Mike Sullivan is running out of words to describe the New York Rangers‘ 2025-26 NHL season. Needless to say, he hasn’t got much nice things to say as of late. Just when the Blueshirts seemed to find their footing, a loss to the New Jersey Devils may cause them to spiral out of control. To add insult to injury, Sullivan confirmed injuries to Noah Laba and Urho Vaakanainen after the loss.
“We weren’t good enough all night long,” Sullivan admitted, per NHL.com. “We pushed in the third period, but it’s hard to win games when you only play a period.”
The Rangers lost 6-3 to the Devils at Madison Square Garden, where home fans have been treated to rough outings night in and night out in the 2025-26 NHL season. New York is now 9-17-6 when playing on home ice—only the Vancouver Canucks have a worse home record, and that’s far from a reason for celebration in The Big Apple.
Rangers remain winless against Tri-state area rivals
As if losing wasn’t painful enough in the NHL, doing so against fierce opponents stings even more. For Rangers fans in “The City,” there’s nothing worse than dropping games to their neighbors in Long Island and Newark. Still, so far this season, the Blueshirts have yet to defeat the Devils or Islanders.
Mike Sullivan at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy.
The Isles have swept the season series (4-0), outscoring the Blueshirts 14-3 over those four games. The Rangers–Islanders rivalry has been anything but an even fight this campaign. It’s no wonder the Islanders are third in the Metropolitan Division while the Rangers are dead last.
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Rangers can make history of the wrong kind
The Devils are seventh in the division, though, and yet they are still blowing New York out of the water. The Devils and Rangers are scheduled for their final regular-season matchup on March 31. If New York is unable to secure a win, then it will finish the campaign 0-3 against New Jersey.
Moreover, it would be the first time in franchise history that the Rangers fail to register a single regular-season victory over their Tri-State area neighbors. With nothing else left to play for, the Blueshirts must play for the pride of Manhattan on March 31 and avoid making embarrassing history.
| NY RANGERS VS NY ISLANDERS | NY RANGERS VS NJ DEVILS |
| 5-0 LOSS (HOME) | 6-3 LOSS (AWAY) |
| 2-0 LOSS (AWAY) | 6-3 LOSS (HOME) |
| 5-2 LOSS (AWAY) | MARCH 31st (HOME) |
| 2-1 LOSS (HOME) | — |
