The roadmap for Rangers’ challenge following their Presidents Trophy-winning season has been revealed.
Beginning with a matchup against the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Oct. 9 and concluding against the Lightning at Madison Square Garden on April 17, the Blueshirts will be tasked with maintaining or ideally surpassing the consistency they showed in last season’s NHL standings in the upcoming 2024-25 season.
The Rangers still have 82 games to best prepare themselves to return to the conference finals and take the next step that has eluded them for a decade.
Afternoon Special
The Rangers are a prime-time team in a market like New York, so games are typically scheduled later in the day.
The Blueshirts’ upcoming schedule includes 16 afternoon games, including back-to-back games at Washington on Jan. 4 with a noon start and at Chicago on Jan. 5 with a 2 p.m. start.
First Trip to Utah
The Rangers are scheduled to travel to Salt Lake City on Jan. 16 for the first time since issues with the Arizona ownership group forced the Coyotes organization to relocate to Utah.
That will happen at the end of the Las Vegas-Colorado game.
Taking a break before the Four Nations Tournament
Instead of the usual All-Star break, the Rangers will have a hiatus from Feb. 9-21 for the Four Nations Face-Off Tournament, which will feature national teams from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden.
Two Rangers players, Adam Fox (USA) and Mika Zibandjid (Sweden), are already on their national team.
California in March
The Rangers have their longest road trip of the season coming up in early November, with a week-long trip to Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, but they will also have to get through a trip to California in March later in the season.
Depending on how the season unfolds, every game could have playoff implications.
