It’s been five years since the Rangers last played in a playoff game. But finally, they will get to get to play playoff hockey again next month.
The Rangers officially ended their four-year rebuild Saturday night when they beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-1, at the Garden to clinch their first playoff spot since 2017. Artemi Panarin had a goal and two spectacular assists and Chris Kreider continued his march to 50 goals when he scored No. 48 and No. 49 as the Rangers won their third straight game.
The victory not only clinched a playoff spot for the Rangers (47-20-6), but it gave them 100 points on the season, and pulled them into a tie with the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers and Hurricanes have two games remaining against each other this season, the first of which is Tuesday at the Garden.
Before Saturday’s game, coach Gerard Gallant, in his first season behind the bench for the Blueshirts, was asked what it would mean for the Rangers to clinch a playoff berth after four years of rebuilding.
“Obviously, it's a big accomplishment,’’ he said. “We knew we had a good hockey team. We didn't know where we were going to be. And hopefully tonight we clinch a playoff spot, and that'll be a huge accomplishment. But there's a lot more to do than that. We’re better than that. And we want to, hopefully, get ready for the next season.’’
By “the next season,’’ he meant the postseason.
The Rangers got the chance to clinch the spot for themselves when Islanders beat Carolina in the final minute Friday night. For Mika Zibanejad – who, with Kreider are the only two players remaining on the roster from that last Rangers playoff team – returning to the playoffs will be a satisfying end to a long journey.
“It's been worth the wait,’’ Zibanejad said after Friday’s practice. “And it's been fun to be here, even though there's been a couple tough years, or however you want to call it. It's a fun thing to be a part of the solution.’’
The Rangers’ rebuild has worked to near perfection. The club’s previous management, former GM Jeff Gorton and former team president John Davidson, re-stocked the team’s prospects cupboard and methodically built up the roster. Current President/GM Chris Drury has added a few final pieces, including Gallant, to finish the job of getting the team back to the playoffs and on the way to contention for a Stanley Cup.
Saturday’s victory was the Rangers’ 26th come-from-behind win, extending their franchise record. Ottawa’s Austin Watson scored on the Senators’ first shot on goal against Igor Shesterkin (21 saves), at 2:22 of the first period. But Panarin tied it at 12:32 of the period, when he was the slot and a loose puck came to him after an offensive zone faceoff. He fired it past goalie Anton Forsberg for his 21st goal of the season.
Copp gave the Rangers the lead at 6:56 of the second period, roofing a wicked wrist shot from the right circle, after Panarin threaded the needle with a precise cross-ice pass to find him. Kreider made it 3-1 with a shot from the left wing at 9:05, and Strome jammed in another delicious feed from Panarin to make it 4-1 at 17:27 of the second.
And now the Rangers, who outshot Ottawa 33-22, know they’ll be playing hockey after the regular season ends on April 29.
“I said earlier in the year I didn't think we were playing as good a hockey as we could have played, but we still had a good record of that time,’’ Gallant said Friday. “I think we played some really good hockey the last 20 or 30 games, and it shows. And I think our team's getting better, a month at a time.’’
Next month, they’ll be in the playoffs.
