The New York Rangers face a steep, uphill battle as they fight to keep their NHL season alive and secure a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While not throwing in the towel, head coach Peter Laviolette delivered an honest admission about how he originally envisioned this campaign with the Broadway Blueshirts.
The Rangers are sitting six points behind the Montreal Canadiens, vying to snatch the second wild card berth from the red-hot Habs in the final stetch of the NHL regular season. However, their odds aren’t looking too good.
Though New York has one more game remaining than the Canadiens, the six-point deficit feels like a hole too deep for the Blueshirts to climb out of, especially when taking into account their inconsistency all season long.
Laviolette‘s Rangers haven’t won three straight games since late November, while the Canadiens are currently riding a five-game win streak. New York faces the 11th toughest remaining schedule in the NHL and clearly doesn’t hold control of its own destiny, needing a collapse from Montreal to have a shot.
Head coach Peter Laviolette of New York Rangers handles the bench during the game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on October 04, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey.
Needless to say, this scenario was far from what Laviolette and the organization in The Big Apple expected after reaching last season’s Eastern Conference Final during the playoffs.
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“If you would’ve asked me this summer, I’d say [I’m surprised we’re in this position],” Laviolette honestly admitted during media availability, via The New York Post. “We need to win more hockey games. We certainly are disappointed to be in this position.”
Domino effect
The Rangers have only themselves to blame for their current, unfavorable position in the NHL standings. The Canadiens don’t look like a team bound to stumble or crumble at this point in the season, and New York’s hopes seem as good as gone.
“Obviously, they cannot wave the white flag just yet—if they’re going down, they must go down swinging. But once the season is over, it’ll be time to take a hard, piercing, and uncomfortable look in the mirror.
“It’s not something that I woke up this morning and was surprised by,” Laviolette added. “We’ve been in this position all year. We’ve been outside the line, we’ve been just inside the line and it doesn’t surprise me at this point.“
Put the pressure on the Habs
The Rangers and Canadiens aren’t the only teams in the fight for the last wild card berth—the Red Wings, Islanders, Blue Jackets, and even the Sabres are still hanging around, on the outside looking in. However, if the Rangers handle their business, they’ll only need Montreal to hit a road bump.
Vincent Trocheck #16 of the New York Rangers arrives for the game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on February 25, 2025 in Elmont, New York.
“You got to control what you can control just like always,” Rangers leader Vincent Trocheck said. “You got to do whatever you can to win as many games as you can. It’s not in our hands what the other teams do, but you never know. They lose a couple games and pressure kicks in. It’s right there, but we have to do our jobs, too.”
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Looking to prove they’re serious about fighting until the end—and not just making empty statements—the Rangers will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 7 at Madison Square Garden.
