NY Rangers Thriving in Eastern Conference Playoff Spoiler Role

Playoff teams who see the New York Rangers on their schedule down the stretch certainly aren't happy about it.

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers left wing Conor Sheary (43) celebrates his goal against the Washington Capitals with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (44) and left wing Tye Kartye (24) during the first period at Madison Square Garden. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

As the first Eastern Conference team that was eliminated from playoff contention, the New York Rangers have just been playing out the stretch of the 2025-26 regular season, with their attention already being turned to the offseason.

Normally, that would make them a team playoff hopefuls would love to see on their schedule. With nothing to play for, the Rangers present a golden opportunity for teams to pick up a victory and two points in the standings.

In the Eastern Conference, those points are insanely valuable. There is a logjam with the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals all having between 90 and 87 points.

The Metropolitan Division, where the Flyers, Islanders, Blue Jackets and Capitals preside, has the No. 3 spot still up for grabs. The Senators and Red Wings are going to have a difficult time catching the Boston Bruins, who currently have 95 points, essentially making this a five-team race for one wild card spot.

Rangers are having major impact on Eastern Conference playoff picture

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center Noah Laba (42) fights with Washington Capitals center Hendrix Lapierre (29) during the third period at Madison Square Garden. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The Blueshirts aren’t making the postseason themselves, but they are having a major impact on how the field is going to play out. This isn’t your prototypical eliminated team, with the Rangers playing some of their best hockey of the season.

New York has won five out of their last six games, which includes victories over three teams squarely in the playoff picture.

On March 31, they defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1. The Devils are barely holding on with 83 points and only five games remaining in their regular season schedule.

The Rangers took some wind out of their sails with that victory, and then did the same to the Red Wings a few days later. On April 4, New York ran them out of Madison Square Garden with a 4-1 victory on the back of a hat trick from Gabe Perreault.

Their offensive fireworks continued on the second night of a back-to-back set. Hosting the Capitals, the Rangers scored a season-high amount of goals in an 8-1 win.

Gabe 🤝 Cools

Scoring their first career hattys and earning the Broadway Hat in back-to-back games pic.twitter.com/LA5Po3Hi9W

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 6, 2026

This time it was Will Cuylle scoring a hat trick. Mika Zibanejad had three assists, while Adam Fox ran his streak of consecutive games with at least one point recorded to seven with one goal and two assists. Across those seven games, he has recorded 13 points.

Their fellow New York tenants and Columbus have to be thrilled watching the Blueshirts perform because they are mired in brutal stretches of their own, losing four and six games in a row, respectively.

They are still in the race in large part because of the Rangers knocking off so many teams they are in direct competition with for a playoff spot.

While the 2025-26 season didn’t go as planned for New York, optimism is certainly on the rise with so many young players contributing to the team’s newfound success down the stretch.