Rangers fall to playoff-bound Maple Leafs as wild card hopes take another hit
NY Post
The Rangers spent the past three seasons working to be recognized among the NHL’s upper echelon, but they have completely lost any semblance of such a reputation in this 2024-25 campaign.
A 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs Thursday night at Madison Square Garden was just the Blueshirts’ latest defeat to a club in playoff position this season, which only set them up to be further surpassed in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with the Islanders, Canadiens and Blue Jackets also in action.
Considering preseason playoff expectations — after going all the way to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three seasons last year — their underwhelming efforts against top-tier teams this season have been disconcerting.
The Rangers are now 6-12-3 against currently projected playoff teams in the East this season, as well as 5-6-2 against those from the West. They own an eye-popping 4-15-3 record against top 10 teams in the NHL.
For a team that won the Presidents’ Trophy and finished two wins shy of a Stanley Cup berth last season, the inability to hang with the best-of-the-best this season is only a testament to how tragically far their fall from grace has been.
“Tough. I thought we competed, we had looks,” Adam Fox said. “But, again, you make some costly mistakes against that team and they make you pay.”
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It’s a pressing question as the Rangers are now back on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.
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