The New York Rangers' 2024-25 season can be best described in one word: maddening.
Despite having so much talent on their roster, which is still similar to the teams that made the Eastern Conference Finals in two of the past three seasons, the Rangers have vastly underperformed this year. They hit rock bottom in late November and throughout December when they lost 15 of 19 games, and they've never fully recovered from that slump.
Saturday's 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils was merely a microcosm of their season as a whole. The Rangers needed a win over one of their biggest rivals to keep pace in the playoff chase, and not only did they lose, but they got shut out. The defensive issues that have plagued them all season showed up as well, particularly on Jesper Bratt's shorthanded goal that made it 2-0.
The funny thing is, New York outshot New Jersey 26-16, forced more takeaways and had fewer giveaways. Due to their lapses at exactly the wrong times, though, none of that mattered.
The Rangers are still only two points behind the Montreal Canadiens , who host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night, for the final wild card spot, but this loss put a huge dent in their playoff chances. MoneyPuck.com now gives them just a 19.6 percent chance to make the postseason, down from 31.5 percent entering the day.
With the way this season has gone, though, missing the playoffs is probably for the best.
This team is clearly in need of a major overhaul on all levels. "Stars" such as Mika Zibanejad (51 points in 76 games), Chris Kreider (25 points in 62 games) and Adam Fox (56 points in 68 games) have had incredibly underwhelming seasons, Kreider especially. Even Igor Shesterkin, who the Rangers made the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history earlier this season, is having the worst year of his career with a .905 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average.
Then there's head coach Peter Laviolette and general manager Chris Drury, both of whom have been on the hot seat throughout the season. If the Rangers don't make the playoffs, it's hard to envision either of them keeping their jobs.
In fact, Saturday's game feels eerily similar to Game 7 of the 2023 first-round series against the Devils, which the Rangers also lost 4-0. That was the final game for then-head coach Gerard Gallant, and this game could be the one that ultimately leads to Laviolette and Drury's departure.
Even if the Rangers make the playoffs, what is their upside? Likely losing a quick series to the top-seeded Washington Capitals in a role reversal of last year's first-round series?
At least if they miss the postseason, the need for change will be impossible to ignore.
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