New York Rangers ready for tough weekend back-to-back after successful road trip
Not even letting a point get away in Denver could dampen the New York Rangers’ spirits after a successful three-game Western swing that set them up for the biggest weekend of their season so far.
The Rangers capped a 2-0-1 trip with a come-from-behind 5-3 win against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday in Salt Lake City. New York trailed 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but scored three times in the final 20 minutes to win for the first time this season when trailing when entering the third period. It followed a 2-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights last Saturday and a painful 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche in which they allowed the tying goal with 1:13 remaining in the third period, then coughed up the game-winner with 36.1 seconds to play.
The win against Utah moved the Rangers back over NHL .500 at 21-20-3; it’s the first time they’ve been on the plus side since mid-December. They are still sixth in the Metropolitan Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference — but are part of a seven-team pileup scrambling for the two wild cards in the East.
Coach Peter Laviolette was delighted with the way his team rebounded after letting a win get away against Colorado.
“We’re still frustrated about the one we lost,” he said after the win against Utah. “It was a good road trip. Even going back prior, I think we’ve been playing some good hockey. We’ve just got to continue to do that.”
That’s the understatement of the week.
The Rangers have a perhaps their toughest and most important weekend of the season coming up. They are back home Saturday to host the Columbus Blue Jackets, who’ve won six in a row and have climbed into the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. After that, they’ll hop on a plane for a quick trip to Montreal and a Sunday night game against the red-hot Canadiens, who are three points ahead of the Rangers and one point behind the Boston Bruins, who enter the weekend in the second wild card spot.
“A resilient road trip for us,” said forward Reilly Smith, who tied the game against Utah with a shorthanded goal 28 seconds into the third period. “Big games when we get home.”
As well as the Rangers are playing, these are games they can’t afford to lose. This weekend begins a stretch that will see them play teams that hold a playoff spot or are ahead of them in the standings in eight of their next nine games.
“We’re going to be playing hard games for the rest of the season.” Smith said.
The Jackets are arguably the best story in the NHL this season. Nothing was expected from them after they finished last in the Eastern Conference in 2023-24, then lost their best player, forward Johnny Gaudreau, in a fatal cycling accident in late August. Instead, they’ve become one of the NHL’s most dangerous offensive teams – and 4-0 in shootouts.
One key will be getting on the board first. Columbus leads the NHL by scoring first in 28 games and is 18-6-4 in those games. When they don’t score first? Just 4-11-2.
Amazingly, the two Metropolitan Division rivals have yet to meet this season. The teams meet again in Columbus on Feb. 8 in the final game before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, then play twice from March 9-15.
“We’ve got to remember what’s gotten us here,” Laviolette said. “We’ve got to take that into every game, that mindset of what works for us right now. If we can do that, then we’re going to get a chance.
“It was a good trip. We’ll head back and get ready for a big game.”
The Canadiens, who host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, are trying to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since getting to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. They are 11-2-1 in their last 14 games, including 7-1-0 on the road since the Christmas break – a stretch that includes wins against Florida, Tampa Bay, Vegas, Colorado, Washington, Utah and Dallas. That group covers the past four Stanley Cup champions and the team with the best points percentage in the NHL this season (Washington, .722).
However, they’ve lost both their games against the Rangers – 7-2 at Bell Centre on Oct. 22 and 4-3 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 30.
There’s no question the Rangers are playing better hockey; they are 5-1-2 in 2025 after ending 2024 with a 4-15-0 collapse that has them outside of a playoff berth. Their recent surge has gotten them back in the playoff hunt; now they know they have to take their game to the next level.
“I think we’ve been playing a better brand of hockey this last little bit here,” defenseman Ryan Lindgren said. “It’s starting to show a little bit more. We’ve played some really good teams and to come away with five out of six points was big. Just got to keep it rolling.”
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