Rangers fall to Maple Leafs as wild card hopes take another hit

The Rangers spent the past three seasons working to be recognized among the upper-echelon teams in the NHL, 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 all playing the same night. 

Considering the playoff aspirations the Rangers were supposed to have — 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 has been disconcerting. 

The Rangers are now 6-12-3 against playoff teams in the East this season, as well as 5-6-2 against playoff teams in the West. 

They own an eye-popping 4-15-3 record against top-10 teams in the NHL.