To win a Stanley Cup, Rangers must go from good to great

Jonny Lazarus
Jonny Lazarus
New York Rangers left winger Chris Kreider
Credit: Nov 19, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) watches as New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider (20) celebrates a goal scored by forward Mika Zibanejad (93) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Who are the 2024-25 New York Rangers? What can they be?

If you asked me, I’d say the Rangers are a good team. They have the potential to be great if they can plug a few holes—and if they do, they’ll be a real problem for the rest of the league. 

After yet another long playoff run that didn’t reach the ultimate goal, being good isn’t good enough. The standard now is to be great night in and night out.

Before Mika Zibanejad’s goal in the second period against the San Jose Sharks last week, the Rangers looked like Charles Barkley in Space Jam after the aliens zapped their talent away. Nothing was clicking. They seemed discombobulated and, frankly, a bit disinterested.

I’d like to believe that the way the Rangers played in the eight games from Oct. 24 against the Florida Panthers to Nov. 12 against the Winnipeg Jets is not who this team is and not definitive.

The standard for this group should be what we saw on Tuesday night in Vancouver. 

Despite a few mistakes, one of which led to an early slot attempt converted by Canucks blueliner Quinn Hughes that night, the Rangers did not rely on their goalie to bail them out of a lackluster performance the way they had for weeks. Instead, the guys who are relied upon to make big plays did exactly that. 

It’s easy to be overly critical and draw conclusions after 17 games, and many fans have after a magical 2023-24 campaign. However, at this point, the Rangers are essentially right where they were through the first 17 games last year. 

A year ago, on Nov. 22 2023, the Rangers had a 13-3-1 record and seven skaters with 10 or more points. Today, this team has a 12-4-1 record and has seven skaters with 10 or more points. 

So the question is: why does this year feel so different when the stats say it’s basically the same? Maybe it is because we’ve seen this story before?

Rangers fans have been spoiled with plenty of good teams over the past few years, but they have also seen nearly all of those good teams fail to be great. They’ve been given moments of excitement and even believed that the Blueshirts finally would finish the job. Now, the expectation and standard for this team is greatness — not only in the spring but in the 82 games that lead up to it. We’ve had several years of excuses, some even merited. They ran into a dynastic Tampa Bay Lightning, they failed to successfully integrate Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, and they ran into the buzzsaw that was the Panthers last year. I don’t want to speak on behalf of Rangers fans, but I know everyone is sick of hearing those excuses, true as they may be. Instead, we are all ready to hear: “We just couldn’t slow down that high-octane Rangers offense or beat Igor Shesterkin.” 

The Rangers are always in the conversation about a team with top-end talent and championship potential, yet they never seem to play consistently like one of the legitimate top-end teams. But they have now won three straight games and are trending upward, having out-chanced their opponents in all three games. That had not been the case for much of the early season. 

The Rangers’ head coach understands this just as much as anyone else.

“We’re in New York City — we’re the New York Rangers, and we’re fortunate for that,” Peter Laviolette told Daily Faceoff last week. “There’s an expectation for the way the team plays — the way I coach, the way the players play, there’s an expectation that goes with that.”

While some say the regular season doesn’t matter and that this team will only be judged on what they do in the playoffs, this team can’t just stroll into the postseason and expect to make noise if they don’t tighten things up. There are still 65 games to play, and the team we’re watching right now will most likely not be the same team we see after the trade deadline. That being said, the Eastern Conference is no cakewalk, and this group needs to create the right habits so that come April, May, and June, nothing catches them by surprise like in last year’s Eastern Conference Final against the Panthers. That is why the regular season matters. 

So, I’m still left wondering:  Who are the 2024-25 New York Rangers? My answer: A team with some elite talent that, on any given night, can out-skill their opponents as long as the effort and execution are there. Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, and Shesterkin can keep up with the best of them, plus they’ve got some pretty damn good surrounding pieces as well. 

They are somehow inconsistent and sloppy in their end, too often saved by mostly consistent and mostly outstanding goaltending. The effort shown against the Canucks should be the minimum going forward — a statement win despite less-than-average goaltending. 

The best version of the Rangers, the version that can add a banner above the Garden ice, is a team that moves the puck at an elite level, is dangerous off the rush, can roll four lines, and has a goaltending edge in 99.9% of games.

After two decades of being very good, maybe, this team can be great.

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