The 10 Losses That Cost the Rangers the 2024-25 Season

The 2024-25 New York Rangers finished the season with a record of 39-36-7, and were officially eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs following a 7-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on April 12. While they were still in the race up until the final week of the regular season, it certainly wasn't what happened recently that cost this team a playoff spot. It was a much larger collection of games across the campaign as a whole. Sure, that 7-3 loss wasn't pretty, but that didn't even scratch the surface of the disaster that was this season.

This team was not close to the playoffs despite what the standings may have indicated. They had chance after chance to secure their spot, even after a disastrous stretch in the middle of the season. With that in mind, let's take a look at how those shortcomings throughout the entire season hurt them in the long run and spray some lighter fluid on the logs of this season so we can let it burn once and for all.

Here are ten losses that cost the Rangers the 2024-25 season:

1. The First Regulation Loss of the Season (10/24/24)

Recap: Panthers Hand Rangers First Regulation Loss of the Season

A marquee matchup on Broadway tonight as we had an Eastern Conference Final Rematch with the Florida Panthers paying a visit to Madison Square Garden in their first meeting with the Rangers since advancing to the Stanley Cup Final last season. That in itself made this one an important game

Blueshirt BanterChris Feldman

To me, this is where everything started to go wrong for the New York Rangers. This was actually their first regulation loss of the season ingame 7 of 82, but context matters. This was the first rematch between the teams that faced off against each other in the Eastern Conference Final just a couple of months prior. The Rangers had started the season out strong but needed to show up against an opponent like the reigning Stanley Cup Champions if they were going to prove themselves true contenders. 

It wasn’t how the Rangers lost the game as much as how they played against a team like Florida. The Rangers gave up a goal within the first 44 seconds of the game, and then another one just two minutes later—something they went on to become quite notorious for throughout the season. While the Rangers cut the lead by one later in that opening period, they gave up another one in a second period where they were significantly outshot—nother thing they became famous for across this season. 

The Rangers only lost the game 3-1, but their lack of compete, specifically against a team like Florida, was the bigger issue. The Panthers are a team that not only has proven they have what it takes to go the distance, but are capable of playing a shutdown game when necessary—something the Rangers not only struggled to do themselves, but something they struggled to overcome all season long as they never once successfully completed a multi-goal comeback win until, of course, it didn’t matter. Preposterous for a team that was once labeled the comeback kids. 

Ironically, I ended the game recap that night by saying; 

“Not a game to start panicking but one to definitely take notes on as the Rangers have to find an answer for this Florida team if this is going to be the year they truly become a different team, the kind that can finally go the distance.”

Well, that sure aged poorly, didn’t it? Six months later and I still remember feeling like that loss was a bigger problem in the moment. Turns out it was just the beginning.

2. 6-1 Loss to Buffalo (11/7/24)

Recap: Burn The Tape, Rangers Lose 6-1

Well, if you’re reading this because you missed the game, you picked a good one to miss. The first meeting of the season with the Rangers’ upstate neighbors could not have gone less according to plan as practically nothing went right across all sixty minutes of play. It’ll be

Blueshirt BanterChris Feldman

This was the first true “burn the tape” night for the Rangers in a season where I’m sure many fans wanted to burn more than just a few tapes. The Buffalo Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since 2011. For as much promise and young talent this group may have, there’s no reason for them to be a team that the Rangers, at this stage of things, should have trouble with. 

Another night where the Rangers allowed a goal not just within the first couple of minutes of the game, but within thirty seconds. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Rangers went on to allow four goals in the second period as things completely fell apart. They got one goal back in the third, but ended up falling to the Sabres 6-1 despite somehow still outshooting them. 

This was one of the first games the team truly looked lifeless. The power play went cold, they gave up goals early and often and constantly turned the puck over, letting a basement dwelling team walk all over them on home ice.