NEW YORK – For the first time since Dec. 11, the Rangers have moved into a tie for playoff position.
Detroit has a game in hand and slight edge in points percentage in a tight race for the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot, but Monday’s 4-0 win over the Islanders at Madison Square Garden helped the Blueshirts match the Red Wings with 66 total points.
It’s a stark turnaround from where they stood two short months ago, when they entered 2025 as losers of 15 of their previous 19 with little hope in sight.
Lineup: Rangers reveal new look with Pärssinen, de Haan
Improved defense has been at the center of the Rangers’ resurgence, with Monday marking their fourth win in their last five games and second shutout in 24 hours. Granted, they came against two of the NHL’s worst offensive teams, but the standings don’t discriminated against the quality of your opponents.
The lockdown D is even more impressive when you consider that the Blueshirts are playing without top defenseman Adam Fox, who was placed on injured reserve following an upper-body injury sustained in last week’s win over these same Isles, and blue-line staple Ryan Lindgren, who was traded to Colorado along with Jimmy Vesey on Saturday.
The Rangers (31-26-4) were also playing their fifth game in a row without injured forward Chris Kreider, but the guys filling in have picked up the slack.
In fact, all of the recent changes have caused a noticeable jolt throughout the lineup. That starts with J.T. Miller, who’s riding a six-game point streak after registering a goal and an assist Monday and has upped everyone’s level with his ferocious play. And it certainly extends to Mika Zibanejad, who has looked like the Mika of old for weeks now − dating back to the acquisition of Miller on Jan. 31.
But it also trickles down to hungry young players such as Brett Berard, Will Cuylle and Zac Jones, who have brought the type of hustle and enthusiasm the Rangers sorely needed.
This team, which certainly still has its warts, has looked much more engaged − and now they find themselves knocking on the playoff window with less than four days to go until Friday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.
Comfortable in a low-event game
Monday’s game was a grinder, but the Rangers are functioning much better in those environments these days.
They registered a modest 27 shots on goal, but held the Islanders to a measly 20 to set up Igor Shesterkin for his fourth shutout of the season and 19th of his career − and perhaps his easiest one yet.
The Isles had an early goal from Anders Lee overturned on a successful Rangers’ challenge for offside and wouldn’t see another puck hit the back of the net.
Cuylle took care of Shesterkin’s run support with one of the odder goals you’ll see. It started with a point shot from Jones that got deflected into the air, with the puck redirecting over Isles goalie Ilya Sorokin on Cuylle’s soccer-style header.
That made it 1-0 at the 15:03 mark, with Will Borgen doubling the lead 4:12 later.
Another Ranger who was added as part of this season’s on-the-fly makeover, Borgen was acquired for his defense and physicality. But he showed he’s got a powerful right-handed shot in his arsenal, as well, unleashing a rising wrister for a shorthanded goal with 45 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Neither team got much going in a scoreless second that featured only 12 combined shots, before Miller put the game out of reach with a wrister off the rush early in the third.
Artemi Panarin added an empty-netter for his team-leading 25th goal of the season.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: Rangers move into a tie for playoff position