The Rangers are barely a quarter of the way through the season, and yet the playoff picture is already starting to tilt in their favor.
That’s a pretty striking place to be for a team that had to stomach a year to forget during the 2025 campaign. New York has been hit by adversity, too, most notably the loss of star goalie Igor Shesterkin. For a club that leans on one of the league’s best netminders, that kind of blow could have sent the season sideways.
Instead, the Rangers have held up better than expected. Twenty-four-year-old Dylan Garand has been forced into heavy duty in Shesterkin’s absence, and Joonas Korpisalo is now back after missing the start of the year. At the same time, the forwards and blueliners have mostly done their part, and New York has managed to stay in the hunt.
The result is a 10-8-1 record after a loss to the Oilers, good for third place in the Metropolitan Division. That matters because the Metro was not projected to be a powerhouse entering the season, and so far that has played out.
The Devils have looked better, especially after adding Connor Hellebuyck, and the Hurricanes remain one of the league’s top teams. But with the top three teams in the division making the playoffs, the Rangers are sitting in a spot that counts.
MoneyPuck.com has New York at a 71.3 percent chance to reach the postseason right now, and a big part of that comes from the possibility of finishing third in the division. In fact, the site gives the Rangers a 27.8% chance of landing in that exact spot.
That number may feel a little high based on what the Rangers have shown so far, but the standings below them give the projection some real weight. There’s still a long way to go, yet early on, New York’s playoff odds look stronger than anyone might have expected.
In Other News...
Mike Sullivan Finally Saw The Rangers Team He Wants
The Rangers looked far more like the team Mike Sullivan has been pushing for in their second meeting with Edmonton, even if the final result still came back as a 3-1 loss. New York generated more shots and more high-danger chances than it had in the first matchup, and captain J.T. Miller said the group was better in a number of areas against one of the leagues toughest opponents. Jaroslav Chmelar provided the lone Rangers goal, giving the night at least one sign of progress.
Sullivan also had to deal with the familiar headache of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two stars who can tilt a game even when the Rangers are doing a lot right. Edmonton goalie Devon Levi helped keep New York from turning that territorial edge into a bigger payoff with several key saves, leaving the Rangers with a performance they could point to and still a result they could not fully cash in on. The encouraging part is obvious. The frustrating part is just as clear. [Read more 🡒]
Mika Zibanejad Is Giving Rangers A Scoring Problem They Cant Ignore
Mika Zibanejads season has taken on a strange shape for the Rangers: the playmaking is still there, and in some ways it has been better than ever, but the shot volume has dipped to a level that stands out for all the wrong reasons. Through 19 games, he has been setting up teammates at a career-high rate while producing only three goals, a reminder that even when he is driving offense, he is not doing it in the same direct way the Rangers have come to expect.
The concern is not that Zibanejad has lost his touch. His shot velocity is still among the leagues best, which makes the drop in attempts even more notable, because the threat of his release has long been part of what makes New Yorks attack harder to defend. When he is firing less often, the Rangers lose some of that unpredictability, and for a team that leans on him to tilt the ice, that is a scoring issue they cannot simply overlook. [Read more 🡒]
Braden Schneider Is Becoming A Bigger Rangers Problem Than Fans Realize
Braden Schneider has quietly become one of the more dependable physical pieces on the Rangers blue line, leading the defensemen in hits while also ranking fourth in blocked shots and logging about 18 minutes a night. There is value in that profile, especially for a team that leans on its defense to absorb pressure and survive tough shifts, and Schneiders work on the penalty kill has helped him carve out a steady role.
The concern is what happens when the game is played at five-on-five, where his underlying defensive numbers point to more chances against than the Rangers would like from a regular top-four piece. He has shown some encouraging signs in driving offense, but the puck management side of his game still leaves the team searching for cleaner possessions and more reliable zone exits, which makes his overall impact harder to trust than the surface numbers suggest. [Read more 🡒]