Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
This Week In Rangers: Rangers Making Their Playoff Push
By
Tom Boorstein
Published Apr 3, 2013
Modified Apr 3, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Tom Boorstein
Published Apr 3, 2013
Modified Apr 3, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Only 13 games remain in the Rangers' season, and the playoffs are far from a certainty. The team and its fans have spent the first two thirds of this lockout-shortened 48-game schedule waiting for "real" Rangers to show up, but maybe that version just isn't coming. Right now, the Rangers (37 points) sit at ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, but they have two games in hand on the eighth-place Islanders and one on the seventh-place Devils, both of whom have 39 points.
Reasons for optimism: The Rangers have the talent. Rick Nash is as strong an on-the-puck player as there is in the NHL. Their defense, even without Marc Staal, is stingy if not deep. They may not match the Penguins—whom they play in a home-and-home the next two games—but they certainly have one of the eight best teams in the Eastern Conference. They just need to play like that down the stretch.
Monday's 4-2 win over Winnipeg was also encouraging. Ryan Callahan had four points (a short-handed goal and three assists) as the Rangers dug themselves out of an early 2-1 hole. They needed the win after back-to-back shutouts to Ottawa and Montreal, and they got it. Derek Stepan had two goals, and Nash had the other. When those two players are on, the Rangers are a different team.
Reasons for pessimism: The Rangers are last in the NHL (!) in goals scored. How impotent is their offense? They traded for Ryane Clowe, who has no goals scored this season, to help their offense.(Clowe also joins Darroll Powe as Rangers with unconventional spelling in their first names and last names that end in "we".)
Before Wednesday's trade deadline, the Rangers also agreed to trade the struggling Marian Gaborik to Columbus. The Slovak winger has been in a season-long shooting slump after playing through a shoulder injury in last season's playoffs. The good Marian Gaborik would have been missed, but the current one likely will not be.
Some players will call every game of the season a must-win, but that obviously isn't the case. The Penguins, who have won seven straight against the Rangers by a combined score of 28-8, will be without Sidney Crosby. He is without some of his teeth after taking a puck to the mouth Saturday. Pittsburgh had won 15 straight before losing to the lowly Sabres, 4-1, on Tuesday. The only good part about playing the Penguins twice in a row is that the teams won't meet again until the playoffs, when a first-round matchup is a definite possibility. If the Rangers make it, that is.
Tagged
hockey
nhl
rangers
sports
this week in rangers
original
Tom Boorstein
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Plainclothes ICE agent with long gun looked like mass shooter, Mayor Mamdani says
The mayor said his administration would review ICE and NYPD actions surrounding Thursday’s shooting.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 11, 2026 at 1:49 p.m. ET
NJ Transit riders face 5 weeks of schedule disruptions starting Sunday
NJ Transit and Amtrak riders should prepare for cancellations, schedule changes and longer commutes as work continues on the new Portal North Bridge.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
NJ Transit riders face 5 weeks of schedule disruptions starting Sunday
NJ Transit and Amtrak riders should prepare for cancellations, schedule changes and longer commutes as work continues on the new Portal North Bridge.
By
Giulia Heyward
For a Democrat in a traditionally red NJ district, how to woo Republican voters
By
Mike Hayes
2 pedestrians killed in Bronx crash after driver ran red light, police say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Ann Givens
Rain could put a damper on NYC’s long weekend. Here’s when it will clear.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .