That’s where the Islanders hosted the Columbus Jackets in a crucial contest.

Entering the day with 73 points (32-28-9), a win for the New York Islanders would have tied them with the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the East with each team having 12 games to play.

In the visiting locker room, the Blue Jackets needed the win just as badly. Entering play on a six-game skid (0-5-1) the Blue Jackets (31-29-9) desperately needed a victory to remain within striking distance and regain some of their footing in the race.

The back and forth game was tied at three as the final minute of regulation ticked away. With under 10 seconds to play, Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov shot the puck from near the blue line. Right in front of Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins, Kyle Palmieri deflected the shot into the goal with only 8.9 seconds left.

THE ISLANDERS SCORE WITH LESS THAN 10 SECONDS TO GO… but wait 😭

The play is under review. pic.twitter.com/rhLSuzkGRg

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 25, 2025

Right away, the official waved off the goal believing Palmieri interfered with Merzlikins. Palmieri and the Islanders, stunned, pleaded their case with the referees as the decision went to Toronto, where there was not enough video evidence to change the on-ice decision.

“If Toronto’s afraid to overturn calls made by the referee, we don’t need Toronto,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy stated flatly.

The Situation Room in Toronto ultimately deemed that Palmieri hindered Merzlikins while in the crease, despite barely being in the blue paint and seemingly giving Merzlikins enough time to reset.

“I think it was f–king embarrassing,” Palmieri fumed postgame. “Couldn’t disagree more with the call.”

“To be honest that’s one of the worst no-goal calls I’ve ever seen,” added Islanders forward Bo Horvat.

There was one more postgame gem delivered by Palmieri, who scored earlier in the game to make it 2-0 Islanders with under two minutes to play in the first period.

“[The referee] said there was contact initiated in the crease,” Palmieri explained, before adding a zinger. “And I guess the goalie needs five minutes to get reset and ready for the shot, and it looked like he couldn’t wait to waive it off.”

Neither team scored in the five-minute overtime, and Adam Fantilli won it for Columbus with the game-deciding shootout goal soon after, stealing two huge points for the Blue Jackets and leaving the Islanders with one, when they believe they earned two.

Related: Rangers Daily — Waiting on Gabe Perreault; Thatcher Demko return lifts Canucks to win

3-point result on Long Island not best news for idle Rangers

The overtime outcome was not great for the Rangers and their playoff chances, but it could have been worse; two points for the Islanders and they would’ve passed the Rangers in the Eastern Conference standings.

But, the Blue Jackets’ overtime victory was not that much better of a result for the Rangers. Now, they are just one point behind the Rangers, and by picking up the loser point the Islanders tied the Blueshirts with 74 points. The Blue Jackets and Islanders each have a game in hand on the Rangers.

If the Rangers could’ve scripted the best possible outcome, it would’ve been a Blue Jackets win in regulation. Instead, each of their competitors gained ground and the Islanders are now tied with the Rangers for ninth in the conference, though the Islanders are percentage points ahead.

Keep in mind that the Rangers play the Islanders once more this season, April 10 at UBS Arena. Their season series against the Blue Jackets is complete, the Rangers winning three of four meetings.

The Rangers have lost three of four and are 3-5-2 in their past 10 games. They open a three-game road trip in California against the Loss Angeles Kings on Tuesday. The Kings boast a 25-3-4 record at home this year and have been on fire as of late, winning eight of their past nine games.

After that are more favorable matchups against the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks; the Rangers need to return home with at least four points on the road trip to stay in this wacky wild-card race.

The Devils are third in the Metropolitan Division and have a six-point lead on the next closest team, which just so happens to be the Rangers. At 80 points (37-28-6) with 11 games to go, the Devils are closer to clinching a playoff berth than losing their hold on third place in the division.

But heading into a clash against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday at Prudential Center, the Devils have dropped three of their past four games, including two straight on home ice.

Following a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, struggling Devils defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic emphasized the need for New Jersey to adopt a playoff mindset now, three weeks out from the start of the postseason.

“We have a pretty home-heavy schedule the rest of the rest of the way here. We got to make this place a hard place to play and a hard place to beat us,” Kovacevic explained. “I think that’s something that we want to take pride in. We’re in a fight, and hopefully that gets us in that playoff mentality 10-11, games out, and we carry that into the playoffs. Obviously the results are tough, but we’re in a fight here, and we’re not going to back down.”

Kovacevic’s postgame comments were not out of the ordinary. With less than a month until the playoffs begin, wins and losses are not the only focus for the Devils; equally as important is tuning up for the postseason.

“I guarantee to you he’s thinking he’s doing absolutely nothing wrong,” Elliotte Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Jonathan Kovacevic said the Devils need a playoff mentality. Sheldon Keefe responded by saying Kovacevic “just needs to play better” 😳 pic.twitter.com/sQoDPjk0xl

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 23, 2025

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe disagreed.

“Kovacevic just needs to play better. That would help,” Keefe said, cutting off the reporter’s question postgame Saturday.

Clearly tensions are running high and there’s a there seems to be a disconnect in the Devils locker room as they continue to falter down the stretch, while also dealing with some serious injury issues.

“I think that shows the stress of this time of year,” Friedman observed.

Related: Rangers comeback against Canucks fueled by ‘little bit of yelling in locker room’

Rangers might be more feared opponent than Devils, if they reach playoffs

Barring an unthinkable collapse, the Devils will be one of the eight Eastern Conference playoff teams. However, they are not playing like one of the eight best teams in the east, which could spell an early exit from the postseason.

Their struggles can be attributed in part to the injury bug; Jacob Markstrom went down first and has not been playing his best since returning; Dougie Hamilton is set to miss the rest of the regular season; and Jack Hughes underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on March 5.

That’s their No. 1 goalie, top defenseman and star center.

The Devils have looked mediocre without Hughes, who left their March 2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights with the injury. Including that 2-0 loss in Sin City, the Devils have are 4-6-0 since Hughes went down.

But the Devils weren’t so great with Hughes in the lineup either. They are 13-17-3 since Dec. 28. Once the first-place team in the Metro, they’re now third, 10 points behind the second-place Carolina Hurricanes. As the Hurricanes surge, the Devils sink. And those teams are set to meet in the Eastern Conference First Round.

So, the Devils are in a much better spot right now than the Rangers. But incredibly, if they make the playoffs, the Rangers might be in position to be a tougher out than their Hudson River rivals.

That’s a stunning reversal from where things stood earlier this season, even if the Rangers (34-31-6) currently stand ninth in the Eastern Conference, on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

That’s not exactly a soft landing spot for the Rangers (31-27-6), who’ve dropped three straight (0-1-2) after losing to the two teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference playoff race on consecutive days Saturday and Sunday. The Jets (44-17-4) lead the Western Conference and are tied with the Washington Capitals for most points in the NHL with 92.

Perhaps the Rangers are catching the Jets at the right time, however. The Jets just returned from an East Coast trip and are 2-3-1 in their past six games since a franchise-record 11-game winning streak.

Or maybe that’s wishful thinking. The Jets have been a powerhouse all season, allowing the fewest goals in the NHL (2.32 per game) and scoring the third most (3.49). Their goal differential is whopping +76, far and away the best in the League. By contrast, the Rangers are -2 after losing 4-3 in overtime to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and 7-3 on home ice to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.

The Rangers are ninth in the East, two points behind the Blue Jackets for the second wild card and three back of the Senators for the top wild-card spot.

New York is trying to avoid being swept in the season series after losing 6-3 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12. The Jets are 4-0-1 in their past five games against the Rangers; but the Rangers have won seven of their past 10 visits to Canada Life Centre.

Related: Should Alexis Lafreniere be playing for his Rangers future down stretch of season

3 things to watch for when Rangers visit Jets

1. Bounce back

If the Rangers weren’t resilient, they would’ve just caved after that 4-15-0 stretch in November and December. They didn’t and are now in the thick of the playoff race with 18 games to play in the regular season.

That’s relevant because the Rangers were kicked in the teeth twice last weekend. First, they blew a pair of two-goals leads, including one midway through the third period, in losing to the Senators. Then they somehow got blown out 7-3 by the Blue Jackets after tying the game in the second period with a pair of short-handed goals on the same penalty kill. Who does that?

The Rangers need to leave that all in the past and focus on playing a tight, smart game against an elite opponent Tuesday. A big bounce-back win in the ‘Peg would do wonders for the Rangers.

2. Not-so-welcoming hosts

The Jets have treated visitors rather rudely at Canada Life Centre this season. They are an imposing 23-5-4 on home ice and own a six-game point streak at home (5-0-1). They’ve lost only twice in regulation in their past 20 home games (14-2-4).

On the flip side, the Rangers are 15-13-3 away from MSG this season, but have points in four of their past five road games (3-1-1).

Also, to keep in mind for the Rangers, it would behoove them to get a lead and keep it. The Jets are 27-3- when scoring first, 25-0-3 when leading after the first period and 34-0-1 when leading after two periods. They’re the only team not to lose in regulation this season when leading after 40 minutes.

3. Revolving door on third line

Arthur Kaliyev returns to the Rangers lineup Tuesday. his first game action after being a healthy scratch the past seven games. He replaces Brett Berard, who played against Columbus. Berard had replaced Juuso Parssinen, who played four games after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in the Ryan Lindgren trade but was scratched after being a minus-2 against Ottawa.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette is looking for the right fit on that line after moving center Sam Carrick up from the fourth line and Chris Kreider’s return from injury this past weekend.

Kaliyev has four points (three goals, one assist) in 13 games with the Rangers. He has one goal in his past games played.

New York Rangers projected lineup

Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere

Cuylle – J.T. Miller- Zibanejad

Kreider – Carrick – Kaliyev

Othmann – Brodzinski – Rempe

K. Miller – Borgen

Vaakanaien – Schneider

Soucy – Jones

Shesterkin

Quick

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

Who: New York Rangers vs. Winnipeg Jets

When: Tuesday, March 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET

Where: Canada Life Centre

How to watch: MSG

The Rangers (31-26-4) have won four of their past five games and seven of 10. They trail the slumping Devils (33-24-6) by six points for third place in the Metropolitan Division, and have two games in hand on their Hudson River rivals heading into a home game Wednesday against the first-place Washington Capitals.

So, think big, right?

“They’re only six points behind the Devils. That is significant. I don’t think Chris Drury is saying we’re going to get in as a wild card,” Biron told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast. “The injury to Jack Hughes, Jacob Markstrom missed some time. It’s almost like they’re looking at the Devils saying, ‘We could get in as the No. 3 in the Metro and really earn our stripes going into the playoffs.’ That to me is why these next few weeks are going to be interesting for the Rangers. Not just a wild card with Detroit and Columbus. It’s chase the New Jersey Devils if you can.”

The Devils (33-24-6) are vulnerable. After a strong start this season, they’re 9-13-3 since Dec. 28. They’ve won consecutive games once since then (Jan. 22-25) and are coming off a brutal 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, when Thomas Harley scored the game-winner with five seconds remaining in regulation.

In addition, the Devils announced Wednesday that Jack Hughes is out for the rest of the season following shoulder surgery. A simply massive blow.

Plus New Jersey’s top defenseman Dougie Hamilton left the game Tuesday with an injury and it’s unknown how long he’ll be out. It feels like it’s all falling apart in Newark.

The Rangers are in position to pounce, despite their own 4-15-0 nosedive in November and December which nearly submarined their playoff hopes. However, just when the Devils’ fortunes went south, things brightened for the Rangers, who are 15-7-3 since Jan. 2.

A 12-4-1 start to the season by the Rangers can’t be overlooked either.

“That’s what a good start to the season will do, right? They put some points in the bank and then when they struggled, they at least had that to back them up,” Biron explained.

Related: ‘These challenges galvanize you’: Mike Richter remains bullish on these Rangers

Martin Biron believes Rangers made ‘genius move’ trading for J.T. Miller

It’s never one thing that helps a team turn things around. And that’s true of the Rangers this season.

Biron points to two important factors that were key to put the Rangers in their current position and positive mindset after so much negativity earlier in the season. One, is that general manager Chris Drury — Biron’s teammate with the Buffalo Sabres and later the Rangers — stood by his veteran Stanley Cup-winning coach Peter Laviolette and instead made significant changes to the roster.

“What Chris Drury has done is say, ‘This coach is the coach I want, my coaching staff is the coaching staff I want. You guys, meaning the players, are on the ones on the hot seat and if you don’t perform, we’re going to move you,” Biron said.

Second was the impactful acquisition of J,T. Miller in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31. That was the fourth and most meaningful trade Drury made in-season.

“Then he brought in J.T. Miller. I thought that was a genius move,” “What you did was basically bring in a guy that this is our leader now. You’ve got [Adam] Fox, [Artemi] Panarin, [Mika] Zibanejad, but people in New York are saying Miller is the one you’ve got to build around. That’s is pretty significant.”

Circling back to chasing down the Devils, it’s not exactly an easy task for many reasons. To begin with, there’s the surprising Columbus Blue Jackets, another Metropolitan Division team, to contend with. They’re two points ahead of the Rangers in the first wild card and just four point in arrears of the Devils, with two games in hand. Columbus plays both New York and New Jersey twice more this season. That could go a long way in deciding who finishes where in the standings.

The Rangers and Devils have one more meeting, April 5 at Prudential Center.

There are other factors like the Rangers inability to win more than two games in a row (no three-game winning streak since Nov. 14-19) and the chance to earn loser’s points along the way make things difficult to predict and not as easy as saying, win a certain amount of games and you’ll earn a certain spot in the standings.

But Biron is right. Set the sights high. Aim for bigger goal. Then see where you end up.

Subscribe to the RINK RAP podcast at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page

This despite the Rangers coming out of the 4-Nations Face-Off break with some brutal play in an 8-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres and a fortunate 5-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Since then, the Rangers have really reformed their game, with a willingness to do the dirty work. That includes increased physicality, blocking shots, and committing to team defense. That was all on display when they blocked 22 shots in the win over the Islanders. The overall result has been winning four of their past five games, the past two in convincing fashion.

“We want to make sure that we have an identity that’s hard to play against,” Braden Schneider said following the win Monday. “Not everyone’s going to score a goal or get an assist, but if you can get some hits and block some shots, it gets the bench going. It creates energy, and the next guy wants to do it too. It’s huge that we have everyone buying in and playing hard.”

The Rangers will need to have everyone buying in as the race for the playoffs remains tight. The Rangers are now tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card spot with 66 points, and trail the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first wild card by two points. Both the Red Wings and Blue Jackets have one game in hand, and will make it up when they each play Tuesday night.

Things took a noticeable turn for the better for the Rangers when they matched up against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Friday. Even though they lost 3-2, their defensive play took a considerable jump, and the team started to build momentum that was desperately needed after playing sub-par at best coming out of the 4 Nations break.

“That first game after the break we came back and we gave up eight,” explained Schneider. “I think we really wanted to focus on making sure that we’re communicating in our own end and sorting things out as quick as we can. I thought we’ve done a really good job of that. We’ve been able to keep things to the outside for the most part. Blocking shots, taking guys out of the play when we can, everyone’s buying in.”

Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from another shutout victory as momentum builds

Rangers ‘not panicking as much’ amid playoff push

It hasn’t all been great for the Rangers over their stretch of seven wins in their past 10 games. There’s been some brutal defensive lapses, especially in the games against the Sabres and Penguins. On top of that, the Rangers have still yet to string three wins together since Nov. 14-19.

However, they seem to have hit a turning point in the Toronto game, and will have a chance to win three straight in their next game on Wednesday. That’ll be no easy task since they take on the Washington Capitals, who are first in the Eastern Conference and second in the overall standings.

“We did a good job after that Toronto game even though we lost,” Mika Zibanejad explained. “We looked at that game and said that we’re happy with a lot of things, and a lot of things in our effort in that game. We’ve been bringing that the last couple games here.”

They certainly have brought that effort in their past couple games. Matching up against two sub-par teams in the Predators and Islanders meant two games that the Rangers absolutely needed to win, and they made no mistake of doing so by shutting out each just 24 hours apart.

“We’re playing simple,” Zibanejad continued. “We’re not panicking as much. If they have momentum, alright, let’s try to break it. Bend don’t break. It doesn’t hurt to have two elite goalies back there too.”

The Rangers netminders have been nothing short of outstanding in this recent stretch. Jonathan Quick came up with his 63rd career shutout in his 800th NHL game Sunday, making 35 saves which included 20 in the third period alone when Nashville was pushing and had the better of the play.

Shesterkin followed it up with a shutout of his own, making 21 saves against the Islanders. Some of which were very timely in terms of swinging the momentum in favor of the Rangers.

Whether it’s blocking shots, playing physical, or simply just executing, there’s a newfound sense of confidence in this Rangers lineup. Whatever it is, it’s working, and the Rangers are going to need a lot more of it over their final 21 games of the regular season if they want to find themselves in the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

“I think it’s maybe vague, but we give ourselves a chance to win,” Zibanejad said. “I don’t think we shoot ourselves in the foot in the same way we’ve maybe done it before. The intentions that we’re playing with, the attention to detail. The two points, getting wins, that just kind of builds confidence in the room.”

After getting blown out by the Buffalo Sabres 8-2 in their first game post break, and somehow earning a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins when they were heavily outplayed in the next game, the Rangers have settled in, and are beginning to turn their game around.

They’ve been consistently better the past three games, even though they lost one of them, 3-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday. In their wins against the Predators and New York Islanders (last Tuesday), the Rangers outscored the opposition 9-1.

“Yeah, trending in the right direction,” J.T. Miller said postgame Sunday.

But it’s not all perfect, according to the Rangers forward.

“I thought the first [period] was really good, but I think once we got a big lead, I feel like we didn’t really gain lines very well. Turned over a lot of pucks and forced [goalie Jonathan Quick] to make some really nice saves. He was awesome, and we’ll take the points right now.”

But those were two big points Sunday. Playing a down-and-out team, the Rangers absolutely had to win. And they did. Same holds true when they host the Islanders at MSG on Monday. The Islanders are better than the Predators, but still a team the Rangers should handle.

The Rangers enter play with 64 points, just two out of the second wild card-spot held by the Detroit Red Wings. New York is tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference with the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. Ottawa plays the first-place Washington Capitals on Monday.

Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from shutout win that flipped script on Predators

Rangers need to ‘put together some wins’ to overcome stagnant playoff bubble

The Rangers didn’t do themselves any favors by dropping two winnable games out of their past five since the 4 Nations break. That being said, they’re still in a position to climb back into the playoffs. Their play over the past three games, despite losing one of them, has looked much better than the first two that had many wondering if the Rangers had any chance of making the postseason.

“I don’t like the first one out of the break, for sure,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette explained. “That was tough. I think the other ones were hard-fought. I do think it’s gotten better in the last couple games. Certainly we generated more off the rush and in the zone. The first 40 minutes (Sunday) and last game, I do think we were pretty tight defensively.”

Now the focus shifts to putting together a string of wins. The Rangers have not won three games in a row since Nov. 14-19. Their longest winning streak is four games Oct. 14-22.

While they’ve really turned their season around after bottoming out with a 4-15-0 record that bridged November and December, the Rangers have not been able to win more than two in a row.

“There’s a lot of hockey left, we’ve got to worry about ourselves,” Laviolette said prior to the game Sunday. “I feel like if we can put together some wins, I still feel like we’re in control of what we do here. We string together the majority of the wins, we can put 75 percent, 80 percent wins together, and do it for a stretch of time, we’ll find our own way.”

Winning 80 percent of the remaining games would surely help the Rangers cause, but they’ll have to go on several winning streaks if they want to make that happen. Keep in mind, again, they haven’t done that often this season, not even during their 10-game point streak in January, when they were 7-0-3.

New York has just 22 games remaining this season. Winning 80 percent of those games would roughly be an 18-4-0 record. That seems ambitious. But this is the spot they’ve put themselves in.

But it does feel like the Rangers have turned a corner and will be in this race until the end. That’s a much better place to be than where they were two months ago.

The Blueshirts will resume play three points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, well within striking distance with 27 games remaining. They do have three teams ahead of them as they sit 11th in the standings, and the Islanders are only one point behind them. The closeness of the contenders makes each game coming up for the Rangers all the more important.

After the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Rangers have a prime opportunity to come out of the gates flying. They start on the road against three opponents that are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.

First up Saturday is the Buffalo Sabres, who bring up the rear in the East and are headed to a 14th consecutive season out of the playoffs. The Rangers have split the season series with the Sabres (1-1-0), but the two have not faced off since Dec. 11, when the Blueshirts were in dire straits.

However, though the Sabres only have 49 points this season, they entered the break on a heater, having won four of their past five games and scoring 22 goals in the process.

Next up is the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. They’re another team near the bottom of the standings, with 55 points (23-25-9), three back of the Rangers. They inched closer thanks to their 3-2 victory over the Blueshirts on Feb. 7, but lost 3-2 to the Flyers in Philadelphia one night later.

New York dominated the first two matchups, outscoring Pittsburgh 10-2, but a three-goal second period was enough to take down the streaking Rangers in their most recent meeting. Helping the Rangers here is that they have two games in hand on the Penguins, who likely will still be without injured star Evgeni Malkin.

Rounding out the road slate of games, the Rangers travel to Long Island for a rivalry matchup against the Islanders on Feb. 25. Interestingly enough, this only marks the second game this season against their local rival. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 5-3 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 3.

The Islanders rattled off seven straight wins at the end of January before injury issues came back to bite them. They lost three of their last four games before the 4 Nations break, leaving them with 57 points (25-23-7).

Any game against the Islanders is tough because of the intense nature of the rivalry. But the Rangers should be licking their chops seeing the Sabres, Penguins and Isles right away after the break.

Related: Chris Kreider makes 4 Nations debut honoring Johnny Gaudreau: ‘He’s here in spirit’

Rangers schedule gets tougher during 4-game homestand

Though on the road, the stretch of three games in four days offers the Rangers an opportunity to stack some points against teams below them in the standings. If they take care of business on the road, they very well could be occupying a wild-card spot when they return to Madison Square Garden for a four-game homestand heading into the trade deadline.

The schedule gets a little tougher though; New York starts out with a Friday night matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 28. Occupying second place in the Atlantic Division with 68 points (33-20-2), the Maple Leafs are one of the better teams in the League. Containing Auston Matthews and Co. will be a challenge.

The Rangers figure to have an easier matchup against the Nashville Predators on March 2. The Predators have had a massively disappointing season after adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei during the summer. They are 30th overall in the League and have just 19 wins — but one of them was against the Rangers.

The last time the teams met, Juuse Saros pitched a 25-save shutout in a 2-0 victory in Nashville on Dec. 17. The Rangers are a much better team since that game. The Predators? Not as much.

The following night on March 3, the Rangers welcome the Islanders to Madison Square Garden for another rivalry showdown. This one could be heated, considering it’s the second meeting in seven days.

The Rangers end the homestand on March 5 by playing host to the top team in the East, the Washington Capitals, on national television (TNT). The Capitals are second in the NHL with 80 points (55-36-11) and entered the break with one regulation loss in their previous 13 games (9-1-3).

The Rangers are 0-2-0 against the Capitals this season, losing twice in Washington.

There are no gimmes in the NHL. But it’s safe to say that the Rangers have a chance to make some hay coming out of the break — and there’s no question they have to take advantage of it.

The Rangers saw at least one point get away Sunday when the Colorado Avalanche scored with 14.7 seconds remaining in regulation, handing New York a 5-4 loss at Madison Square Garden. New York overcame deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 and was less than 15 seconds away from getting at least a point – one they really could have used. Almost everyone else in the Eastern Conference playoff scramble got at least one win this weekend – the Ottawa Senators got two.

The loss to the Avalanche ended the Rangers point streak at 10 games (7-0-3) as they prepare for a Tuesday night visit from the Carolina Hurricanes, who’ve defeated them in each of their two meetings this season.

After that, it will be time for some serious scoreboard watching — the Rangers will be off until Saturday afternoon, when they begin a stretch of five games in eight days before the 4 Nations Face-off break, when they visit the Boston Bruins on Feb. 1.

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

Related: Rangers daily, including kick in the gut loss, Vegas star withdraws from 4 Nations Faceoff

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 (33-11-5) are the leaders in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy, the Carolina Hurricanes (30-16-4) are second and the New Jersey Devils (28-17-6) trail them by two points.

#NEWS: Goaltender Jacob Markstrom underwent imaging on Thursday, which indicated an MCL sprain. He will be out approximately four to six weeks.

Markstrom will miss the remainder of the club’s games leading into the Four Nations break.

He will begin a rehab program under the… pic.twitter.com/YjL67PYILH

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 24, 2025

The Devils lead everyone else in the division by at least seven points, which gives them some runway to cope with the loss of starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who will miss 4-6 weeks with a sprained knee ligament sustained in a 5-1 win against Boston on Jan. 22. Jake Allen got the win when the Devils topped the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime at Bell Centre on Saturday and will be expected to carry the load.

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

Ahead of the Rangers (current wild cards)

Boston Bruins (25-20-6)

The Bruins looked like they were headed for another loss when they entered the third period against Colorado on Saturday afternoon trailing 1-0, but David Pastrnak set up two goals by Morgan Geekie and scored an empty-netter for a 3-1 win. That nudged them into third place in the Atlantic Division, behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, until Ottawa defeatedToronto 2-1 on Saturday and Utah 3-1 on Sunday, dropping Boston back to the top wild card.

The Bruins’ biggest problem is that they’ve played 51 games, more than any of the other playoff contenders. They’re even with Ottawa at 56 points, but the Senators have a game in hand, as do the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers. The Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings each have two games in hand, and the New York Islanders have three.

The Rangers edged the Bruins 2-1 at the Garden on Jan. 2 and go to Boston on Saturday afternoon for a nationally televised game, then host them four nights later.

Tampa Bay Lightning (26-19-3)

The Lightning were close to what would have ended as an 0-4-0 road trip last week, but they scored a sixth-attacker goal and an overtime game winner for a 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, one night before a 2-0 loss at Detroit. The good news for the Lightning is that they play their next five games at Amalie Arena following a stretch that saw them on the road for 10 of 14 games since the start of the New Year.

Tampa Bay’s .573 points percentage is third in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the East, and their 48 games played are tied with the Islanders for the fewest in the East, so it’s hard to believe they won’t end up in the top three in their division. The Rangers lost 6-2 at Tampa Bay on Dec. 28 and play the Lightning twice in the final 10 days of the season.

Ahead of the Rangers (but not in the playoffs)

Columbus Blue Jackets (24-19-7)

Columbus was 1-2-1 on a four-game road trip that included a 1-0 shootout loss to the Rangers at the Garden on Jan. 18 before a one-game stop at home on Saturday that saw them top the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Kirill Marchenko’s overtime goal. The Jackets have to sit and watch for the next few days before beginning another four-game trip, this one starting Thursday at Vegas.

The Rangers and Blue Jackets have three games remaining, the next one is in Columbus on Feb. 8 — it’s 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 (24-20-5)

The Canadiens stole a point Saturday when they overcame a pair of two-goal deficits before losing in overtime to New Jersey at Bell Centre. Montreal is 10-3-2 since the Christmas break — including a 5-4 overtime win against the Rangers at Bell Centre on Jan. 19 — and has home games against the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild 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 come together under ex-Rangers forward Martin St. Louis 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.

Behind the Rangers

We’ll assume that the Pittsburgh Penguins (48 points in 51 games) and Buffalo Sabres (41 in 49 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 three other teams that begin the new week trailing the Rangers while still holding realistic playoff hopes.

Detroit Red Wings (23-21-5, 51 points)

The Wings helped their efforts to host their first playoff game at Little Caesars Arena, which opened in the fall of 2016, by blanking the Lightning on Saturday behind ex-Rangers goalie Cam Talbot for their second straight win after an 0-2-1 slide that saw them score one goal in each game. The Red Wings have a home game against Los Angeles on Monday before heading out for a 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.

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

The Flyers were scheduled to have the weekend off before hosting the Devils on Monday night to begin a home-and-home set. Unfortunately, the offense went home a couple of days too early, managing a total of two goals in losses to the Rangers at MSG (6-1) on Thursday and to the Islanders (3-1) at UBS Arena the next night, dropping them back to NHL .500 and five points out of a playoff spot. The Flyers, who host the Islanders on Thursday, are in the midst of a stretch of five games in eight days before they head to Colorado on Sunday.

The Rangers don’t see them again until the Flyers come to the Garden on April 9.

New York Islanders (21-20-7, 48 points)

The Islanders have worked their way onto the fringes of the playoff chase in the East by winning four straight games, all at home, after losing the first two of a season-high seven-game homestand that ends Tuesday against Colorado. The Isles still have trouble scoring, but they’ve allowed just five goals during the winning streak.

However, they lost defensemen Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock with injuries last week, and could be without goalie Marcus Hogberg, who left before overtime Saturday in a 3-2 win against Carolina with 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.

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.

That’s a big change from the same time a year ago, when the Rangers’ biggest concern was holding off the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Metropolitan Division – which they ultimately did while going on to win the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season champion and getting within two victories of a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

This season began looking like it would be a repeat of 2023-24 – the Rangers started 12-4-1 and were in a four-way race for the top spot in the division. Then the bottom fell out.

Beginning with a 3-2 road loss to the Calgary Flames on Nov. 21, the Rangers were the worst team in the NHL through the rest of 2024. They went 4-15-0 in their next 19, dropping them not only out of the race for the division title but well outside of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference. Most discouraging was that they barely put up a fight in many of those games – most notably a 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils in Newark that saw them manage just 12 shots on goal. Captain Jacob Trouba was traded in early December, and forward Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, was shipped to the Seattle Kraken before Christmas.

SAM CALLED GAME. pic.twitter.com/Hhp0McxHUx

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 10, 2025

But things have perked up since the start of the new year. The Rangers are 3-1-1 in their first five games of the new year after a 3-2 overtime win against the Devils at Madison Square Garden on Thursday in what might have been their best effort of the season. The win lifted them to 19-20-1 at the midpoint of their season.

Making the playoffs in the Western Conference might be impossible – the Rangers would be seven points out of the second wild-card spot and at least 13 out of any of the other seven berths. But the East is another story: Though the Rangers are 13th in the conference, they are just four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets, who hold the second wild card, and five in back of the Boston Bruins, who’ve dropped back to the first wild card. The Rangers also have one game in hand on the Jackets and three on the B’s.

Here’s a look at the Rangers’ standing in the playoff race as they prepare for what they hope is a much better second half.

Where they are

At 19-20-1, the Rangers have dropped off markedly from the same point last season, when they began the second half at 26-13-2, one point ahead of Carolina for the top spot in the tops in the Metropolitan Division. They are 9-9-2 at home and 10-11-0 away from Madison Square Garden – and those 11 losses at home match their total for all of last season. They are in a three-way tie for 20th in goals scored (120, 16 fewer than last season) and tied for 17th in fewest goals (130, 10 more than last season).

The visit to Vegas begins one of the busies stretches of the season for the Rangers. From Jan. 11-19, they play five games in five cities. The good news, assuming the Rangers can rediscover their winning touch at home, is that from Jan. 18-Feb. 7, they play eight of 10 games at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers still have their California trip in front of them; they visit the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks from March 25-29, beginning a stretch that will see them finish the season with seven of their final 11 games on the road.

Teams ahead of them – division races

It looks like the top three teams in the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions are already set. The Toronto Maple Leafs, defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning are 1-2-3 in the Atlantic – the third-place Bolts are just one point ahead of Boston but have five games in hand on the Bruins.

The top three spots in the Metro also look like they’ve been determined. The first-place Washington Capitals have stretched their lead over Carolina and New Jersey to five points, and the Caps have games in hand on each. The fourth-place Blue Jackets are 10 points back.

Both sets of top-three teams have a points percentage of .590 or better; no one else in the East is better than .524.

Wild-card race — teams ahead

Here’s where things get interesting in the “Mushy Middle” of the East.

The Bruins have 45 points (20-19-5), good for the first wild card – but everyone else in the East has games in hand on them. Boston showed a spark under Joe Sacco, who took over as coach after Jim Montgomery was fired in mid-November. But the B’s are 0-4-1 in their past five games and 1-4-1 since the Christmas break, dropping them back into the pack. Their minus-27 goal differential is the worst in the East.

The Blue Jackets (19-17-6) are one of the season’s best stories. Little was expected of Columbus after the tragic offseason death of star forward Johnny Gaudreau, but the Jackets hold a wild-card berth and are tied for third in the league with 147 goals. Their problem is defense; the Blue Jackets have allowed 150 goals, more than all but three teams.

Teams (including the Rangers) chasing a wild card

After the two current wild cards, there’s a mad scramble.

No team has given up more than the Pittsburgh Penguins (18-17-8), who’ve surrendered 159. The Penguins also lead the league with seven losses in games they’ve led by multiple goals. The line of Sidney Crosby (47 points), Rickard Rakell (21 goals) and Bryan Rust (16 goals, 32 points) is carrying the Pens, but someone has to keep the puck out of the net.

The Montreal Canadiens (20-18-3) are above NHL .500 at the midway point for the first time in what seems like eons. They’ve gotten a spark from rookie goalie Jakub Dobes, who won his first two NHL starts, allowing one goal in the process. The Canadiens haven’t made the playoffs since 2021, when they reached the Final in the Covid-shortened season.

A coaching charge appears to have lit a fire under the Detroit Red Wings (19-18-4), who’ve won five in a row under Todd McLellan as they seek their first playoff berth since 2016. The Wings’ host three of the NHL’s bottom-feeders (Chicago, Seattle, San Jose) before playing eight of 11 on the road, including a trip to Western Canada and Seattle.

The Ottawa Senators (19-18-3) went 4-4-1 on a nine-game trip, and poor play dropped them out of a wild-card spot. Linus Ullmark’s goaltending had carried them into the top eight in the East; his back injury has coincided with a 1-3-1 post-Christmas slide. If he’s not back soon, it’s hard to see the Senators competing for a playoff spot.

The New York Islanders (16-18-7) survived a rash of major injuries (Mathew Barzal, Anthony Duclair, Adam Pelech) but haven’t been a whole lot better since getting healthy. They struggle to score, give up far too many Grade-A scoring chances and are last on the power play and the penalty kill. However, they did win 4-0 in Vegas on Thursday.

Life has gotten tough for the Philadelphia Flyers (17-20-5), who have struggled during the two injury-related absences of starting goalie Samuel Ersson. They are 0-3-1 during his latest injury and 1-4-1 in their past six games. The Flyers have a stretch later this month when they’ll play eight of nine games — including five in a row — against the three NYC-area teams.

Last, but not least, the Buffalo Sabres (16-21-5) are beginning to dig out after a 13-game losing streak dropped them to the bottom of the East. They are 4-2-1 since then and just seven points out of a playoff spot, but there may be too many teams ahead of them to prevent an NHL-record 14th straight non-playoff season.

Conclusion

There’s definitely a path to the playoffs for the Rangers, though it would almost certainly be as a wild card. But it won’t be easy. They’ve exhausted almost all their wiggle room, and they can’t take any nights off, especially against teams they should beat.

The power play has to perk up, they have to rediscover the home-ice domination they had last season — and they must hope that the other teams they’re jockeying with don’t go on hot streaks.

It will be difficult … but not impossible.