Rangers Face Crucial Home Stretch Amid MSG Struggles and Key Injury
The New York Rangers are heading into the most pivotal stretch of their season - and they’re doing it under less-than-ideal circumstances. Despite leading the NHL in road wins, the Rangers have been a completely different team at Madison Square Garden, where they've managed just two victories all season.
That’s the fewest home wins in the league. And with seven of their next ten games coming at MSG, how they handle this stretch could define their season.
MSG Has Been Anything But a Fortress
Home ice is supposed to be an advantage - the crowd, the comfort, the routine. But for the Rangers, it’s been the opposite.
Their 2-8-1 record at MSG includes five shutout losses, three of which came right out of the gate to open the season. It wasn’t until mid-November that they finally picked up their first home win, and even that came against a struggling Nashville squad.
The biggest issue? Offense - or the lack of it.
The Rangers have scored just 17 goals at home this season. That’s not a typo.
Seventeen. Out of their 72 total goals, only a fraction have come in front of the home crowd.
They’ve only scored more than one goal in a home game three times. That kind of production simply won’t cut it, especially when the schedule ahead is packed with playoff-caliber opponents.
The Test Begins Now
The Rangers’ upcoming stretch at MSG isn’t easing them in - it’s throwing them straight into the fire. It starts tonight with the Dallas Stars, who have been red-hot with four straight wins and an 8-1-1 run over their last ten. Jason Robertson is on a tear, with 13 goals in that span, and he’ll be a major threat the Rangers will need to contain.
Then it’s a quick trip to Ottawa before returning home for a tough back-to-back against the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights - two of the best in the West. That’s three elite-level teams in four days. If the Rangers are going to flip the script at MSG, this is the gauntlet that will show whether they’re capable of it.
After that, the schedule softens slightly - at least on paper. The Rangers will host the Canadiens, Ducks, Canucks, and Flyers to close out their December home slate.
But given how things have gone at MSG, no opponent should be taken lightly. The Rangers haven’t earned the right to overlook anyone, and these matchups could be just as critical as the ones against the heavyweights.
No Adam Fox - And That’s a Huge Blow
As if the MSG woes weren’t enough, the Rangers are now dealing with a major loss on the back end. Adam Fox is headed to long-term injured reserve after going down in their last game, meaning he’ll miss at least the next 12 contests. That’s a brutal hit.
Fox has been one of the Rangers’ most consistent and impactful players this season, notching three goals and 26 points in 27 games. His chemistry with Vladislav Gavrikov has been one of the team’s few bright spots, and losing that pairing at this point in the season is a serious setback.
No one player can replicate what Fox brings - the poise, the vision, the ability to control the pace of play. But this is where the rest of the roster needs to rise.
Whether it’s the top forwards producing more offensively, or the defense tightening up in Fox’s absence, the Rangers need a collective step up. If they can weather the storm and stay afloat during this stretch, they’ll give themselves a shot to stay in the mix.
Still Within Striking Distance - But Time Is Tight
Here’s the silver lining: despite all the struggles at MSG, the Rangers are still just three points out of a wild-card spot and six points behind the Metropolitan Division lead. That’s the good news.
The bad news? If they’d won just a couple more home games, they’d be sitting in a much stronger position.
That margin for error is shrinking fast. With the calendar about to flip to 2026, the Rangers need to start turning MSG into a place where they can actually pick up points. Because if they don’t, this season could slip away before the new year even begins.
The next ten games won’t just test the Rangers’ talent - they’ll test their resilience. And how they respond could very well determine whether this team is fighting for a playoff spot come spring or watching from the outside.