ELMONT ‒ The Rangers’ season is on life support, but they’ll stay alive for at least one more day.
Thursday’s lopsided 9-2 win over the rival Islanders at UBS Arena staved off what still feels like inevitable elimination from the playoff race.
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It marked their highest scoring total since Mar. 17, 2021. Ten different skaters collected multiple points, the most for an NHL team since the Columbus Blue Jackets matched that total on Dec. 19, 2023. The last time the Rangers had 10 or more players with multiple points in a game was Oct. 24, 1979.
“Great team effort from everybody,” said rookie Brett Berard, who contributed a pair of goals. “Ever since the first shift, we were kind of clicking.”
The victory moved them within six points of the Montreal Canadiens for the Eastern Conference’s second and final wild card, but they’d have to win each of their final three games to have a chance.
Even then, the odds would be slim. One more win or overtime loss from Montreal would also send the Rangers (37-35-7) into a long summer, with the Habs next opportunity coming Friday at 7 p.m. in Ottawa.
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None of that is lost on the Blueshirts, who weren’t exactly celebrating after this one but are at least trying to muster some pride with the bitter end in sight.
“We play for our families and for our fans right now,” goalie Igor Shesterkin said. “We need to make them a little bit happy.”
Where did that come from?
A performance like this begs the question: Where was this in the previous 78 games?
Apr 10, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck (16) celebrate his goal with New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) against the New York Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena.
The Rangers have fallen flat so many times this season, including three straight losses coming into Thursday’s contest by a combined 17-6 margin. It was a demoralizing, pathetic showing given the dire circumstances.
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They looked resigned to go out with a whimper, then started playing with purpose after the fat lady began warming up her vocal chords.
Then again, very little about this lost season has made much sense.
“Focus on each game, trying to get better, whether it’s a push for the playoffs or push to make ourselves better going into next year,” center Vincent Trocheck said. “We’re focusing on the details of our game and trying to fine tune some things.”
Stars show up (for a change)
It was the Rangers’ go-to players, each of whom has disappointed to varying degrees, who pulled their weight for a change to propel Thursday’s win. (It didn’t hurt that the Isles were missing No. 1 goalie Ilya Sorokin with an upper-body injury.)
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The line featuring Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad was the tone-setter, with all three contributing to the Blueshirts’ first two goals.
They each touched the puck and earned a point on a pretty passing sequence off the rush that ended with Zibanejad’s 18th goal 3:17 into the game, then Cuylle crashed the net to bury a Zibanejad rebound for his 19th nearly 10 minutes later.
The Rangers would double that 2-0 lead before the first period was through.
Trocheck scored a power-play goal at the 13:51 mark − just the Blueshirts’ third PPG in the last 14 games, during which time they’ve gone 3-for-35 − before Artemi Panarin made it 4-0 with his team-leading 36th goal with 45 seconds remaining in the period. (He would later add No. 37.)
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“Our transition game was good tonight,” Trocheck said. “We were playing a little quicker. We didn’t make turnovers in the neutral zone, get it up quick and attacking off that. I feel like we got a lot of our offense off that.”
Cuylle, Miller, Panarin, Trocheck, Zibanejad and Adam Fox came out of the opening 20 minutes with two points apiece, with Berard, Sam Carrick, Alexis Lafrenière, Juuso Pärssinen joining them in the multi-point club later in the game.
“I thought there was some good things that went on with every line,” head coach Peter Laviolette said.
All 18 skaters finished with positive ratings, but it wouldn’t be a 2024-25 Rangers’ game without at least a stretch of shaky defensive play.
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They were caved in for much of the second period, during which they were outshot by a 20-7 margin, while surrendering 18 high-danger scoring chances in all, according to Natural Stat Trick.
That’s where Shesterkin came in, making 34 of his 44 saves in the final two periods.
Surprise scratches for Othmann, Perreault
The Rangers’ fifth goal came from a much-less-likely suspect.
Pärssinen, who was acquired as part of the March 1 trade that sent Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to Colorado but had been healthy scratched in each of the previous six games, registered his first goal (and point) as a Blueshirt at the 8:19 mark of the second period. He would add two assists to tie Fox and Panarin with a game-high three points.
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The 24-year-old center was reinserted at the expense of rookie forward Brennan Othmann, who joined Gabe Perreault as a surprise scratch Thursday. The latter also sat out of Wednesday’s 8-5 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, which Laviolette justified as part of “the learning process” for young prospects.
Granted, the reactions to those decisions have been alarmist in some corners of the internet. A couple games in the press box won’t ruin either of these former first-round picks, but it’s fair to criticize the timing ‒ especially considering the Rangers’ checkered history with development.
It would be one thing if they were neck-and-neck with the Canadiens for the final wild-card spot and wanted to lean on safer veterans for the final push. Othmann and Perreault undoubtedly have holes in their games and a lot still to learn, particularly on the defensive end. But given the precarious position in the standings and extremely long playoff odds, what’s the harm in letting the kids play?
Providing them with experiences to build on for next season should be a priority at this late stage, but Laviolette obviously has other ideas in what could be his final days on the Blueshirts’ bench.
Brett Berard seizes his opportunity
Meanwhile, another young forward made the most of his opportunity.
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Berard took Perreault’s place on Wednesday − a game in which Laviolette described him as “real noticeable” − then came through Thursday with a pair of third-period goals to put an exclamation on the Rangers’ win.
“It’s huge,” the 22-year-old said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys here, and I mean, every time you get to put on the Rangers jersey and play in the NHL, it’s super special. I’ve said it a million times. I still don’t think it’s really hit me to the full extent. Every time I get to put on the jersey, I try to treat it as my first game − treat it as a tryout and try to set myself up (for next season). It’s super fun. … It’s a dream that every kid dreams of to play in this league.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers stave off playoff elimination for at least one more day