Rangers 2024-25 schedule released, open on road against Penguins

The Presidents’ Trophy-winning season of 2023-24 is officially over for the New York Rangers and their focus is directly on next season now that the 2024-25 NHL schedule was released on Tuesday.

Within the schedule are several key dates, stretches of games, and things to look out for as New York prepares to embark on the long journey to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994.

Opening night for the Rangers will be Oct. 9, when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road. It will be a quick homecoming for Reilly Smith, whom the Rangers acquired Monday in a trade with the Penguins.

Three nights later, the Rangers play their home opener at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 12 against the Utah Hockey Club, which, presumably, will have a nickname by then.

Related: Brennan Othmann takes next step with eye on cracking Rangers lineup

4 Nations Face-Off breaks up Rangers schedule in 2024-25

Another key date to look out for is Oct. 24, when the Rangers will host the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. This will be a great early test for New York to see how they stack up against the team that eliminated them in the Eastern Conference Final and went on to win it all. New York will play Florida two more times — Dec. 30 and April 14, each time in Florida.

The NHL will take a two-week pause in its schedule for the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off, a tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States from Feb. 15-20 and with extra days off baked in before. Two Rangers , defenseman Adam Fox (United States) and center Mika Zibanejad (Sweden), were among the first six players for each country named to play in the tourney, which replaces the NHL All-Star Game on the schedule next season. The full rosters will be announced during the 2024-25 season, so more Blueshirts may be headed to the tournament.

For the Rangers, their last game before the pause will be Feb. 8 and they will resume play on Feb. 22.

New York will have a five-game homestand, their longest of the season, that spans from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9, when they will face the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Penguins, Seattle Kraken and Chicago Blackhawks.

Coming down the stretch, the Rangers will have some critical games against Metropolitan Division opponents. There is a three-game stretch (April 9 – 12) when New York will face the Philadelphia Flyers, Islanders, and Carolina Hurricanes. These are three of the final five regular-season games and could have heavy playoff implications.

The Rangers will end their regular season on April 17 against the Tampa Bay Lightning at home. And after another long regular-season grind, the Rangers will try, once again, for just their second Stanley Cup title in 85 years.

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