It has been over a week since the blockbuster trade that sent J.T. Miller, Erik Brannstrom, and Jackson Dorrington to the New York Rangers and Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft (top-13 protected) to the Vancouver Canucks. The Rangers, in need of a legitimate number-one center, acquired a player who recorded 100 points last season.
Since the trade, the Rangers have posted a 3-2-0 record, with Miller registering four points in five games. However, the team has yet to enter the third period with a lead in any of those matchups. On Feb. 7, they squandered a 1-0 and 2-1 lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, ultimately dropping two crucial points. Losses like these simply cannot happen.
Uncharted Territory for This Rangers Team
This iteration of the New York Rangers has not faced regular-season adversity like this before. In 2021-22, they were 30-13-4 on Feb. 8; in 2022-23, they were 29-14-8; and last season, in 2023-24, they were 32-16-3. In all three seasons where they were expected to be a playoff team, they were comfortably on track by this point.
Of course, this group has encountered its share of adversity in the postseason. They erased a 3-1 series deficit against the Penguins in 2022 and rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 down against the Carolina Hurricanes that same year. But they also folded against the New Jersey Devils in 2023 after taking a 2-0 series lead and have twice squandered leads in the Eastern Conference Final over the last three years.
Now, with what is arguably the best roster they’ve had on paper in this Stanley Cup window, the Rangers find themselves at 27-24-4 with 58 points, three points out of a playoff spot. This is a team that, at least on paper, is better than the one that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season. They should never have been in this position. The regular season should have been a formality, and for the first 17 games, it seemed like it was.
What went wrong? That’s up for debate. After a 12-4-1 start, the Rangers collapsed into a 4-15-0 stretch from Nov. 21 to Dec. 30 before somewhat stabilizing with an 11-5-3 record since the New Year. Was it locker room issues? Trade rumors? A lack of focus? These questions will need to be answered at some point—especially if they fail to claw their way back into the playoffs.
Right now, with 27 games left, the only thing that should matter is summoning the ability to fight.
Winning Isn’t an Option, It’s a Necessity
By extrapolating the points percentage of the Detroit Red Wings (.555), the current second wild-card team, over an 82-game season, they would finish with approximately 91 points. For the Rangers to surpass that mark, they need to earn 34 points over their final 27 games—requiring a .630 points percentage the rest of the way.
There are multiple ways they can achieve this. Winning 17 of their remaining 27 games would get them there. Alternatively, for every win below 17, they would need overtime losses to compensate—for example, a 16-6-5 record would result in the same point total as 17-10-0. In simple terms, they need to win just under two out of every three games or secure just under nine points every seven games.
However, to be in a more comfortable position, the Rangers likely need to reach at least 96 points. That would mean earning 38 points over their final 27 games—38 out of a possible 54 points—which translates to a .704 points percentage. This would give them a stronger cushion against other teams in the race and reduce the likelihood of missing the postseason due to tiebreakers or a late-season surge by a competitor.
Looking at the Rangers’ roster, this is doable. But losses to teams like the Penguins cannot happen. They need to capitalize on struggling opponents and avoid leaving points on the table. Letting games slip away, like their regulation loss to the Colorado Avalanche after allowing a goal in the final 20 seconds or failing to force overtime against Pittsburgh the other night, could prove costly.
If the Rangers find themselves outside the playoff picture when the regular season ends, these are the games they will look back on with regret.
The Rangers Cannot Go Quietly
There will be time later to analyze what went wrong and who is to blame. But right now, there is no room for excuses, no room for off nights, no margin for error. In past seasons, they could afford a misstep at this stage—but they have not earned that luxury this season. Points cannot be left on the table. Their games need to look like the one against the Columbus Blue Jackets, not against Pittsburgh.
They have 27 games to prove they are a playoff team, a team capable of contending for the Stanley Cup—the team they were built to be when the season began. The regular season was supposed to be a formality, not a desperate fight for survival.
They need to summon something.
They are fortunate that the opportunity is still in front of them, but they cannot go quietly into the night. There will be time to exhale later. Right now, they must leave every ounce of their being on the ice. Because if they don’t, the 2024-25 New York Rangers will be remembered not for what they could have been, but for the disappointment and failure they allowed themselves to become.
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