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.

New York Rangers GM Chris Drury and his counterparts around the League are making their lists and checking them twice as they look to see whether they’ll be buyers and/or sellers as the March 7 deadline approaches.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche got things started on Jan. 24 when the Avalanche sent two-time 100-point scorer Mikko Rantanen to the ’Canes for forward Martin Necas, center Jack Drury and two draft picks. Carolina also traded another draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Taylor Hall, who won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2017-18.

The Rangers pulled off a blockbuster of their own on Friday night by acquiring center J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks, giving up center Filip Chytil, rookie defenseman Victor Mancini and their first-round pick in the 2025 draft as long as it’s not in the top 13 — if it is, they’ll give up their 2026 first-rounder.

With five of the eight playoff berths in the East (two in the Atlantic Division, three in the Metropolitan) all but decided, teams also have to determine as the deadline draws nearer whether their playoff chances are worth adding talent — or if it’s time to sell.

Here’s an updated look at the Rangers and the teams they’re battling against for a playoff spot as trade season heats up. All deadline cap figures are from Puckpedia.

Related: NHL insider warns Rangers, NHL teams to do ‘homework’ on J.T. Miller before making trade

Breaking down what Rangers, East rivals could do ahead of NHL trade deadline

New York Rangers (24-22-2; 6th in Metro, 13th in East, 5 points out of wild card)
Deadline cap space: $16,418,170

Even before acquiring Miller, the he remodeled Rangers had made two major trades in December, sending their captain, defenseman Jacob Trouba, to the Anaheim Ducks and forward Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken. The return was two defenseman, Urho Vaakanainen and Will Borgen, who’ve fit in well on the bottom four. The Rangers also claimed 23-year-old forward Arthur Kaliyev off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings; he has two goals and an assist in 10 games.

New York got back into the playoff hunt with an 8-3-3 mark in January after a disastrous 4-15-0 stretch in their final 19 games of 2024, although the Rangers are coming off back-to-back home losses to Colorado and Carolina. But the solid showing in January hasn’t been enough to put them into a playoff position — hence the reason that Drury made the big swing for Miller.

The question is whether Drury will try to make a big splash for Miller, a top-six forward or perhaps another defenseman, or ditch a contract or two (See: Ryan Lindgren Reilly Smith, Jimmy Vesey) and let some of the Rangers’ young talent, such as forward Brennan Othmann, see what they can do in the heat of a playoff race.

In playoff position

Ottawa Senators (27-20-4; 3rd in Atlantic)
Deadline cap space: $3,330,833

The Senators wasted a two-goal third-period lead on Thursday but defeated the Washington Capitals 5-4 in overtime to maintain their hold on third place in the Atlantic.

Newf and Pinto's battle on the boards 👏
Chabby's finish 👏
The vibes 👏#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/eKujGh3W8M

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 31, 2025

The Senators are surviving the absence of starting goaltender Linus Ullmark, who’s been out since Dec. 22 with a back injury, thanks to the play of Anton Forsberg and rookie Leevi Merilainen. But injuries have forced them to use AHL call-ups like Nikolas Matinpalo on defense and Zack Ostapchuk up front, so depth trades could be a priority.

Ottawa hasn’t made the playoffs since 2017-18, so expect GM Steve Staios to make whatever moves he feels his team needs to get back to the postseason. The most likely ones, if he can find a partner, would be to acquire a righty-shooting defenseman and/or a wing who can score.

Columbus Blue Jackets (26-19-7; 4th in Metro, first wild card)
Deadline cap space: $46,151,240

After their best player, forward Johnny Gaudreau, was killed in a cycling accident in late August, it would have been impossible to imagine that the Blue Jackets would be in the playoff hunt. But the Blue Jackets continue to ride a sensational season by defenseman Zach Werenski and breakout seasons by young players such as Kirill Marchenko as they battle for a playoff berth that few, if anyone, thought they even had a chance to earn.

Columbus opened its four-game road trip Thursday with a 2-1 overtime win at Vegas to move back into the second wild card, then rallied for a 3-2 victory against the Utah Hockey Club on Friday to gran the first wild-card berth

The Blue Jackets expect the return of captain Boone Jenner and rugged defenseman Eric Gudbranson will add some toughness to the lineup. But if GM Don Waddell goes shopping, don’t be surprised if he looks for big forwards who can produce some offense and offer some protection for the kids.

The one veteran Waddell may be willing to trade is defenseman Ivan Provorov, an impending UFA who has said he wants to stay. Cap space isn’t an issue, but if Waddell is afraid of losing him in free agency without any return, the 28-year-old would likely bring back a significant haul in talent and draft picks.

TSN’s Pierre Lebrun reported Thursday that the Blue Jackets are speaking with the Canucks about Elias Pettersson, in what would be a massive move on their part if a trade is consummated.

Tampa Bay Lightning (27-20-3; 4th in Atlantic; second wild card)
Deadline cap space: $1,792,070

Few general managers have been more willing that Tampa Bay’s Julien BriseBois to go for it as the trade deadline nears. Whether he’ll have the assets – the Lightning are without their first-round draft pick — and cap room to do more than tinker around the edges is the question.

If an NHL roster had 10-12 players, the Lightning would be in great shape. They have Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli up front, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak and J.J. Moser (when he returns from injury) on defense and Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal. Vasilevskiy was in goal for a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

Shutout hugs are the BEST hugs pic.twitter.com/vxCvVhguWV

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 31, 2025

The problem is that after third-line center Nick Paul, there’s no scoring depth in the bottom six. Expect BriseBois to try to bring in a low-priced two-way forward who can mesh with Paul and give the top six some support. Perhaps, that player could be two-time Stanley Cup champion Brandon Saad, who had his contract terminated with the St. Louis Blues this week but still appears to have something left in the tank on a League minimum deal.

In the chase

Boston Bruins (25-22-6; 5th in Atlantic, ninth in East; 1 point out of wild card)
Deadline cap space: $5,718,334

The Bruins are hanging on in the race despite a minus-29 goal differential. It’s hard to see that lasting unless GM Don Sweeney makes some moves. Firing the coach won’t help — he did that in November by sacking Jim Montgomery.

Sweeney opened his checkbook last summer with the thought that bringing in Elias Lindholm would fill the hole at No. 1 center. That hasn’t happened; Lindholm has been demoted to the third line, with Pavel Zacha manning the top spot between David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie. Zacha is a useful player, but he’s not an ideal No. 1 center. The two goaltenders, Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo, each has a save percentage below .900.

Boston will look for an offense-minded center. Finding one isn’t likely to be easy, even if the Bruins are willing to give up a first-round pick this year or next. With the Bruins having already played 53 times, every contender has games in hand on them – some have two or three. If his team continues to struggle, Sweeney could be a seller instead of a buyer.

Detroit Red Wings (25-21-5; 6th in Atlantic, 10th in East, 2 points out of wild card)
Deadline cap space: $8,397,971

The Wings appeared to be headed for their ninth straight non-playoff season when they reached the Christmas break at 13-17-4. But GM Steve Yzerman changed coaches, firing Derek Lalonde and bringing in Todd McLellan, and Detroit has looked like a different team since then. They won their fourth in a row on Thursday by overcoming an early two-goal deficit to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in a shootout to begin a four-game trip. The win moved the Red Wings within two points of the second wild card.

With his team so close to making the playoffs for the first time since 2016, it’s hard to imagine Yzerman being a seller (as it appeared he might be five weeks ago). If he adds, expect him to look for a scorer who can help not only this season but for years to come.

Whether that kind of player is available during the season is a separate issue, but the Wings need to add offense behind Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat — all three have reached the 20-goal mark; no one else on the team has hit double figures.

New York Islanders (23-20-7; 5th in Metro, 11th in East, 4 points out of wild card)
Deadline cap space: $1,806,667

The Isles made it six wins in a row and nine in their past 11 games with a 3-0 victory against the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday. They still don’t score much, and their power play is horrendous, but coach Patrick Roy has them playing terrific defense (seven goals allowed during the winning streak) and they’ve leap-frogged the Rangers, among other teams, to give themselves a chance at a wild-card berth.

Hug. Your. Goalie. pic.twitter.com/x6w2UyvsQM

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 31, 2025

The Islanders have the League’s fourth-oldest roster, almost no cap space and a weak prospect pool, so GM Lou Lamoriello doesn’t have much to work with. However, he’s found bargain-basement pickups Tony DeAngelo and Scott Perunovich to plug the holes on defense left by injuries to Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock, who should be back at some point. The Isles added another bargain-basement veteran D-man Friday when they claimed Adam Boqvist from the Florida Panthers.

If Lamoriello decides to sell, he has veterans such as centers Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, as well as forward Kyle Palmieri, who should attract a lot of attention and bring in some more much-needed young talent.

Montreal Canadiens (24-22-5; 7th in Atlantic, 12th in East, 4 points out of wild card)
Deadline cap space: $6,447,500

The Canadiens were flying high about 10 days ago, 10-2-1 in their first 13 games after the Christmas break. Then reality hit: Montreal is 0-3-1 in its past four games, including a 4-0 home loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

It’s hard to imagine the rebuilding Canadiens, led by former Rangers GM Jeff Gorton and loaded with young talent, doing any serious shopping. The lone exception might be on defense, where they need a right-handed shot to allow lefty-shooting Mike Matheson to go back to his natural side. The Canadiens also need to replace Kaiden Guhle, who’s out indefinitely after surgery to repair a lacerated quadriceps muscle.

Montreal has a lot of rentals, including veteran forwards Jake Evans and Joel Armia, as well as defenseman David Savard, who should attract interest if it decides to go in that direction.

Philadelphia Flyers (23-24-6; 7th in Metro, 14th in East, 5 points out of wild card)
Deadline cap space: $5,023,177

The rebuilding Flyers have lost four of their past five games after a 5-0-1 run that got them into the playoff race. Philadelphia desperately needs to get better up the middle; until that happens, it’s hard to envision the Flyers not falling out of the race in the next couple of weeks.

They got a head start on the deadline Thursday by sending a pair of 25-year-old forwards, Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, to the Calgary Flames for forwards Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, plus two draft picks.

Here's the heated exchange between John Tortorella and Matvei Michkov after the first Islanders goal. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/lDOFXC4WSc

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) January 31, 2025

GM Daniel Briere doesn’t have any pending unrestricted free agents. Players who’ve been mentioned in trade talk (Rasmus Ristolainen and Scott Laughton are two of the most talked-about) have term left on their contracts, which figures to diminish interest.

Don’t be surprised if Briere does some more selling before the deadline as he prepares for the Draft in June, where he’ll have three first-round picks and four more in the second round.

The Rangers gave up the first of two goals by Andrei Svechnikov 56 seconds after the opening face-off and spent the rest of the night chasing the game. But few of their shots severely tested Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen before the ’Canes put the game away with three goals in 3:01 of playing time bridging the second and third periods. Svechnikov got his second of the night at 19:29 of the second and assisted on Sebastian Aho’s goal 1:04 into the third.

Seth Jarvis’ goal at 2:30 started a parade to the Garden exits not long afterward.

Fortunately for the Rangers, all but one of the six teams in the playoff scramble who played Tuesday and Wednesday also lost, meaning that while New York missed a golden chance to gain ground, it didn’t lose any. The only playoff hopeful to win was the Islanders, who made it five victories in a row when they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 at UBS Arena on Tuesday. They are a point behind their big-city rivals.

However, the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens all lost on Tuesday, followed by the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

The Bruins, who own the first wild card, were demolished 7-2 in Buffalo, where Sabres forward Tage Thompson and J.J. Peterka each had a hat trick. The Lightning returned home from a four-game road trip and lost 4-1 to the 31st-place Chicago Blackhawks, and the Canadiens lost 4-1 at Bell Centre to the Winnipeg Jets. The New Jersey Devils, who lost 4-2 in Philadelphia on Monday, avenged that loss by blanking the Flyers two nights later.

The Rangers (24-22-4) finished January with an 8-3-3 record — although if they miss the playoffs, the points they left on the table might be the reason. The Rangers dropped OT decisions to the Dallas Stars, the Avalanche and the Canadiens, all in games they led well into the third period. Add that to the 5-4 loss to Colorado on Sunday, a game they allowed the Avalanche to score the game-winner with 14.7 seconds left, and it’s safe to say the Rangers can’t be happy about the points they’ve let get away.

Now it’s time for some serious scoreboard watching. The Rangers are in the midst of a three-day break in the schedule before they begin a stretch of five games in eight days prior to the 4 Nations Face-off break. The Rangers visit the Bruins on Saturday afternoon, followed by a game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday to get the final stretch underway.

Between the pipes. pic.twitter.com/EuezAdX0gp

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 29, 2025

Here’s a look at the playoff scramble in the East (all records through Wednesday’s games).

Related: Mind-numbing Rangers mistakes threatening to finally sink season

Metropolitan Division top three

None of the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division look like they’ll be threatened by anyone. The Washington Capitals (34-11-5) are the leaders in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy, the Hurricanes (31-16-4) are second in the division and the Devils (29-18-6) trail them by two points.

The Devils lead everyone else in the division by at least nine points, which gives them some runway as they continue to deal with the loss of starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who was ruled out of the 4 Nations tournament on Wednesday because of a sprained knee ligament sustained in a 5-1 win against Boston on Jan. 22. Jake Allen is 2-1-0 in three starts since Markstrom’s injury and will be expected to carry the load. He made 24 saves to shut out the Flyers on Wednesday.

However, as long as Markstrom doesn’t miss more time than expected (4-6 weeks), it’s hard to imagine the Rangers (or anyone else) being able to overtake the Devils.

Related: Rangers look to ‘keep the positivity’ heading into February schedule

Ahead of the Rangers (current wild cards)

Boston Bruins (25-21-6, 56 points)

The Bruins were 5-1-1 in their previous seven games before they got torched in Buffalo. The Sabres lit up Jeremy Swayman for six goals on 32 shots, and David Pastrnak, the NHL First Star last week, was limited to a garbage-time second assist.

Boston goes home for its next three games, hosting the Jets on Thursday before the Rangers come in two days later. The Minnesota Wild visit TD Garden on Feb. 4 before the Bruins come to the Garden for a back-to-back the next night.

The Rangers edged the Bruins 2-1 at the Garden on Jan. 2 and go to Boston for their nationally televised matinee before hosting them four nights later.

Tampa Bay Lightning (26-20-3, 55 points)

It’s hard to imagine than any of the 19,092 fans at Amalie Arena on Tuesday gave the Blackhawks, who are next-to-last in the overall standings, a chance to win. Though the Lightning lost three of four games on the road last week, winning only a 4-3 overtime decision at Chicago last Friday, they were expected to make quick work of the Blackhawks in their return home.

Instead, Chicago spotted Tampa Bay an early goal by Brayden Point before a spectacular shot by Connor Bedard tied the game, and scored three more times for Arvid Soderblom, who made 34 saves in the stunning win.

Tampa Bay plays its next four games at home, beginning Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Islanders come in Saturday and the Ottawa Senators, who’ve jumped the Lightning for third place in the Atlantic Division behind the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs, play back-to-back games in Tampa on Feb. 4 and 6.

The Rangers lost 6-2 at Amalie Arena on Dec. 28. Tampa Bay comes to the Garden twice in the final 10 days of the regular season.

Ahead of the Rangers (but not in the playoffs)

Columbus Blue Jackets (24-19-7, 55 points)

The Blue Jackets have had to sit and watch the scoreboard since Saturday night, when they defeated the Kings 3-2 in overtime on a goal by Kirill Marchenko. That one home game is sandwiched between a pair of four-game road trips.

Columbus was 1-2-1 on the first trip, including a 1-0 shootout loss to the Rangers at the Garden on Jan. 18. They’re off until Thursday, when the second four-gamer begins against the Golden Knights.

The Rangers and Blue Jackets have three games remaining. The next one is in Columbus on Feb. 8 and is the last game for each team before the 4 Nations break. Columbus comes to the Garden again on March 9 and hosts New York six nights later.

Montreal Canadiens (24-21-5, 53 points)

The Canadiens stole a point Saturday when they overcame a pair of two-goal deficits before losing 4-3 in overtime to the Devils at Bell Centre. But they were beaten soundly at home three nights later by the high-flying Jets, the best team in the Western Conference.

Montreal hosts Minnesota on Thursday before beginning a three-game California trip on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Canadiens, seeking their first playoff berth since losing to the Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, have gotten back into the playoff race after a 5-11-2 start looked like it would doom them to another early summer vacation. The Rangers were 2-0-1 in the season series, winning 7-2 in Montreal on Oct. 22 and 4-3 at MSG on Nov. 30 before the OT loss 10 days ago.

Detroit Red Wings (24-21-5, 53 points)

The Red Wings continued their post-Christmas surge under new coach Todd McLellan on Monday by rallying from an early two-goal deficit for a 5-2 win against the Kings. Lucas Raymond, who continues to blossom into an offensive force, had a goal and three assists. Detroit has won three in a row, all with Cam Talbot in goal, to move within two points of the second wild card.

The Red Wings head out for a four-game swing through Western Canada and Seattle that begins against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

The Rangers swept the three games between the teams in a season series that ended before Veterans Day, outscoring the Red Wings by a total of 13-3.

Tied with or trailing the Rangers

We’ll assume that the Pittsburgh Penguins (50 points in 53 games) and the Sabres (43 in 50 games), who are last in their respective divisions, have too few points and too many teams in front of them to have a realistic chance at the postseason. But there are two other teams that are even or just behind the Rangers and still hold realistic playoff hopes.

Philadelphia Flyers (23-23-6, 52 points)

The Flyers looked like they might be ready to fold after back-to-back road losses against the Rangers (6-1) on Thursday and the Islanders (3-1) on Friday. But a couple of days off appeared to give them a spark on Monday, when they knocked off the Devils 4-2 at Wells Fargo Center in the first of a home-and-home set, only to lose 5-0 in Newark on Wednesday.

The Flyers return home to host the Islanders on Thursday before visiting Colorado on Sunday.

The Flyers’ split with the Devils and the Rangers loss to the Hurricanes left the two Metropolitan Division rivals tied, three points out of the second wild card — although the Rangers have played two fewer games.

The Rangers and Flyers have split two games this season. The Flyers won 3-1 at Wells Fargo Center on Black Friday before losing at the Garden last week. The teams don’t play again until the Flyers come to the Garden on April 9.

New York Islanders (22-20-7, 51 points)

The Islanders have worked their way onto the fringes of the playoff chase in the East by winning five straight games, all at home, giving them eight wins in their past 10 games. They got a superb effort by Ilya Sorokin on Tuesday in the win against Colorado and have allowed just seven goals during the winning streak.

PUCKS ON NET. #LGI | @Ford pic.twitter.com/Y0K0gtanq3

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 29, 2025

However, injuries have hampered the Isles all season, and they lost a couple of key pieces — defensemen Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock — last week. They were also without backup goalie Marcus Hogberg on Tuesday after he was removed before the start of overtime Saturday in a 3-2 win against Carolina because of an upper-body injury. They’ve already added ex-Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo to fill in for Dobson and acquired defenseman Scott Perunovich from the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

But losing Pulock and/or Hogberg for any length of time (both went on injured reserve Monday) could be fatal to their already-slim playoff hopes, especially with five of their final six games before the 4 Nations break on the road, beginning Saturday at Tampa Bay.

The Rangers haven’t played their local rival since a 5-2 win at the Garden on Nov. 2; they play three times in the final seven weeks of the season, beginning Feb. 25 on Long Island.

MSG’s Joe Micheletti spoke for thousands of Rangers fans with that remark early in the telecast of their team’s 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. With most of the teams the Rangers are battling in the Eastern Conference playoff race in action, it would be hard to blame those in the sellout crowd of 18,006 from keeping one eye peeled for out-of-town results.

The victory against the Flyers extended the Rangers’ point streak to 10 games (7-0-3). The Rangers are off until the Colorado Avalanche come to town Sunday afternoon, so you can bet that they’ll be eagerly following the out-of-town action again on Saturday. The Carolina Hurricanes visit on Tuesday, and the Rangers then get three days off.

As for the game Thursday: Igor Shesterkin continued his superb play, finishing with 33 saves to extend his point streak to 6-0-1 as the Rangers improved to 24-20-4 – the same record as the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, each of whom lost on the road when the Rangers were winning at home.

The Avs and Hurricanes will look different than the last time the Rangers saw them. Colorado traded high-scoring forward Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes on Friday night for Carolina’s top scorer, forward Martin Necas, and center Jack Drury. The ‘Canes also added forward Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks. All four players should be with their new teams by the time they arrive at MSG.

Here’s an updated look at the playoff scramble in the East (all records through Friday’s games):

READ: Daily — Rangers making contenders look like pretenders, Gary Bettman retirement talk

Metropolitan Division top three

None of the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division look like they’ll be threatened by anyone below them. The Washington Capitals are the leaders in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy, the Hurricanes are second in the division and the New Jersey Devils trail them by three points.

#NJDevils head coach Sheldon Keefe said Jacob Markstrom “will miss some time” following his injury in the second period of tonight’s game.https://t.co/FiNg3cdD1y

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 23, 2025

The third-place Devils lead everyone else in the division by at least seven points, although starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom is out 4-6 weeks with a sprained left MCL. Markstrom was injured and had to leave early in the second period of New Jersey’s 5-1 win against the Bruins on Wednesday; Jake Allen finished the game and will be relied upon to carry the load in Markstrom’s absence.

The 34-year-old should be back before the playoffs but this next month could prove interesting. If the Rangers remain hot and the Devils falter without their No. 1 goalie, a top-three spot in the division is not out of the question for the Blueshirts, who have two games in hand on their Hudson River rivals.

Ahead of the Rangers (current wild cards)

Boston Bruins (24-20-6, 54 points)

A 2-0 win over the visiting Senators on Thursday nudged the Bruins past the Tampa Bay Lightning and into third place in the Atlantic Division, behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers — for one night. But the Lightning (26-18-3) jumped back into third on Friday by rallying for a 4-3 overtime road win against the Chicago Blackhawks, dropping Boston back to the top wild card. The Lightning also have three games in hand on the Bruins and at least one on all the other playoff contenders as they prepare for the second of back-to-back road games against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

Tampa Bay is coming off losses at Toronto and Montreal earlier in the week, but the Lightning’s .585 points percentage is sixth in the conference, and it’s hard to believe they won’t end up in the top three in their division.

However, the Rangers, Canadiens and Senators each have two games in hand on Boston.

The Rangers edged the Bruins 2-1 at the Garden on Jan. 2 and go to Boston a week from Saturday before hosting them four nights later. New York lost 6-2 at Tampa Bay on Dec. 28 and plays the Lightning twice in the final 10 days of the season.

Columbus Blue Jackets (23-19-7, 53 points)

Columbus dropped from the first wild card to the second after blowing a 2-0 lead in Raleigh on the way to a 7-4 loss to Carolina on Thursday that completed a 1-2-1, six-day road trip – including a 1-0 shootout loss to the Rangers on Jan. 18. The one win was a 5-1 victory in Toronto on Wednesday, with hometown boy Adam Fantilli getting his first NHL hat trick.

But the Blue Jackets can keep their suitcases packed; after a home game against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, they’re back on the road for four more games, beginning Jan. 30 against Vegas. Their last game before the 4 Nations break is against the Rangers on Feb. 8. Columbus comes to the Garden again on March 9 and hosts the Rangers six nights later.

Now’s a good time to point out that the Blue Jackets are 7-14-4 on the road this season.

Even with the Rangers

Montreal Canadiens (24-20-4, 52 points)

Even with a 4-2 loss at Detroit on Thursday, the Canadiens are 10-3-1 since the Christmas break – including a 5-4 overtime win against the Rangers at Bell Centre this past Sunday. They host New Jersey on Saturday.

The Canadiens, seeking their first playoff berth since losing to the Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, have come together under former Rangers forward Martin St. Louis after a 5-11-2 start that looked like it would doom them to another early summer.

The Rangers were 2-0-1 in the season series, winning 7-2 in Montreal on Oct. 22 and 4-3 at MSG on Nov. 30 before the OT loss.

Ottawa Senators (24-20-4, 52 points)

The Senators were on a 5-0-1 run before their offense disappeared in the past two games; they were shut out 5-0 at the Garden on Tuesday before being blanked 2-0 in Boston on Thursday. They hope playing back-to-back home games against the archrival Maple Leafs on Saturday and Utah on Sunday will help perk things up.

Though this won’t help the offense, Ottawa is hoping that No. 1 goalie Linus Ullmark, who’s been out injuring his back Dec. 23, will be ready to return shortly. Rookie Leevi Merilainen preserved the Senators’ playoff chances with a 6-3-1 record and two shutouts in Ullmark’s absence, but he struggled in his past two games and could be headed back to the AHL when Ullmark is ready to go.

New York defeated Ottawa 2-1 on Nov. 1 in their only meeting before this week’s win; New York makes its lone visit to Canadian Tire Centre on March 8.

Behind the Rangers

We’ll assume that the New York Islanders (47 points) and Buffalo Sabres (41), who are last in their respective divisions, have too few points and too many teams in front of them to have a realistic chance at the postseason. But there are three other teams that begin Saturday trailing the Rangers but still hold realistic playoff hopes.

Philadelphia Flyers (22-22-6, 50 points)

The Flyers’ loss at the Garden on Thursday dropped them two points behind the Rangers. The loss also ended a 5-0-1 run by Philadelphia after the Flyers looked like they might be falling out of the race two weeks ago.

Thursday began a busy stretch for coach John Tortorella’s team. The Flyers lost 3-1 to the Islanders at UBS Arena on Friday, then have a home-and-home against the Devils and host the Islanders on Jan. 30 – that’s five games in eight days. The Rangers don’t see them again until the Flyers come to the Garden on April 9.

Detroit Red Wings (22-21-5, 49 points)

The Wings are still looking to host their first playoff game at Little Caesars Arena, which opened in the fall of 2016, but it’s going to be an uphill battle. Detroit ran off a seven-game winning streak under new coach Todd McLellan, then was 1-3-1 in the next five games before defeating the visiting Canadiens on Thursday.

The pass. The finish. 🤌 pic.twitter.com/6ainBoJTQF

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 24, 2025

The Red Wings have home games against the Lightning on Saturday and the Kings on Monday before a swing through Western Canada and Seattle. The Rangers swept the three games between the teams in a season series that ended before Veterans Day, outscoring the Red Wings 13-3.

Pittsburgh Penguins (20-22-8, 48 points)

The Penguins have three games remaining on their marathon seven-game road trip that will take them through the end of January. They followed up one of their best efforts of the season, a 5-1 whipping of the Kings in Los Angeles on Monday, with a 5-1 clunker Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks, a team all but assured of missing the playoffs for the seventh straight season.

That loss dropped the Penguins two games below NHL .500, and they likely need to win at least two of the remaining three, beginning Saturday night against the Seattle Kraken, to stay in the hunt.

The Rangers are 2-0-0 against the Penguins, winning 6-0 in Pittsburgh on opening night and 4-2 at the Garden on Dec. 6. The teams play again at MSG on Feb. 7 and in Pittsburgh on Feb. 23.

A month ago, the Rangers were losing to these middle-of-the-road NHL teams. Now, they dispose of them and have the look of a true playoff contender, which is what was expected when the 2024-25 season commenced back in October.

The Rangers (24-20-4) extended their point streak to 10 games (7-0-3) and ended the Flyers run of six games with a point (5-0-1). They also once again showed a team battling for the same playoff spots the Rangers are, that they are the superior team. That brutal 4-15-0 stretch of terrible hockey? It’s in the past. That is not who the Rangers are now.

As such, the Rangers moved to within a point of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They trail the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets by one point each. It just feels like a matter of time before they reclaim a spot in the top eight in the East.

The road gets a bit tougher, when the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes visit MSG on Sunday and Tuesday respectively. But these Rangers look ready for any challenge right about now.

Related: Why surging Rangers should shift trade focus away from J.T. Miller, look to upgrade elsewhere

3 takeaways from Rangers win against Flyers

Here are three takeaways from another victory on Thursday.

1. Get to the net

Each of New York’s first four goals was a direct result of getting bodies to the net to cause chaos in front of Flyers goalie Sam Ersson and deflect pucks on the way in. That’s often what it takes to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That’s not the kind of will nor compete level the Rangers showed in November and December.

Reilly Smith charged to the net in the first period seeking to redirect a Braden Schneider pass, though just as effective, it hit a Flyers stick and went into the net. Adam Edstrom was like a shark in the water, constantly moving until perfectly positioned between the circles to deflect a Ryan Lindgren shot past Ersson to make it 2-1 in the first.

Hell of a play by Braden Schneider pic.twitter.com/00hEMA8E8y

— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) January 24, 2025

K’Andre Miller zipped a perfectly-placed shot through a Vincent Trocheck screen early in the second period. And Filip Chytil won a battle to get to the front of the net to tip Urho Vaakanainen’s shot into the cage early in the third for a 4-1 lead.

It’s not an easy way to play. But it’s a winning formula.

2. Offensive defenseman

Earlier this season, the play of the Rangers defense corps could be referred to as “offensive.” That’s not a positive. But Thursday, these blueliners were offensive defensemen in the best possible way.

Each New York defenseman recorded at least one point in the victory. That hasn’t happened for the Rangers since Dec. 8, 2019 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Three of the six d-men scored goals (Adam Fox, Schneider and Miller) and Fox and Miller had two-points apiece.

K’Andre Miller! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/PmDPjUA70i

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 24, 2025

It’s just another example of how the Rangers are getting contributions throughout their lineup during this excellent run. All told, 12 of New York’s 18 skaters had at least one point.

That is also a winning formula.

3. Fourth line scores again

Speaking of everyone contributing, the fourth line struck again for the Rangers, when Edstrom scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal at 10:24 of the first period. As mentioned above, that goal featured power and determination to get to the right spot, and a some skill to perfectly deflect the shot by Lindgren.

New York goal!

Scored by Adam Edstrom with 09:36 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox.

New York: 2
Philadelphia: 1#PHIvsNYR #NYR #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/gWIpC3Nk3r

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 24, 2025

The fourth line has been displaying its skill and grit quite a bit during the Rangers turnaround. Edstrom, Sam Carrick and Matt Rempe scored goals in consecutive games and combined for six in the past eight games. Edstrom has three goals in seven games, Carrick has three in 11 games (not including one wiped off the score sheet by a Rempe offside against Ottawa) and Rempe scored his first of the season Tuesday night.

On Thursday, Edstrom also led the Rangers with four blocked shots, including one off his knee. Rempe led the Blueshirts with three hits. Carrick tied for second on the team with four shots on goal.

In 7:54 TOI together 5v5, Edstrom, Carrick and Rempe out-shot the Flyers 10-2, out-chanced them 5-2 and had an xGF of 53.24 percent, per Natural Stat Trick.

The win extended New York’s point streak to a season-long 10 games (7-0-3) and brough to an end a six-game point streak (5-0-1) for Philadelphia, which had won three straight coming in. It also moved the Rangers to within one point of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They trail the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets each by a single point.

Igor Shesterkin shined again in goal for the Rangers (24-20-4), finishing with 35 saves. He allowed a goal on the second shot he faced and then slammed the door shut the rest of the way. He’s 6-0-1 in his past seven starts and surrendered just 10 goals in that span, including a pair of shutouts in his previous two games.

Twelve New York skaters found the score sheet, including all six defensemen. K’Andre Miller, Adam Fox, Filip Chytil and Reilly Smith each had a goal and an assist. Braden Schneider and Adam Edstrom scored the other Rangers goals.

Sam Ersson made 31 saves for the Flyers, whose lone goal was scored by Owen Tippett.

Related: Ryan Lindgren admits ‘hard not to have doubt creep into your mind’ during early-season funk

New York Rangers 6 – Philadelphia Flyers 1

It was an inauspicious start for the Rangers, who surrendered the game’s first goal just 85 seconds after the opening face-off. Inexplicably, four Rangers were caught in the Flyers end of the ice, letting the visitors take off on a 4-on-1 break the other way. Urho Vaakanainen did his best to help Shesterkin, but Travis Konecny’s centering pass off the rush hit Tippett’s skate and bounded into the net to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 1:25.

Two minutes later, Shesterkin aggressively challenged Matvei Michkov alone in the low slot, and the rookie had little to shoot at other than the goalie’s right pad. Roughly two minutes later, the Rangers had their best early scoring chance, a 3-on-2 short-handed rush that ended with Vincent Trocheck firing a left-wing shot into Ersson’s chest.

At 6:55, Chytil split two defenders with a quick power move but was stoned by Ersson.

Undaunted the Rangers put two past Ersson just 1:24 apart to grab a 2-1 lead. Schneider tied the game with his first goal in 42 games at 9:00 of the first period. He danced around several Flyers before his centering pass for Smith hit a Flyers stick and deflected into the cage.

Then Edstrom, stationed with his back to the net between the circles, was able to deflect Ryan Lindgren’s shot past Ersson at 10:24 to make it 2-1 Rangers. The goal was Edstrom’s third in the past seven games and was part of a strong opening period for New York’s buzzing fourth line.

New York goal!

Scored by Adam Edstrom with 09:36 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox.

New York: 2
Philadelphia: 1#PHIvsNYR #NYR #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/gWIpC3Nk3r

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 24, 2025

The Rangers out-shot the Flyers 15-11 in the first period and out-chanced them 8-3 at 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick. But the ice tilted the other way a bit in the second period.

Shesterkin was the difference in the second, stopping all 17 Philadelphia shots, including 10 high-danger chances and 15 scoring chances 5v5. Many were from point-blank range and one got through him but his the post. But not one ended up in the net.

The only goal scored in the second period was off the stick of Miller, who gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead with his third of the season at 4:44. It was Miller’s first goal in 16 games and was wired through a Trocheck screen, as again the Rangers got bodies to the net.

K'Andre Miller doubles the Rangers' lead! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/piW7vM5gwV

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 24, 2025

That same strategy paid off at 5:15 of the third period, when Chytil bulled to the front of the net to get his stick on a Vaakanainen shot. Chytil’s deflection beat Ersson and his 11th goal put the Rangers up 4-1.

Fox scored a short-handed empty-net goal at 16:53 to make it 5-1. Two of his three goals this season were scored into an empty net. Smith added a power-play goal, tapping a loose puck behind Ersson, at 18:15 to close out the scoring.

The Rangers take a step up in class in their next game, Sunday at home against the Colorado Avalanche, and then close out a very successful month of January when they play the Carolina Hurricanes at MSG on Tuesday.

This time, it’s the Philadelphia Flyers who will try to slow down the Rangers while enhancing their own playoff position. The Flyers are tied with the Rangers at 50 points, 11th in the East, just two points out of the second wild card.

The Rangers (23-20-4) snagged five of a possible six points against conference rivals in their past three games. They shut out both the Columbus Blue Jackets (1-0 in a shootout) and Ottawa Senators (5-0 on Tuesday), sandwiched around a 5-4 overtime loss Sunday in Montreal to the Canadiens.

New York carries a season-long nine-game point streak (6-0-3) into play Thursday. Philly is 5-0-1 in its past six and has won three in a row.

Related: Rangers Daily — Something’s got to give against Flyers, Kirill Kaprizov back for Wild

3 things to watch for when Rangers host Flyers

1. Did it once, do it again

The Rangers thoroughly dominated the Senators in every facet of the game Tuesday. They dictated how the game was played, spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, scored off the rush, were physical, limited Ottawa to 20 shots on goal, scored two power-play goals, killed off both Ottawa power plays and didn’t surrender a single shot on goal on the PK. The outcome of this game never felt in doubt, even when the score was 1-0 after one period and 2-0 after two.

Simply, the Rangers looked like a quality playoff team against the Senators. Now, they need to show another younger team in the hunt who’s boss again. The Rangers must follow up that terrific two-way game with another Thursday. Double down. Break the Flyers will, just as they did against the Senators.

2. Finish Flyers off

The Flyers are not the most skilled team. They are not the best defensively. Nor does their goaltending intimidate the opposition. Their special teams are mediocre. But they battle, scratch and claw for everything they get. They are, after all, coached by John Tortorella.

The Flyers do not give in easily. In fact they are a decent 7-10-1 when trailing after one period this season. More impressive is their 6-15-1 mark when trailing after two periods. Keep in mind that the Rangers are 1-17-1 when down after 40 minutes of play.

This reverts to the first key. The Rangers must take away the will of the Flyers. Pull away, give them no thought of a comeback in a close game. Finish them off.

3. Ride the hot hand

Igor Shesterkin starts for the seventh time in the past eight games after being activated from IR. Since missing four games with an upper-body injury, Shesterkin is 5-0-1 and allowed nine goals. He has back-to-back shutouts and is tied for fourth in the NHL with three shutouts this season.

It’s no surprise that coach Peter Laviolette rides the hot hand again Thursday. Especially with a spread-out schedule, it’s easy to see Shesterkin also starting Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche and Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The next time we may see Jonathan Quick in his quest to become the 15th NHL goalie to win 400 games could be the first weekend in February, when the Rangers play a back to back. But right, now there’s no reason to mess with a good thing — and Shesterkin is better than good at the moment.

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. Flyers: When, where, what time, how to watch

Who: New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

When: Thursday Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Madison Square Garden

How to watch: MSG

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.

The Rangers (14-12-1, 29 points) head to Buffalo for their game against the Sabres on Wednesday on the outside looking in at the playoffs for the first time this season. They begin the night one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers (13-12-4, 30 points), who own the second wild card after they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 on Tuesday — although New York does have two games in hand. The Tampa Bay Lightning (14-10-2, 30 points) own the first wild card, having played three fewer games than the Flyers (and fewer than any team in the East).

But the Rangers don’t have to look far to see a whole crowd of teams breathing down their neck in the wild-card race.

The list begins with the New York Islanders, who also have 29 points but have played three more games. The Pittsburgh Penguins have 28 points, Columbus is next at 27, the Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators each have 26 and the Montreal Canadiens bring up the rear with 25. The Islanders (3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings) and Penguins (6-2 to the Colorado Avalanche) each lost at home on Tuesday. Ottawa hosts Anaheim (and former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba) in the only other NHL game Wednesday.

Luckily for the Rangers, none of the teams battling for the last playoff spot has won more than half of its past 10 games.

By comparison, in the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, who are tied for last place, are 13 points behind the Vancouver Canucks, who own the second wild card – so the way the Rangers have struggled, they should be glad they’re not in the West.

Related: 10 most expensive contracts in Rangers history after massive Igor Shesterkin deal

Rangers shockingly fighting for spot in Stanley Cup Playoffs

Their struggles are a surprise. New York won the Presidents’ Trophy last season by going 55-23-4, then started the new season by going 5-0-1 in its first six games. The Rangers were 12-4-1 after winning the first two games of a four-game Western trip in mid-November and looked to all the world like they would be in a season-long battle with the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils for the top spot in the division.

Instead, beginning with a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Nov. 21, a game that saw them outshot 49-29, the Rangers have been the worst team in the NHL. Their 5-on-5 play has been abysmal and their special teams have been nothing special. Their big guns largely haven’t been firing and the defense has been shoddy. Goaltenders Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick have been excellent or things would be even worse.

The Rangers shook things up Friday by trading Trouba, their captain, to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, a few hours before defeating the Penguins 4-2 in their most solid game in three weeks. Things looked good when they grabbed a 3-1 lead against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday afternoon, only to see the visitors score five straight goals on the way to a 7-5 win.

But if that game was bad, Monday night’s desultory effort in a 2-1 home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks was far worse. Chicago began the night last in the overall standings, but the Hawks outworked, outhustled and outplayed the Rangers all night long to end a five-game losing streak.

“I believe the second and third period, the effort dipped from where it was in the first period and the execution was worse,” coach Peter Laviolette said after the latest loss. “The execution was off all night. Could be fatigue, could be mental, could be anything, regardless, it’s unacceptable. We have to be better than that, but we are not going to win hockey games if we can’t execute.”

The Rangers will face a team that has lots of its own issues when they face the Sabres.

Buffalo is desperate to avoid missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 14th straight season, which would extend their own NHL record. The Sabres are 0-4-3 in their past seven games and kicked away a 5-3 third-period lead at home against Detroit on Monday, ultimately losing 6-5 in a shootout. The win ended Detroit’s five-game losing streak as the Red Wings try to end an eight-season playoff drought.

“We’re not playing well,” Sabres forward Jason Zucker said after the loss. “We’ve got to, again, look in the mirror and understand where we’re at and at what point in the season we’re at here. We have a few games before Christmas. We’ve got to have a little bit more urgency.”

Beginning with the Rangers on Wednesday night, there are a lot of teams in the East who could use some of that urgency.

The Rangers (12-9-1) gave up two goals just 4:24 into the first period, and were outplayed for the majority of the that frame. Despite a better second and third period, the Rangers were not able to come all the way back. Vincent Trocheck scored the lone goal for the Rangers, his first point in six games.

“Not a good start,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said postgame. “Not really any excuse for that start. We found out we weren’t ready to play. We talked about it in between periods. I thought we were better in the second, had some looks in the third too, but you can’t dig yourself that big of a hole.”

In goal, Igor Shesterkin had a great game after a stretch of shaky play, but it was not enough to break the losing streak for New York. The Rangers were out-shot 35-23 in the contest, and once again were beaten by a slow start and a lack of offense.

Related: Rangers underlying numbers paint clouded picture of 1st quarter of season

3 takeaways from Rangers 3-1 loss to Flyers

Here are three takeaways from the game Friday.

1. Poor starts continue to be an issue

Once again, the Rangers had an awful start to the game against the Flyers, and it cost them. They gave up the first goal of the game just 3:14 into the first period, and surrendered another just a 1:20 later, putting them in an early 2-0 hole. This has been a recurring theme for the Rangers, as they’ve given up goals in the first period in eight of their past nine games.

“They out-worked us in the first period,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette explained. “[Adam] Fox tries to make a play at the offensive blue line and it gets blocked and it goes back the other way. That’s early in the game and we didn’t answer after that. Right away we’re on our heels a little bit and we didn’t really respond for the rest of the period.”

Not only were they down 2-0, but they were also out-shot 10-0 to start the game. It took 11:11 for the Rangers to get their first shot on goal, and they wrapped up the first period trailing in shots 15-4. If not for Shesterkin, it could have been 4-0 in the first period, or worse, because the Rangers gave up 10 high-danger chances to the Flyers, per Natural Stat Trick. Once again, the Rangers spent the rest of the contest chasing the game after their early deficit, and could not come back. This is an issue that New York needs to clean up desperately.

2. Shesterkin bounces back

Despite the loss, Shesterkin had an incredible outing for the Rangers after a stretch of games when he was not exactly playing up to his standards. He gave them every chance to come back and win, making 32 saves in the contest. These were often saves that came on odd-man rushes and high-danger opportunities. The Rangers were out-chanced 30-15 on Friday, including 16-6 in high-danger opportunities.

If there’s any silver lining in this, it’s that maybe Shesterkin can build on this game going forward. Over his previous five starts prior to this one, he struggled at times, with performances of a .907 save percentage or worse in three of the five games. A .941 save percentage against Philadelphia is exactly what he needed, albeit in another loss.

He’s allowed four or more goals in five of his past 11 starts. Though not all his fault, Shesterkin hadn’t been his most sharp. But he was on point Friday.

3. Will Cuylle continues to shine bright in the darkness

While the Rangers have now lost five straight and struggle to find consistency, one player who has remained consistent in his effort and production is Will Cuylle. With an assist on Trocheck’s goal, Cuylle now has 19 points on the season, second on the Rangers. Even more impressive is that all 19 of his points have come at even strength. He has the second-best even strength points per 60 minutes in the NHL this season, behind only Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin.

Vincent Trocheck gets the Rangers on the board

(via @NYRangers) pic.twitter.com/zehZhwDulC

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) November 29, 2024

Cuylle now has points in six of his past seven games (four goals, four assists). The 22-year-old forward easily is the Rangers best and most consistent player, especially during this five game stretch of losses. So, while the Rangers season is at it’s darkest point, Cuylle continues to shine brightly.