison Square Garden, and have their first two-day break that doesn’t involve travel since returning from their three days off for Christmas.

Ottawa Senators at Rangers (Jan. 21, 7 p.m. ET; MSG)

The Senators enter the week holding the first wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference after their 2-1 win against the Devils in New Jersey on Sunday, which followed a 6-5 shootout win against the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Ottawa comes to the Garden on a 5-0-1 roll despite the absence of starting goaltender Linus Ullmark, who’s missed a month with a back injury. Rookie Leevi Merilainen is 6-2-1 — including 4-0-1 in his past five starts, during which he’s allowed just eight goals.

The Rangers defeated the Senators 2-1 at the Garden on Nov. 1, but that was back when they were on their way to a 12-4-1 start and Ottawa was struggling.

Shesterkin has fared very well against the Senators, 4-1-1 in six starts with a 1.82 GAA and .942 save percentage. Artemi Panarin has also done well against Ottawa; he has 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 22 games.

One Senators player who’s performed well against the Rangers is captain Brady Tkachuk, who has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 16 games.

Philadelphia Flyers at Rangers (Jan. 23, 7 p.m. MSG)

The Rangers can’t play much worse than they did in a 3-1 loss at Philadelphia on Black Friday. Only Shesterkin’s superb play kept the game from being a blowout. The Flyers have won their past two games against the Rangers after New York won seven in a row.

Philadelphia (21-20-6) is even with the Rangers in points, though New York has a game in hand. The Flyers have stayed in the playoff race despite struggling to keep the puck out of their net – they’ve allowed 161 goals, more than all but the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins. All three goalies – Samuel Ersson, Aleksei Kolosov and Ivan Fedotov – have save percentages below .890. They’ve survived by thriving in games that go past regulation, winning five times in overtime and three in shootouts.

Quick has done some of his best work against the Flyers, posting a 12-5-2 record with a 2.14 GAA and .929 save percentage. Panarin has 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) in 44 career games against Philadelphia.

Colorado Avalanche at Rangers (Jan. 26, 1 p.m. MSG)

The Rangers and Avs play for the second time in 12 days when Colorado comes to the Garden for a Sunday matinee.

Few teams are as top-heavy as Colorado, which boasts the League’s leading scorer in center Nathan MacKinnon (73 points; 17 goals, 56 assists), the No. 6 scorer in Mikko Rantanen with 63 points (26 goals, 37 assists), and Cale Makar, who leads all NHL defensemen with 52 points (15 goals, 37 assists).

The Avalanche have gotten a big boost from goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who is 9-3-1 with a 1.87 GAA and .932 save percentage since coming to Colorado from San Jose on Dec. 9. Blackwood was the best player on the ice in the 3-2 overtime win against the Rangers on Jan. 14, but the longtime member of the New Jersey Devils is 7-9-0 with a 3.49 GAA and .892 save percentage in 17 career appearances against them.

Shesterkin is 3-0-2 against Colorado with a 2.08 GAA and .940 save percentage.

Don’t be surprised if the game goes past regulation – each of the past five meetings between the teams has needed extra time, with the Rangers winning three of them.

But the Rangers would be a lot closer if they could manage to do a better job closing out games and winning games they’re supposed to.

Their 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Tuesday was less than two minutes away from being a 2-1 victory that would have been their third in a row – all against top-level teams. Instead, they allowed Artturi Lehkonen to tie the game with 1:13 remaining in regulation, failed to convert a 4-on-3 power play in overtime and saw Avs defenseman Devon Toews score the game-winner with 37 seconds remaining in OT.

To say coach Peter Laviolette was frustrated would be putting it mildly.

“They competed and did everything we wanted to do for 58 minutes,” he said. “It’s really difficult walking away and not getting that extra point. Tie it up, and even in overtime [we had] looks and chances to win the game. We didn’t get it done.

“So that’s the frustrating part about it — to play so well for the 58 (minutes) and then not to capitalize. Guys played hard the entire night. It was a hard-fought game for us and didn’t get the results that we wanted.”

As much as there was to like about the Rangers’ effort — including two goals by fourth-liners, a 3-for-3 effort penalty-killing effort and shorthanded goal by Sam Carrick, and defenseman Ryan Lindgren’s five blocked shots — the end result was that the Rangers fell another point behind the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets, the holders of the two wild cards.

Sam + Eddy putting in the WORK. pic.twitter.com/IDpwJS75Vg

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 15, 2025

The Bruins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 in Boston, and the Blue Jackets made it 4-for-4 in shootouts by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in Columbus for their fifth straight win. Unlike the Rangers, the Jackets came back and tied the game when defenseman Zach Werenski scored with 4:37 remaining, allowing them to turn a regulation loss into two points.

“Good until the end,” Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said. “Gotta get a win.”

The story was similar a week earlier, when the Rangers blew an early three-goal lead, then couldn’t hang on to a 4-3 advantage in the final three minutes of regulation. The Dallas Stars tied the game on a goal by Thomas Harley with 2:39 left in the third period, then got a power-play goal by Jamie Benn 2:17 into overtime for a 5-4 win – and another point the Rangers didn’t get.

TRO. IN. FRONT. pic.twitter.com/1uVz5v4RDv

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 8, 2025

In fact, the Rangers lead the East’s wild card hopefuls with 19 regulation wins. They’ve gone past regulation just four times – and lost three of those games, all in overtime. They have lost twice this season (both at home) when leading by multiple goals but have not rallied from more than one goal down to win in any of their first 43 games. The Rangers are also the only Eastern Conference team that has lost to both the Chicago Blackhawks (2-1) and Nashville Predators (2-0), two of the three worst teams in the NHL.

In contrast, one of the reasons for the success of the Blue Jackets, from whom little was expected this season after the tragic offseason death of star forward Johnny Gaudreau, if their resilience. The Jackets are 4-0 in shootouts – and in all four games, they made up deficits in the third period. Take away the four extra points Columbus has earned by rally for shootout wins, give the Rangers the two points they kicked away in OT losses this month, and voila – their places in the standings would be reversed.

There’s still plenty of time for New York to right the ship and get into the playoffs. But the Rangers can’t fritter away points in games they should win — especially when some of their rivals are doing just the opposite.