Resilient Rangers remain ‘hungry’ to battle for playoff spot despite Adam Fox injury
Adam Fox landing on injured reserve is just another obstacle to overcome for the New York Rangers this season. But the Rangers have no time to stew on their misfortunes because they’re right in the thick of a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference.
With or without their top defenseman for the time being, the Rangers desperately want to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight season.
“We got a resilient group in here, a hungry group that wants to get back in the playoffs,” Fox’s longtime defense partner Ryan Lindgren said this week.
Fox is expected to miss significant time with an upper-body injury sustained Tuesday against the Islanders. The timing could not be much worse, considering that the Rangers are on the outside looking in at the playoffs with 24 games remaining.
At 29-25-4, the Rangers are four points behind the two wild-card teams in the East, though they do have one game in hand on both the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets. The Rangers, who make up that game Friday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs, are tied for ninth place in the conference with the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins at 62 points, and have the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadians all within three points behind them.
“Every game that we play, there’s two points on the line and a block of teams that are in the mix,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.
It’s going to be a hectic stretch run, though really it’s been a pretty chaotic past couple months getting back into the playoff race for the Rangers since their dismal 4-15-0 stretch in November and December.
The Rangers have made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, including two trips to the Eastern Conference Final (2022, 2024) when they were eliminated two games shy of reaching the Stanley Cup Final each time. Expectations were high heading into this season after they won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24. But a shockingly poor spate of play left the Rangers with an uphill battle to get back into the playoffs.
That means each game is critical for the Rangers, including a tough one against the Maple Leafs on Friday.
“Obviously the playoffs start after April 17, but these types of games are playoff games for us,” Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said.
While it may be a long and strenuous road just to get to the playoffs, it could leave the Blueshirts better prepared for postseason hockey. Just two years ago, the Florida Panthers were in a similar position.
After winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2022, the Panthers had a disappointing start to their 2022-23 campaign before finishing hot to grab the second wild-card spot. Hardened by all of the must-win games played down the stretch, the Panthers took down the Bruins – whose 135 points are the most in a single season in NHL history – in seven games in the opening round. Florida eventually got all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Related: 3 things to watch for when Rangers host Maple Leafs to start 4-game homestand
J.T. Miller questionable for Rangers against Maple Leafs
J.T. Miller has changed the Rangers culture since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31. But the Rangers may be without their difference-making center against the Maple Leafs. Miller is battling an illness that kept him from practicing Thursday, and Laviolette said he’s a game-time decision Friday.
“He plays a style of game that you really want on your team,” Vincent Trocheck explained. “He’s been a big part of the reason we’ve been winning lately.”
The Rangers are 5-3-0 since the trade and started 2-1-0 after the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Miller has five points since the break, including three goals in the two victories (against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Islanders). In eight games with the Rangers, Miller has five goals and four assists, and has brought a gritty, hard-nosed brand of hockey to the team.
“All the little things you want from a player, he brings that to the table,” Laviolette said. “He competes hard in the battles. If somebody pushes him in front of the net, he pushes them back. So there’s something that draws you in about a player like that. It’s an honesty and a hardness that you like about his game.”
Miller isn’t the only Rangers player listed as a game-time decision against the Maple Leafs. So, too, is defenseman K’Andre Miller, who sustained a lower-body injury against the Islanders but was able to practice Thursday. He appears to be OK to play Friday. Less likely to play is veteran forward Chris Kreider, who’s been practicing but missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury.
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