The New York Rangers return to the ice to take on the Dallas Stars tonight at American Airlines Center. They enter the match on a three-game losing streak. After a comeback fell short in a 3-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 15, the Rangers were shut out 2-0 by the Nashville Predators on Dec. 17. Juuse Saros made 25 saves.

By dropping 11 of their last 14 games, the Rangers have fallen out of playoff position. After starting the season 12-4-1, they’re 15-15-1 with 31 points. Counting Thursday night’s games, they trail the Ottawa Senators by five points for the final wildcard. The Boston Bruins hold the first wildcard with 38 points. However, they’ve played three more games. The Senators have played 32 games. They’re playing the best hockey. By virtue of a 3-2 overtime win over the Calgary Flames on captain Brady Tkachuk’s game-winner, they have a five-game winning streak.

With the Senators finally playing better hockey, it looks like they’re going to be tough to catch. Linus Ullmark has won seven straight starts. The Bruins remain up and down. They blew a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Edmonton Oilers. Leon Draisaitl won it for the Oilers. Boston probably will be one of the fringe teams the Rangers will be battling with for the postseason. That’s if they can get things turned around.

It remains to be seen what’ll happen on Broadway. The Rangers have entered the toughest part of their schedule. Starting tonight, the next seven games are all against playoff teams. After concluding the three-game road trip at Dallas, they return home to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 22. Then, they play a fourth back-to-back on Monday, Dec. 23 when they visit the New Jersey Devils before the Christmas break. When they return to the ice, a challenging two-game trip down south to face the Tampa Bay Lightning (12/28) and Florida Panthers (12/30) concludes the calendar year. At the start of 2025, they face the Bruins at home on Jan. 2. The seven-game challenge wraps up with the Washington Capitals in DC on Jan. 4.

If they are to right the ship, the Rangers are going to have to earn it. They have only defeated two teams who are currently in playoff position. Those wins came against the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-1 on Oct. 19) and the Vancouver Canucks (4-3 on Nov. 19) a month apart. Aside from handling the Pittsburgh Penguins twice, they’re 1-4-0 against the rest of the Metropolitan Division. The only other team they defeated was the New York Islanders back on Nov. 3. That means they’re 0-4 against the Capitals, Devils, Flyers, and Hurricanes. Being able to handle better opponents would go a long way to proving that they can still be a factor.

Rempe in Against Stars

When they face off in less than an hour, the Rangers will have Matt Rempe in the lineup tonight. It’ll be his first game since Nov. 25. He was called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday night following the Kaapo Kakko trade to the Seattle Kraken.

After spending some time playing an increased role with the Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League (AHL), Rempe’s come back with a positive attitude. He wants to prove to the Rangers that he belongs in the NHL.

“I got a long journey ahead of me. I’ve come a long way in a short time and I think that the best thing for me is to just keep developing and stuff like that. First years in Hartford, I don’t think I played over 12 minutes once. I don’t think I played a single second of special teams – Ever. I think that for me to go and suddenly play 18 minutes and be very effective, as well, Not just be given that, earn it as well. I can be very effective in those minutes. It’s very beneficial. I think it means my games come a long way,” Rempe told Mollie Walker of the New York Post earlier this afternoon.

In 18 games for the Wolf Pack, Rempe has three goals and two assists with 22 penalty minutes. He’ll be on the fourth line. Jimmy Vesey will be a healthy scratch.

Jones Gets a Night Off

For the first time in a while, Zac Jones gets a night off. After playing well, Jones has struggled recently. He got victimized a couple of times on bad pinches that led to goals against. His style is high risk, high reward. When he returns to the lineup, Jones will need to pick his spots better. He was also without a point in his last eight games.

In Jones’ place will be newest Ranger Will Borgen. He was acquired from the Kraken along with a 2025 third and sixth round picks in exchange for Kakko. Borgen will get the chance to show what he can add to a struggling blue line. A right defenseman who isn’t shy about physicality, he’ll pair alongside Braden Schneider. Both are right shots. However, Schneider has proven he can shift to the left side.

Panarin a Game-Time Decision

Artemi Panarin has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury. He’s expected to ba a game-time decision.

There’s little doubt that the Rangers have missed Panarin. The team’s leading scorer is the one dynamic player who can create offense. Without him, they’ve struggled offensively, with only two goals over the last two losses. Panarin paces the Rangers in goals (15), assists (21), points (36), even strength points (24) power-play points (12) and shots-on-goal (94).

If he misses a third consecutive game, it’ll be up to the other underperforming stars to pick it up.