The road map for the Rangers’ quest to follow up a Presidents’ Trophy-winning season has been revealed.
Beginning in Pittsburgh on Oct. 9 and ending at Madison Square Garden against the Lightning on April 17, the Blueshirts will be tasked with maintaining — or ideally exceeding — the consistency they displayed in the standings last season during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Rangers have another 82-game slate in front of them to best set themselves up to get back to the conference final and take that next step that has evaded the organization for a decade.
In the light of day
A prime-time team in a market like New York, the Rangers are usually scheduled for later game times more often than not.
There are 16 afternoon games on the Blueshirts’ schedule, including a back-to-back slate that features a noon start in Washington on Jan. 4 and a 3 p.m. puck drop in Chicago on Jan. 5.
First trip to Utah
The Rangers will make their way to Salt Lake City for the first time on Jan. 16, after the Coyotes organization was forced to relocate to Utah amid issues with Arizona’s ownership group.
It will come at the end of a Vegas-Colorado leg.
Break for Four Nations Face-off
Instead of the usual All-Star break, the pause in game action from Feb. 9-21 will be for the Four Nations Face-Off tournament, in which teams representing the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden will play each other.
Two Rangers – Adam Fox (USA) and Mika Zibanejad (Sweden) – already have been named to their respective country’s roster.
California in March
Despite getting their longest road trip of the season early in November, when they venture to Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton over a week, the Rangers will have to power through their California trip in March.
Depending on how the season goes, there could be playoff implications for every game.
