Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck and HC Peter Laviolette deliver statements after New York Rangers' elimination from 2025 playoffs contention

The New York Rangers saw their season come to an abrupt end Saturday night, losing 7-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes and being eliminated from contention for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Rangers now have a 37-36-7 record with two games remaining in the regular season after losing four of their last five.

After the game, Rangers alternate captain Mika Zibanejad expressed his disappointment at missing the playoffs.

"It sucks. I think, obviously, this game wasn't the problem... It's going to take a bit to digest what just happened," he said (per Mollie Walker).

Forward Vincent Trocheck lamented the team’s failure to meet expectations following last year’s Presidents’ Trophy-winning season and playoff run.

"You can't just show up and expect it to go the same way it did last year. We earned it last year. We certainly didn't earn it this year," Trocheck said (per Vince Mercogliano).

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette also took responsibility, saying (per Mercogliano):

"It's disappointing... It certainly wasn't anybody's plan coming into the year, especially coming off of last year. Yet, here we are. We had opportunities in the last 20 games to make our own noise and make our own way, we didn't do that. So, it's on us. We needed to be better."

Adam Fox, Will Cuylle and K'Andre Miller scored for New York in the loss, while the Hurricanes got goals from Jalen Chatfield, Mark Jankowski, Jackson Blake, Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook and Logan Stankoven.

Game recap: Rangers fall 7-3 to Hurricanes

Carolina got on the board at 9:02 of the first period when Chatfield fired a wrist shot from the point under the crossbar. Later in the period, Seth Jarvis doubled the lead at 17:46, burying a no-look feed from Sebastian Aho.

Blake made it 3-0 early in the second, finishing off a deflection. Jankowski added another at 12:59, firing in a shot from the right circle after a pass from William Carrier. Cuylle finally got the Rangers on the board at 19:43, cutting the lead to 4-1.

In the third period, Staal made it 5-1 at 3:45. Miller scored for New York on the power play at 6:07, one-timing a shot from the left circle. Fox added another at 9:02 with a backhander off an Artemi Panarin feed to make it 5-3.

Carolina sealed the win with two late empty-net goals by Martinook and Stankoven.

"Even tonight, we didn’t do the right things well enough in order to be successful," Laviolette said after the game. "We give up three goals, point blank in front of the net. It can’t happen. It’s been pretty consistent all year. We haven’t played well enough to win hockey games."

Igor Shesterkin made 21 saves in the loss, while Pyotr Kochetkov had 28 saves.