The New York Rangers enter the Christmas break tied for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers with 42 points. Coming off a 7-3 victory against the rival Washington Capitals on Tuesday, the Rangers will be wishing for three gifts over the break to help them the rest of the season.

No More Injuries to Key Rangers

The Rangers have played 39 games, the most in the NHL. The schedule has been condensed this season due to the Olympic break, so every team has been dealing with less practice time and more injuries. The Rangers have dealt with injuries to key players that have kept them out for long stretches. It started with Vincent Trocheck, who got hurt in the second game of the season and missed the next 14 games. Matt Rempe injured his hand in a fight with Ryan Reaves and missed 24 games.

The team is also currently without two of its top players. Adam Fox has missed the last 12 games with an upper-body injury, and his absence has been noticeable. He is eligible to return for their next game, but has yet to practice with the team without a non-contact jersey. The Rangers also just played their second game without captain J.T. Miller, who is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. As the season goes along, the Rangers are hoping to stay as healthy as possible as they look to make a push for the playoffs.

Rangers Need More Consistent Goal Scoring

Despite scoring seven goals in their last game, the Rangers have been inconsistent offensively. They have scored 102 goals, which is the ninth-worst in the NHL. They only have four players with 10 or more goals this season, and their leading goal scorer, Artemi Panarin, has only 14. The lack of goals has been a major issue and the main reason why they have lost so many games, including being shut out seven times.

They need more offense from their top players, but adding secondary scoring from their depth players would also be helpful. Taylor Raddysh, who scored two goals in their last game, went 23 games without a goal before that contest. Alexis Lafreniere, who just scored his 100th career goal, has only eight goals this season.

The Rangers are hoping a player like Gabe Perreault can help jump-start the offense, but he can’t do it by himself. If they can start scoring more goals consistently, it would boost their chances of getting back into the playoffs this season.

Better Luck at Madison Square Garden in 2026

Playing at Madison Square Garden has been bad luck for the Rangers all season. They have a home record of 5-10-3, the worst in the NHL. Of the seven games they were shut out, six of them happened on home ice, including their first three home games of the season. Many thought it was just an unlucky streak, but the Rangers have yet to win two home games in a row this season.