It’s no secret that the New York Rangers have struggled at Madison Square Garden (MSG) this season. They have just two wins on home ice, which is last in the NHL. While they do have the most road wins in the NHL with 11, the Rangers are playing seven of their next 10 games at MSG. If they want to try and turn their season around, this stretch of games is going to be the most important of the campaign so far.
Struggles at Home So Far This Season
When a team plays on its home ice, it’s usually seen as an advantage for them. It has been nothing but a disadvantage this season as the Rangers have a 2-8-1 record at MSG and have been shut out in five of those games, including the first three home games of the season. It took them until mid-November to get their first win on home ice, and that came against a weak Nashville Predators team. They have struggled to do anything right at MSG, and for the fans paying money to see these games, it’s been a major slap in the face.
The biggest issue for the Rangers at home is their lack of goal scoring. As mentioned earlier, they have been shut out five times already at MSG and have only managed to score more than one goal in a home game three times. They have scored 72 goals as a team this season, but only 17 of those have come on home ice. It’s been embarrassing to watch them play with no energy and no life at home, and this needs to change as they have some tough opponents coming into town.
Rangers Have Tough Opponents Ahead at Home
This stretch of home games will not start easily for the Rangers as they will host three of the top six teams in the Western Conference this week. It starts tonight when they take on the Dallas Stars, a team that has won four in a row and is 8-1-1 in their last 10. They also have one of the hottest goal scorers in the league right now in Jason Robertson, who has scored 13 goals in those 10 games. After a quick trip to Ottawa, the Rangers come back to MSG to play a back-to-back this weekend against the first-place Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights. These first three home games are going to be a true test to see how well the Rangers can play against some of the best teams in the NHL.
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After those three, they play four more home games before finishing 2025 on a six-game road trip. These four home games are against the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, and Philadelphia Flyers. While some of these opponents can be seen as weaker than the ones the Rangers have to face this week, none of them should be taken lightly considering the way the Rangers are playing at home. All of these games are going to be a challenge, but it will be up to the Rangers to be ready for that challenge.
Rangers Will Have to Play These Games Without Adam Fox
In another piece of bad news, the Rangers will have to play these important games without their best defenseman, Adam Fox. He suffered an injury in their last game and was placed on long-term injured reserve, which means he will miss at least the next 12 games. This is the biggest loss the Rangers could face right now, as Fox has been playing extremely well this season with three goals and 26 points recorded in 27 games . He and Vladislav Gavrikov have been an amazing pairing, and it’s rough to see Fox go down at such a crucial point.
This means the rest of the players are going to need to step their games up to another level. Not one player can replace what Fox does for the team, but if a few of the top players can up their games over this stretch, the Rangers might be able to stay afloat while Fox recovers . These games are going to test how tough the Rangers are, and if they can fight through this adversity, then this season might not be seen as a lost cause just yet.
Despite their poor play at home, the Rangers are only three points out of a wild-card spot and six points out of first place in the Metropolitan Division. If they had won two or three more home games this season, they would be in a much different spot. Now, they need to start figuring out how to win at home more consistently and fast. If they don’t, their playoff hopes could be over by the time 2026 rolls around.
