Former Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is among those who will be on hand.

“The hat I’m wearing right now [is] for one of my good buddies, Jimmy Hayes (a seven-year NHL veteran who died in 2021 with died with fentanyl and cocaine in his system). This is something that hits home for me,” Shattenkirk told NHL Network. “Seeing the message that’s behind it and knowing you can make a difference with such a small act, it goes a long way.”

Some of the NHL's best will be on display at the 2025 Shoulder Check Showcase, taking place on July 24th at 4pm ET! https://t.co/7CNa5ohiD9 pic.twitter.com/aLeAf1OA7b

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) July 20, 2025

From its beginnings just two summers ago, the Showcase has become a marquee summer event, featuring talent like Shattenkirk, former Rangers forward Chris Kreider and current backup goalie Jonathan Quick. Current Rangers Brett Berard and Matt Rempe will be playing, as will former Rangers Kreider, Frank Vatrano and Kevin Hayes (Jimmy’s brother).

CLICK HERE for more information about the Shoulder Check Showcase and movement.

New York Rangers news

Forever Blueshirts: Don Maloney discussed his “magical” rookie season and a lot more with our own Jim Cerny on their recent Rink Rap podcast. The kid brother of newly selected Rangers TV analyst Dave Maloney also reminisces about being GM of the New York Islanders when they were demolished by the Blueshirts in the opening round of the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the thrill of stepping onto the ice as a Ranger at Madison Square Garden.

NHL Rumors, News, & the Sportsnaut Family

Philly Hockey Now: The departure of top-level players from major juniors to college hockey continues. Porter Martone, who was picked sixth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL Draft last month, is heading to Michigan State, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday. Martone was the captain of the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads last season. He racked up 98 points (37 goals, 61 assists) in 57 regular-season games. He’ll be playing Big Ten games against Gavin McKenna, the likely No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, who left Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League for Penn State earlier this month.

The Athletic: The Detroit Red Wings again came out on top in the online sports daily’s annual fan poll of NHL TV teams, finishing first locally and nationally. The Seattle Kraken were second for the second straight year. The outgoing Rangers tandem of Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti finished ninth. And who was last, you ask? The Boston Bruins, even with Judd Sirott replacing longtime (and polarizing) play-by-play man Jack Edwards.

TSN: If you want to win in the NHL these days, an effective power play is a must. Here’s a look behind the numbers. Long story short: Unless you’re extremely good (think Carolina Hurricanes) or absolutely awful (Chicago Blackhawks, anyone) at even strength, your power-play success will have a major impact on whether you make the playoffs.

NHL.com: Goalie Mikhail Yegorov isn’t a candidate for the New Jersey Devils’ starting job – yet. But after leading Boston University to the NCAA title game last season, there’s every indication he’ll end up as their starter after playing another year or two at BU – especially on a team whose two goalies are already in their mid-30s.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Kyle Dubas is racing to rebuild the Pittsburgh Penguins in time to give Sidney Crosby one more trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Penguins are loaded with young players, but they may not be ready in time. Getting Sid one more shot at the postseason likely would mean refraining from trading veterans like defenseman Erik Karlsson and forwards Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. There have been plenty of trade rumors surrounding the Pens in recent weeks, but it doesn’t look like anything’s cooking right now.

Florida Hockey Now: What’s the best jersey in Florida Panthers history? According to a poll by The Athletic, it’s the current one. It’s hard to argue with the Panthers’ results in the decade they’ve worn it, especially with back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. A lot of fans still like the original jersey, and there are hints it may return for the Winter Classic game against the Rangers on Jan. 2 at LoanDepot Park.

San Jose Hockey Now: Shane Bowers is 25 – and eight years removed from being a first-round pick (No. 28) by the Ottawa Senators in the 2017 draft. He’s played just 13 NHL games since being drafted but hopes that being traded from the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche to the San Jose Sharks, who finished last in the NHL in 2024-25, will provide the opportunity he’s been waiting for.

But the ranks of the top free agents continued to thin as the witching hour approached.

The latest to go was Mitch Marner, the biggest name on the board, who was acquired by the Vegas Golden Knights from the Toronto Maple Leafs early Tuesday in a sign-and-trade deal. The Leafs received forward Nicholas Roy. Marner signed an eight-year, $96 million contract (average annual value $12 million) that will keep him with Vegas through 2032-33.

The 28-year-old right wing is coming off a season that saw him post career highs in assists (75) and points (102) this past season, finishing fifth in the League scoring race. The two-time NHL First-Team All-Star is a better playmaker than goal-scorer. The Maple Leafs didn’t make much of a push to sign him, and his market was likely limited because teams like the Rangers probably don’t have the cap space.

Shortly after, the Florida Panthers signed 37-year-old forward Brad Marchand to a six-year contract with an AAV of $5.125 million, according to PuckPedia — likely much less than he might have gotten by switching teams. The longtime Boston Bruins forward came to Florida just before the NHL Trade Deadline in March, used the remainder of the regular season to get healthy and excelled on the Panthers third line in the playoffs, putting up 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists), including six goals in the Final.

It was the third big “keep” for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions in five days. On Monday, they re-upped defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who agreed to an eight-year, $48.8 million contract extension. The $6.1 million average annual value, as reported by PuckPedia, represents a big hometown discount for the defending Stanley Cup champs. It’s also a drop from the $7.5 million AAV on his previous eight-year contract.

On Friday, they inked Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett to an eight-year, $64 million ($8 million AAV) contract on Friday. The veteran center led all playoff scorers with 15 goals, including an NHL-record 13 on the road.

Future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane is also staying put after signing a one-year, $3 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. The 36-year-old was fourth on the Wings last season with 21 goals and 59 points. A healthy Kane is still a productive Kane, and he showed in Detroit last season that he’s far removed from the injury-plagued player Rangers fans saw at the tail end of 2022-23.

Two other big names came off the board in the past few days. Claude Giroux signed a one-year contract on Sunday to remain with the Ottawa Senators. The contract has a base salary of $2 million, with another $2.75 million in potential bonuses. The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed center John Tavares on Friday to a four-year contract with an AAV of $4.38 million.

The Rangers, who have about $12.2 million in cap space and need to sign unrestricted free agent forward Will Cuylle or face the possibility he could get an offer sheet, will likely do more looking than shopping unless they make a trade to free up more money. RFA defenseman K’Andre Miller has been mentioned as a trade possibility.

Here are some of the top players still set to hit unrestricted free agency.

Related: Why Rangers draft history since 2000 not pretty without 1st-round pick

Vladislav Gavrikov, D (Los Angeles Kings)

The Rangers have been linked to Gavrikov, who’s coming off an excellent season with the Los Angeles Kings and would fill a big hole on the left side of New York’s No. 1 defense pairing. But Los Angeles would like to keep him if the money works – the reported asking price is seven years at $8 million per. He averaged 23 minutes a game in 2024-25, had a career-high 30 points (five goals, 25 assists) and finished plus-26, by far the best mark of his career.

Brock Boeser, LW (Vancouver Canucks)

The Rangers and most of the rest of the NHL could use a player like Boeser, a six-time 20-goal scorer who had 40 in 2023-24. Vancouver did try to trade him during this past season as free agency approached but felt making the playoffs was a better plan, though they failed to do so anyway. Published reports say Boeser, who’s coming off a three-year contract with an AAV of $6.65 million, could be in line for a six-year deal worth more than $8 million. His scoring touch could help the Rangers, but not at that price.

Nikolaj Ehlers, LW (Winnipeg Jets)

Ehlers is coming off his eighth 20-goal season, and his 63 points were one short of his career high. At age 29, he should still have several productive years remaining. The Jets are hoping the recent addition of center Jonathan Toews might induce Ehlers to re-up with the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy as regular-season champion. The Jets still have to extend top-line left wing Kyle Connor, so Ehlers could wind up playing elsewhere in 2025-26.

Ivan Provorov, D (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Provorov reportedly is closing in on a seven-year, $59.5 million contract ($8.5 million AAV) that would keep him in Columbus through his age-35 season. He’s coming off a solid 33-point season (seven goals, 26 assists), finished plus-11 and averaged 23:21 of ice time while playing all 82 games for the third straight season.

Dmitry Orlov, D (Carolina Hurricanes)

At 33, Orlov can still be an effective second- or third-pair defenseman who contributes offensively and defensively while playing 17-20 minutes per game. The Russian veteran was plus-16 in 2024-25, the 10th consecutive season he’s been a plus player. Orlov won’t get anywhere near the $7.8 million AAV contract he got from Carolina a couple of years ago, but he’s still capable of being a solid contributor for a few more years.

Jake Allen, G (New Jersey Devils)

The goalie market is a thin one, so the Rangers are more than happy to have Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick manning the crease for the third straight season. Allen isn’t going to carry a No. 1 load, but he’s a dependable second banana who can step into the top job if the starter goes down (as Jacob Markstrom did last season for the Devils). His 13-16-1 record this past season was belied by a 2.66 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.

Mikael Granlund, C (Dallas Stars)

The 33-year-old is a center who can also play wing and is coming off a solid season (22 goals, 66 points in 83 games) divided between the woeful San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars, who acquired him in a trade on Feb. 1. Though Granlund won’t drive play, he’s a useful mid-level scorer (at least 60 points in three of the past four seasons. He fit well on Dallas’ all-Finn line after arriving from the Sharks, playing on the power play and penalty kill and contributing a hat trick in the second round of the playoffs.

Pius Suter, C (Vancouver Canucks)

The 29-year-old center from Switzerland is in line for a major bump from his 2024-25 salary of $1.6 million after finishing with career highs in goals (25) and points (46). Suter reportedly thinks he can get $4.5 million per season. But that’s a number the Canucks don’t appear to be interested in giving him after acquiring forward Evander Kane and his $5.125 million AAV contract from the Edmonton Oilers last week. They have just over $7 million remaining, according to PuckPedia, so expect Suter to be somewhere else next season.

Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects says there’s plenty of interest in the 25-year-old, and that the Rangers have told teams he’s available. Robinson says Miller could also be the target of an offer sheet, and with the Rangers close to the salary cap and having key RFAs like Will Cuylle needing new contracts, potential suitors could opt for that route.

One player whose name keeps popping up at the Combine is K'Andre Miller.

I'm told the Rangers have let teams know he's available, but clubs are weighing that option versus the Offer Sheet route.

Appears to be significant interest in the 25-year-old.

— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) June 5, 2025

There’s no doubt that Miller has the wheels and the skills to be an impact player. But he’s never had the kind of breakout season the Rangers and their fans were hoping for. He struggled badly at times this season, finishing with 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) in 74 games. He also finished with an even plus-minus rating, the first time in his five NHL seasons that he wasn’t a plus player.

It’s the second straight season his points total has dropped after he had a career-high 43 points (nine goals, 34 assists) in 2022-23.

Miller is coming off a two-year contract that has an average annual value of $3,872,000, according to PuckPedia. He also had surgery last month to repair an upper-body injury sustained toward the end of the season. A League source told the New York Post that Miller tried to rehab the undisclosed injury but ultimately decided surgery was his best option – he’s expected to be back around the start of next season.

There figures to be plenty of interest if the Rangers decide, for whatever reason, to move on from Miller. The San Jose Sharks, who desperately need help on defense, are among the teams rumored to be sniffing around.

New York Rangers news

New coach Mike Sullivan’s coaching staff is set after he named three assistants – including one who Rangers fans are quite familiar with.

Rangers legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Ed Giacomin turned 86 on Friday. Here’s a look at “Fast Eddie’s” decade in New York, which saw him do everything but win a Stanley Cup.

Our Eric Charles takes a look at two more value options available to the Rangers if they decide to use their first-round pick (No. 12) in this year’s NHL Draft. Lynden Lakovic and Benjamin Kindel figure to be available if the Rangers decide not to give their pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

NHL news and rumors

Sportsnaut: Brad Marchand was the hero for the Florida Panthers on Friday, scoring at 8:05 of the second overtime to give the Cats a series-tying 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. We look at three takeaways from a memorable night.

Sportsnaut: Game 2 of the Final by the numbers. Game 3 is Monday night in Sunrise, Florida.

Sportsnaut: Our Ryan McInerney looks at the winners and losers from Game 2. Hockey fans definitely fall into the “Winners” category after watching the Panthers and Oilers start the series by splitting two overtime games.

NHL.com: So what do players do on travel days in the Final, especially on the five-hour flight from Edmonton to South Florida? Eating and playing cards are two of the most popular pastimes.

Sportsnaut: In the wake of the firing of Peter DeBoer by the Dallas Stars on Friday, one week after they were bounced in the Western Conference Final for the third straight year, here’s a look at the NHL’s 10 longest-tenured coaches. Suffice it to say that this is one profession where there’s not a lot of job security.

NHL.com: Spencer Carbery was named winner of the Jack Adams Award, given to the NHL’s top coach — with his family on hand. Carbery led the Washington Capitals to first place in the Metropolitan Division and the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

TSN: The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach under Craig Berube, beginning next season. He coached the Detroit Red Wings for two-plus seasons before being fired in December.

ESPN: Colorado Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor had hip surgery Friday and isn’t expected back until December at the earliest.

Tampa Bay Times: The Tampa Bay Lightning filled the coaching staff vacancy created recently when Jeff Blashill was hired as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks by hiring former NHL forward Dan Hinote as an assistant under Jon Cooper. Hinote had been coaching with Colorado of the AHL.

Chew on that before you toast to the New Year.

Or better yet, don’t. Put hockey and the Rangers out of your mind for a few hours at least and enjoy a bit of celebration. Because there’s not much to celebrate with the Rangers these days.

Sure, the Rangers (16-19-1) played much better Monday in Sunrise. But the Rangers still lost 5-3 to the Florida Panthers, their fourth straight defeat and seventh in the past eight games. They closed out 2024 by losing 15 of 19 games (4-15-0).

It’s surreal to see how far they’ve fallen, how completely they crumbled since winning the Presidents’ Trophy last season and coming within two wins of reaching the Stanley Cup Final in June.

Yet here we are.

On the bright side, what are the odds that the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks each wins Tuesday to create the scenario listed above? Then again, what would’ve been the odds that the Rangers would be in their current predicament?

CLICK HERE to shop at the Forever Blueshirts store

New York Rangers news

Filip Chytil’s excellent performance leads our three takeaways from the Rangers’ latest loss Monday.

Elliotte Friedman had plenty to say about the Rangers on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast, including why Vincent Trocheck is the most coveted player on their roster.

Daily Faceoff wrote a piece on why 2023 Rangers top pick Gabe Perreault is “quickly becoming one of the best prospects in the NHL.”

NHL news

Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is fired up to play in the Winter Classic on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. The Chicago Blackhawks center told NHL.com, “It’s one of the coolest experiences of my life so far, and obviously the game hasn’t even started yet.” Puck drops at 5 p.m. ET against the St. Louis Blues.

Talk about cool things. Blues defenseman Cam Fowler, recently acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, will play his 1,000th NHL game in the Winter Classic on Tuesday.

Not so cool is that Winnipeg Jets forward Mason Appleton is week to week with a lower-body injury.

Jonathan Toews gave an in-depth interview to GQ detailing the health-related issues that forced him to leave hockey and the chance that he could return to the NHL.

The NHL fined the Dallas Stars $100,000 for violating the CBA by conducting an optional practice during the League’s holiday break.

The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers.

Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves to lead the Jets to a 3-0 shutout win against the Nashville Predators. It was Hellebuyck’s NHL-high fifth shutout this season.

Such is the case with their latest defeat, 5-3 to the Florida Panthers on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena. They closed out calendar year 2024 with a fourth consecutive loss, their seventh in eight games and 15th in 19 (4-15-0).

This was one was different from most of the others in the past two months. The Rangers (16-19-1) competed hard, had a 62 percent expects goals share 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick, were excellent on the penalty kill and actually controlled play for large swaths of this game against their nemesis and defending Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers.

It was the second straight game — and loss — when the Rangers could take away positives, following a weird 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning out of the holiday break on Saturday.

“It’s a lost four points on this trip, so it’s not that positive,” Filip Chytil said postgame. “We have another day tomorrow and we play a game in three days, so we’ve got to focus on that now.”

The calendar flips to 2025 midnight Tuesday. There are positives to take from this latest loss. The Boston Bruins are next on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Perhaps, the tide is turning.

But that’s what this season has come down to right now. Rating defeats, instead of counting wins and points, and looking ahead to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Related: The one Rangers player ‘teams would climb buildings to get’

3 takeaways from Rangers 5-3 loss to Panthers

Here are three takeaways from the Rangers loss on Monday.

1. Flying Fil

This kind of sums up how things are going for the Rangers these days. Chytil was far and away their best forward against the Panthers, generating prime scoring chances, playing with purpose, noticeable on each shift. But he finished minus-2 and was on ice for three of Florida’s five goals, including the game-winner by Jesper Boqvist in the third period.

But to accentuate the positive here, Chytil was flying Monday, pushing the puck up ice, a consistent threat off the rush, as well as a workhorse down low in the offensive zone. The 25-year-old hit the crossbar on a breakaway and was denied by Sergei Bobrovsky off an early 2-on-1 rush. He had an NHL career-high seven shots on goal.

And he scored his first goal in seven games, seventh of the season. He started the second-period comeback leading a rush into the Panthers end, and finished it by burying a rebound between Bobrovsky’s pads.

A THING OF BEAUTY. pic.twitter.com/n0OYbkYOjD

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 31, 2024

“I thought he played really well,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “He was attacking the middle of the ice with speed. We talked to him about finding more speed in his game and I thought he did that tonight.”

The one question was, why wasn’t their best skater on this particular night on the ice in the closing minutes when the Rangers had a 6-on-4 power play trailing by one goal?

2. Not so happy birthday

Igor Shesterkin turned 29 on Monday, but there wasn’t much to celebrate. He finished with 21 saves, saw his goals-against average balloon to 3.10 on the season, allowed four or more goals for the 10th time this season and lost for the fifth time in his past six starts.

It wasn’t all on Shesterkin, of course. Mika Zibanejad’s weak, blind clearing attempt led to Florida’s first goal just 3:04 into the game. Florida’s first two goals were deflections in front. The Panthers outworked the Rangers down low on Boqvist’s first goal that made it 3-2 late in the second period, plus the Rangers believed there should’ve been a quicker whistle by the officials to blow that play dead. And then Boqvist blew past K’Andre Miller on the rush for a great scoring chance that eventually led to a wide-open Boqvist potting a rebound later in that shift for the game-winning goal at 11:38 of the third.

Like how we talked about in rating Rangers losses these days, we can pick out a string of great saves Shesterkin made, especially in the moments right after the Panthers surged to a 2-0 lead just 5:21 into play. But it was another game when Shesterkin failed to make that game-saving stop or game-altering save, or two or three. Shesterkin wasn’t the difference maker he was, say, in the playoffs last spring or even earlier this season, when he bailed the Rangers out game-in and game-out for a stretch.

3. Zibanejad, Lafreniere struggles continue

Though they swapped spots on the power play, it was another pointless night for both Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere, two of New York’s most struggling forwards. Zibanejad dropped to the second PP unit; Lafreniere bumped up to PP1, and was on ice for Chris Kreider’s goal that tied the game 3-3 early in the third period.

But neither really stood out. Lafreniere did have four shots on goal and seven shot attempts, logging just over 20 minutes TOI, including 6:40 on the power play. He also took two minor penalties and was held without a point for the sixth straight game. His goal drought stands at 10 games, and he has just nine on the season, though his xGF 5v5 was 0.88 Monday, foe what’s that worth.

Zibanejad made the crucial turnover which led directly to Florida’s first goal and forced the Rangers to chase the game all night, once again. He logged just 9:16 TOI at even strength, though did receive more than seven minutes of special-teams play between the power play and penalty kill. The 31-year-old center was pointless for the eighth consecutive game, recorded one shot on goal and missed the net from in close twice during the 6-on-4 power play in the final minutes with the Rangers trailing by one.

To close on somewhat of a bright note: Kreider potted his first goal in 10 games and Ryan Lindgren scored his first in 28 games.

The Rangers (16-18-1) visit the Florida Panthers (22-13-2) on Monday, their first visit to Amerant Bank Arena since losing Game 6 of the 2024 Eastern Conference Final and being eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on June 1.

Many of the same reasons why the Rangers lost to the Panthers then are things that ail them now during a miserable 4-14-0 funk. Getting outworked in all three zones, particularly in the defensive zone. Egregious turnovers. Star players outplayed by their counterparts. One-and-done offense. Powerless power play. Not a high enough compete level.

It was one thing for those areas to be exposed by a driven, talented Panthers team, that went on to win the Stanley Cup last spring. It’s another being exposed on a nightly basis by good teams, bad teams, even teams in the cellar, as they are this season.

Speaking of the cellar, that’s where the Rangers reside in the Metropolitan Division. They are also 14th in the Eastern Conference, seven points out of the second wild card and incredibly just one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, who are tied for last in the conference.

New York has lost three in a row and six of seven. It’s coming off a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, a defeat low-lighted by the Rangers surrendering two short-handed goals and two more on the power play.

Can they make a return to Sunrise a turning point in their season? We will find out soon enough.

Related: Rangers Daily — last chance to get it right in 2025, Patrick Kane records milestone point

3 things to watch for when Rangers visit Panthers

1. All eyes on Mika

Mika Zibanejad is pointless in seven games, has fallen to minus-21 on the season and now been booted from New York’s top power-play unit in favor of Alexis Lafreniere. So, how does Zibanejad react to all that Monday, when he skates against the Panthers, who manhandled him in the conference final last spring?

These are troubling times for Zibanejad, who likely will see a lot of Aleksander Barkov again Monday. He’s been demoted to the third line at times, had his ice time reduced, and now lost his coveted spot on the power play. It would be a statement, of sorts, if he produced against the Panthers, after his woes against them last spring. Even more importantly, it could get him started back on the right direction because his overall game is completely off the rails right now.

2. Good or bad timing?

We all know about the Rangers’ miserable troubles. But the Panthers are in a bit of a skid here, too. The Panthers bookended the NHL holiday break with a pair of 4-0 losses, to the Lightning before the break and against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

The Panthers have not scored a goal in 120:31, since a Sam Reinhart empty-netter against the Lightning on Dec. 22. That’s a pretty sizeable funk for the sixth-highest scoring team (3.35 goals per game) in the League.

Of course, the Panthers still remain tied for first in the Atlantic Division, have lost more than two games in a row just once this season and — as you may have heard — are the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The question then is: Are the Rangers catching the Panthers at a good time to pick them off? Or is it bad timing because the Panthers will be intent and focused on snapping their mini skid?

3. Sunshine guy

Artemi Panarin has thrived playing against the Panthers in his career. In 21 games, the Breadman has 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists). Of course, that doesn’t include a quiet conference final, when he had four points in six games, including his lone goal late in Game 6.

Perhaps playing the Panthers in a regular-season game will reignite Panarin, who’s among a long list of struggling Rangers. His goal against the Lightning on Saturday was Panarin’s first in eight games. If ever a team was in need of a Panarin breakout, it’s these Rangers.

New York Rangers projected lineup

Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere

Kreider – Zibanejad – Smith

Cuylle – Chytil – Berard

Edstrom – Carrick – Vesey

Lindgren – Fox

Miller – Borgen

Vaakanainen – Schneider

Shesterkin

Quick

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

Who: New York Rangers vs. Florida Panthers

When: Monday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Amerant Bank Arena

How to watch: MSGN

Click here for New York Rangers complete 2024-25 schedule and game results

The Rangers play four games in seven days in four cities this week, beginning Monday night against the Florida Panthers, the team that eliminated them in the Eastern Conference Final on June 1. They’ll be trying to end a three-game losing streak by winning their final game of the outgoing year. 2025 begins with a home game against the Boston Bruins before hitting the road again for afternoon games against the Washington Capitals on Saturday and the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.

A 4-14-0 stretch has dropped the Rangers (16-18-1, 33 points) into last place in the Metropolitan Division. They are 14th in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, who are tied for last. New York is six points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, who hold the second wild card, and five behind the Ottawa Senators, who have a better points percentage but have played three fewer games than the Penguins.

The Rangers’ return to action after the Christmas break didn’t end well – they dominated play for long stretches but got terrible special-teams play and lost 6-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, disappointing the swarms of Rangers fans at Amalie Arena. They outshot the Lightning 44-25, the most shots allowed by the Bolts this season, and were very good at 5-on-5 — Natural Stat Trick said they had 67 percent of the expected goal share.

“If I’m sitting here doing the presser for the Rangers, I’m sitting here saying, ‘Hey, we did a lot of really good things,’” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.

Doing “a lot of really good things” was an improvement over some of their more recent games. But it was still a loss – and it marked the sixth time in 35 games that they’ve coughed up six or more goals – matching their total for all of last season.

Who’s hot

No one is even warm. The Rangers have been outscored 14-3 since their last victory, a 3-1 road win against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 27. Even Igor Shesterkin, their best player this season, is struggling – he was pulled in the loss to the Lightning 8:08 into the second period after allowing five goals on 13 shots.

Who’s not

The Rangers have lived off their power play for the past few years; now they’re dying by it. They are 0-for-20 in their past seven games after failing to score in four opportunities against the Lightning on Saturday and 3-for-35 in December after a 3-for-6 showing against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 30. Coach Peter Laviolette changed up his PP units at practice Sunday, dropping Mika Zibanejad to the second unit and elevating Alexis Lafreniere to the top unit.

The penalty-killers were leading the League until the Rangers hosted the Hurricanes on Dec. 22 and allowed a power-play goal on Carolina’s fourth of five opportunities. Beginning with that goal, the PK surrendered six goals in their next eight chances – three in four against New Jersey on Dec. 23 before being beaten by Tampa Bay on each of the Lightning’s first two chances.

Rangers lookahead this week includes …

Lots of travel to play lots of hockey, including a pair of nationally televised weekend matinees.

Rangers at Florida Panthers (Dec. 30, 7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NHL Network)

The Rangers’ last trip to Sunrise was one they’d rather forget. It came on June 1, when the Panthers defeated them 2-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, sending New York home for the summer and Florida on to the Stanley Cup Final, where they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games to win their first championship since entering the NHL in 1993.

Most of the championship cast is back, with center Aleksander Barkov and forward Sam Reinhart leading the way up front. Sergei Bobrovsky is 16-7-1 this season and 15-12-3 lifetime against the Rangers with a 2.83 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Artemi Panarin has excelled against the Panthers, with 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) in 21 regular-season games.

Boston Bruins at Rangers (Jan. 2, 7 p.m. MSG)

These two Original Six rivals meet for the first time this season after the Rangers swept all three games in 2023-24, including a 7-4 win in Boston’s most recent visit to the Garden on Nov. 25, 2023.

The Rangers are 152-128-55-1 all-time against the Bruins at MSG. They’ve won six of the games that have gone past regulation in the past 33 years.

Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman has played superbly against the Rangers, though his won-lost record might lead you to believe otherwise. Swayman, who signed an eight-year contract with the Bruins just before the season, has a 2-2-2 record against the Rangers despite a 1.82 goals-against average and a save percentage of .937. Boston has been a tough nut for Shesterkin to crack; he’s 4-7-0 despite a 2.78 GAA and .909 save percentage.

Rangers at Washington Capitals (12:30 p.m.; ABC)

The Rangers hope for a better showing against the Capitals than the one they had in their previous trip to the nation’s capital, a 5-3 loss on Oct. 29 that saw Washington outshoot the visitors 46-19.

Alex Ovechkin scored his third and fourth goals of the season in that game, beginning a hot streak that didn’t end until he broke his left fibula against Utah on Nov. 18 in Utah after he had scored twice. Ovechkin returned Saturday and scored an empty-netter to wrap up a 5-2 road win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, then scored again Sunday in a 4-2 loss at Detroit. In all, 44 of his 870 career goals have come in his 74 games against the Rangers.

The Capitals and Rangers have split their past 12 games, with each team posting a 5-1-0 mark at home. Washington is 12-3-0 against the Rangers at Capital One Arena since the start of the 2017-18 season.

Rangers at Chicago Blackhawks (3 p.m., ABC)

You can bet the Rangers will be looking to avenge one of their weakest performances of the season, a 2-1 loss to the Blackhawks at the Garden on Dec. 9, when they generated little offense against a team that’s been battling to avoid the NHL basement all season.

Amazingly, the last Rangers goaltender to shut out the Blackhawks at the Garden is … Ed Giacomin, who was in net for a 3-0 victory on Jan. 25, 1969. A shutout would be great this time around, but the Rangers need a win of any kind against the struggling Blackhawks this week.

Shesterkin has been terrific against Chicago, 4-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .936 save percentage. Panarin, who played his first two NHL seasons in Chicago, has 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 12 games against his old team. The Rangers have limited Chicago’s Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, to one assist in two games.

At 16-17-1. last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners are the biggest disappointment in the League this season. A 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Monday capped a 1-3-0 week that ended with the opposing coach (Sheldon Keefe) calling off the dogs and putting his fourth line on the ice for a late third-period power play. The Rangers managed just 12 shots on goal against Jacob Markstrom, their fewest in a game since 2001.

“We get a break now,” defenseman Ryan Lindgren said in a very quiet postgame locker room. “We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror here and come back really hungry, because this is just not winning hockey we’re playing right now. It’s miserable for us, it’s miserable for the fans. It’s time to figure it out.”

The defeat at Prudential Center came 24 hours after a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden, a game the saw the visitors attempt 70 shots on goal to 48 for the Rangers while controlling play for most of the final 2 1/2 periods, That loss took all the bloom off the week’s lone win, a 3-1 Igor Shesterkin-fueled victory against the Dallas Stars that avoided a winless three-game road trip and took some of the attention away from the trade that sent forward Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen and two draft picks Wednesday.

The NHL shuts down for the three-day holiday break this week, but the Rangers will get a fourth day off before heading to Florida for their next two games. In all, they’re in the midst of a seven-game stretch during which they play exclusively against teams holding playoff spots. Their next game against a fellow sub-.500 team comes when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 7.

Related: 3 takeaways after embarrassing 5-0 loss to New Jersey Devils

Who’s hot

Shesterkin allowed five goals in three games last week – and lost two of them. He could have earned all three Stars of the Game in the win at Dallas after making 41 saves and stopping all 21 power-play shots he faced during the Rangers’ 17 minutes of playing a man short.

Who’s not

Chris Kreider’s offensive struggles earned him a seat in the press box Monday at New Jersey. The longest-tenured Ranger has 11 goals, just one in his past eight games, and has all of one assist this season. “We just need — we need more,”’ coach Peter Laviolette said when asked why he decided to scratch the 33-year-old forward “At the end of the day, we’re not playing a brand that we need to play in order to be successful. And he’s a guy that we count on to help deliver that.”

Matt Rempe must learn how to play physically without going over the line before he plays himself out of the League. He drew three penalties from Dallas in the second period of the win on Friday — but then took a five-minute major for elbowing and a game misconduct for driving the head of Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen into the glass in the third period. Two days later, the NHL handed him an eight-game suspension. He’s now been suspended for 12 regular-season games while playing in just 22 in his first two NHL seasons.

Rangers lookahead this week includes …

An extra day off in addition to the NHL-mandated three-day vacation (no games, no practices, no travel). They’ll fly south to spend the weekend, visiting the Lightning on Saturday night and the Florida Panthers on Monday.

Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning (Dec. 28, 7 p.m. ET; MSG2)

A visit to Tampa might not be the ideal tonic for a team in a slump. The Lightning reached the break with seven wins in their nine games this month, including a 3-0 road victory against the Panthers on Monday with backup goalie Jonas Johansson earning the shutout. Nikita Kucherov, who led the NHL in scoring last season, has 50 points (15 goals, 35 assists) in 30 games, and Brayden Point has 22 goals in just 27 games.

The Rangers have had the regular-season edge in the battle of premier Russian goaltenders.

Shesterkin is 6-1-1 in eight career decisions against the Lightning, with a 1.84 goals-against average, .941 save percentage and one shutout. Andrei Vasilevskiy’s Hall of Fame credential (one Vezina Trophy, two Stanley Cup championships, one Conn Smythe Trophy) haven’t been helped by his pre-playoff play against the Rangers; he is 5-8-1 in the regular season with a 2.92 GAA and .906 save percentage.

Rangers at Florida Panthers (Dec. 30, 7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NHL Network)

The Rangers’ last trip to Sunrise was one they’d rather forget. It came on June 1, when the Panthers defeated them 2-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, sending New York home for the summer and Florida on to the Stanley Cup Final, where they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games to win their first championship since entering the NHL in 1993.

Most of the championship cast is back, with center Aleksander Barkov and forward Sam Reinhart leading the way up front. Sergei Bobrovsky is 16-7-1 this season and 15-12-3 lifetime against the Rangers with a 2.83 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Artemi Panarin has excelled against the Panthers, with 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) in 21 regular-season games.

Now, it’s time to flip the calendar to December, when the Rangers hope they can get back on track as a true Stanley Cup contender.

The Rangers are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 27 points and an overall record of 13-9-1 two months into the season. They sit in the first wild-card spot, but are tied in points with the Philadelphia Flyers, who are currently in the second wild card spot. Above them are the Carolina Hurricanes (33 points), the New Jersey Devils (34 points), and the Washington Capitals, who lead the Metro with 35 points.

With December officially here, the Rangers are looking to turn things around with 13 games slated for the month, six at home, and seven on the road. They just snapped their five-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, but are still a ways from playing at a level that they are satisfied with.

Related: New York Rangers week ahead includes three home games, two vs. division rivals

What to watch for in December for Rangers

As the Rangers season passes the quarter mark, here’s what to watch for in the month of December.

Dec. 2 – First meeting against rival Devils

The Rangers start the month of December with a bang as they take on their Hudson River rival New Jersey Devils for the first of four meetings this season. Though the Rangers have struggled recently, they’ll need to build on the momentum from their win Saturday and put up a strong performance against New Jersey, who is 11-5-0 in its past 16 games.

Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes lead the way for the Devils with 31 and 30 points respectively, and captain Nico Hischier is on fire with 15 goals this season. Now with a steady goaltender in Jacob Markstrom, the Devils have quickly gone from missing the playoffs last season to a true contender in the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers swept the season series 4-0-0 in 2023-24 after the Devils defeated the Blueshirts in seven games in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Dec. 8-15 – Five games in eight days

The first half of December is jam-packed for the Rangers. After playing the Devils on Dec. 2 and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 6, they’ll have a stretch of five games in just eight days, including two back-to-backs.

First, the Rangers will have a back-to-back set against the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 8 and Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 9, both at home. These are two winnable games for the Rangers, which can hopefully get them trending upwards once again.

New York will travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Dec. 11, before returning home for another set of back-to-back games. First, they’ll play the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 14, and will then have to travel to St. Louis to take on the Blues the very next day, Dec. 15. It’ll be a tiring eight days for the Rangers, and how they handle this stretch will be very important.

The Rangers split their only previous back-to-back set so far this season.

Dec. 22-23 – Back-to-back against Metro Division rivals

Right before Christmas, the Rangers will have yet another back-to-back slate, their third of the month and fourth overall this season. This one, however, will carry much more weight as it is against two Metropolitan Division teams that are both currently ahead of the Rangers in the standings.

First, the Rangers will square off against the Carolina Hurricanes for their second meeting of the season, Dec. 22 at MSG. The Rangers dropped the first meeting 4-3 during their five-game losing streak. The very next day New York travels to Newark to take on the Devils for their second meeting of the month and season, before earning four days off for the holiday.

Dec. 28-30 – Rangers close out 2024 in Florida

To wrap up calendar year 2024, the Rangers will spend some time in the Sunshine State, taking on both the Tampa Bay Lightning Dec. 28, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers Dec. 30. The Rangers have yet to face the Lightning this season, but the two teams appear even thus far. Tampa Bay has just one less point than the Rangers, and are fourth in the Atlantic Division.

The Rangers did, however, play the Panthers this season, and it didn’t go how they would have liked. The Rangers lost 3-1 on Oct. 24 in their first test against the defending champions after the Panthers bounced them in the Eastern Conference Final last spring. The Rangers would love to change the narrative against the Panthers in their final game of the calendar year.

It wasn’t so much the loss that stung, but the fact that the Rangers seemingly came out flat against the team that eliminated them in the Eastern Conference Final last season, the defending Stanley Cup champions nonetheless. If the Rangers sought revenge, they were unable to find it.

If you ask the Rangers players, the resounding answer is that this loss was completely self-inflicted. It had less to do with what the Panthers but rather the Rangers made mistakes and didn’t play to their standards, beating themselves.

“I think we were pretty sloppy there, pretty much all game, right from the start,” Adam Fox said following the game. ” We gave them chances, gave them odd-man rushes, and execution definitely wasn’t there.”

Fox wasn’t exaggerating when he said “right from the start.” The Rangers first lapse came just 44 seconds into the game when Anton Lundell was left wide open in front of New York’s net, and had no problem cashing in on the feed from Sam Reinhart to give Florida an early 1-0 lead.

The Panthers score on the first shot of the game, 44 seconds in 🫨 pic.twitter.com/4KnP2jQMak

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 24, 2024

The Rangers gave up another goal just two minutes later, as a poor clearing attempt combined with weak defensive play allowed Carter Verhaeghe to skate in with time and space to bury one from the left circle, putting Florida up 2-0.

New York spent the rest of the game playing catch-up, and never really did.

“I think most of it was (self-inflicted) tonight,” explained Mika Zibanejad. “The second and third we were hurting ourselves, from the breakouts to the neutral zone, we don’t make them go the 200 feet. We’re making it a little bit too easy on them and it’s a good enough team to take advantage of that. At least we can look at it and say ‘it was on us’ and be ready for Saturday (against the Anaheim Ducks).”

Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from 3-1 loss to Panthers

Rangers ‘didn’t play very well’ in first regulation loss of season

After a decent start to the season with two goals and four assists in his first six games, Zibanejad failed to register a single shot attempt — much less on goal — in the loss to the Panthers. On top of that, the Rangers power play was 0-for-4, with Zibanejad and company stymied at every turn.

The Rangers fought back with a goal from Alexis Lafreniere and stayed close thanks to Igor Shesterkin’s strong play in goal. But there was nothing he could do a perfect Sam Bennett deflection in the second period.

“We didn’t play very well,” said a very abrupt Chris Kreider. “I mean they’re a good team, but it didn’t matter who we played tonight because we would have given the other team a lot of chances.”

In the final two periods, the Rangers were outchanced by the Panthers 18-5, per Natural Stat Trick.

When asked what the Rangers didn’t do well enough, the answer was seemingly everything.

“Pass the puck, skate for each other, support each other, exit the zone cleanly, defend,” mentioned Kreider. “Our goaltending was good.”

That seemed to be the lone bright spot in the self-inflicted loss for New York. Shesterkin didn’t have much of a chance on the three goals against, and still made 26 saves, some in spectacular fashion.

Saturday marks a chance for the Rangers to get right back on track when they host the Ducks, an opponent not nearly as difficult to play against as the Panthers.