Fans furious as NY Rangers fail to slide up in WC race after blowing 2-goal lead in OT loss to Ducks 

New York Rangers fans were frustrated after their team lost 5-4 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. The Rangers had a two-goal lead but could not hold on. The loss further hurt their chances in the Wild Card race, as it was their fifth defeat in six games.

The Rangers, now 34-32-7, started well but struggled late. Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves but could not stop Anaheim’s late goals. J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafreniere and Adam Fox each scored a goal and an assist. Artemi Panarin recorded two assists while Mika Zibanejad also scored.

New York took a 3-1 lead early in the second period after Lafreniere’s goal. Carlsson cut it to 3-2 early in the third. Zibanejad then scored a power play goal to restore the two-goal lead. But the Ducks responded quickly. Gauthier scored off a rebound to make it 4-3 at 14:12. Zellweger tied it with a wrist shot at 18:15, just after Anaheim killed a penalty.

"This team and coaching staff are an absolute joke. Sam deserves better than watching this trainwreck for his final season," one fan said.

"Gotta love our $11.5m goalie allowing FOUR goals in the 3rd period and overtime. I don't wanna hear any excuses. He choked as did the rest of the team. Period. Disgusting effort by this team. They don't deserve to make the postseason. Thankfully, tomorrow is the last late game," another fan commented.

"What a horrible loss… I’m just done. I don’t even know where to start: Awful power play. Zero urgency when it mattered most Coaching? No adjustments. No answers. I’m going to bed. Wake me up if we remember how to play hockey," one fan said.

Here's a closer look at some more reactions from fans on X:

"Good teams find ways to win. The 2024-2025 New York Rangers find ways to lose. Fire Drury. Fire Laviolette," one fan said.

"They just can't play defense against anyone. That was an epic collapse at the end," another fan commented.

"Lav needs to be fired. This is garbage," a fan tweeted.

Peter Laviolette frustrated as Rangers fall in OT loss to Ducks

New York coach Peter Laviolette was frustrated after their overtime loss to the Ducks. He said postgame that mistakes led to goals and the team failed to finish the game off.

"We made mistakes and the mistakes ended up in the back of our net," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said via NHL.com. "We were in charge of the game going into the third period, twice. We don't execute and get it done, so that's disappointing. As disappointing as it gets."

The Rangers are now six points behind the first Wild Card with nine games left. They will look to return to winning ways when they take on the San Jose Sharks next at SAP Center on Saturday.