Mike Sullivan addressed his team’s performance after the Buffalo Sabres defeated the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts are hoping to close out the 2025–26 NHL season with good vibes, and the head coach made sure not to bring them down at the first sign of trouble.
“I thought we played a pretty good game tonight against a real good team,” Sullivan stated after the game, via NHL.com. “We didn’t get the result, but when you look at how the game was played, we felt really good about our overall team game. We had a lot of scoring opportunities. We passed up [a lot of opportunities] But I really like our team game.”
Although Sullivan recently explained the reasoning behind the recent boom of Rangers’ prospects in the 2025-26 NHL season, that young flame wasn’t enough to propel New York past Buffalo—currently first in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers put up a great fight, but in the end, the better team prevailed.
Disaster averted for Rangers
The Rangers know they lost to one strong candidate for the Stanley Cup. Still, the fact they couldn’t get one last win in their home closer may sting. Regardless, the tide has changed in New York. What was once on track to be the worst season in franchise history can finish on—somewhat of—a strong note. It won’t be enough to call it a good year—whatsoever—but it’s far from the disaster it could have been.
J.T. Miller #8 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden
Just barely, the Blueshirts avoided setting a new franchise record for the fewest home wins in an 82-game season. New York’s 14-20-7 record on home ice in the 2025–26 campaign was just enough to surpass its 13-21-3-4 (W-L-T-OT) record in the 2003–04 season. Still, that record came before stalemates were eliminated in the NHL. Perhaps the win total would’ve been higher for that Rangers squad.
Rangers’ final games of the season
As their 7-game homestand came to an end with the defeat against the Sabres, the Rangers must hit the road for their last three games of the season. New York is headed south. First, it will take on the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
The Blueshirts will follow that up with a trip to The Sunshine State. On April 13, the Rangers will face the Florida Panthers, before waving the season goodbye in a tough matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
