The New York Rangers inched closer to an early offseason exit on Thursday night.
With a chance to reclaim a playoff spot, they put in a strong effort—but not strong enough to overcome one of the NHL’s top teams. The Toronto Maple Leafs capitalized on Rangers’ mistakes and held on in the final moments to secure a 4-3 victory, marking their fourth consecutive win at Madison Square Garden.
Despite the loss, the Rangers showed significant improvement from Tuesday’s dismal 2-1 defeat against the Calgary Flames, where they were outshot 35-13 and outplayed on home ice. This time, their intensity and work ethic were where they needed to be, and on most nights, their performance would have been enough to earn two points.
But this wasn’t just any night. Toronto, tied with Florida for first place in the Atlantic Division, boasts elite talent in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander—not to mention veteran John Tavares, who has tormented the Rangers for 16 seasons. Tavares led the charge with two goals and an assist, reaching the 1,100-point milestone in his career.
The Maple Leafs took advantage of Rangers’ miscues to build a 4-2 lead by the end of the second period. Though Chris Kreider scored with 34.7 seconds left to make it a one-goal game, Toronto held on for the win.
A victory would have put the Rangers (33-31-6) level with the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Instead, they now trail Montreal by two points and are tied with the New York Islanders, who defeated the Canadiens 4-3 in overtime—an outcome that only complicated the Rangers’ playoff hopes.
As they turn their attention to Saturday’s matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, the team has little time to dwell on the loss.
“There’s no point in getting frustrated—we have a game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, so there’s no time for crying,” said forward Artemi Panarin, who extended his point streak to 11 games with a goal and an assist. “We just have to stick together and keep pushing for wins.”
