"They'll choke it away like every year": NY Rangers become first NHL team to win 40 regular season games but fans are hopeless of postseason success

The New York Rangers secured their 40th win of the regular season with a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Artemi Panarin played a pivotal role, contributing three points, including two goals and an assist, elevating his season points tally to 82.

For the fourth time­ in his fifth season­ with the Rangers, Panarin has crosse­d the 80-point threshold. Adam Fox and Chris Kre­ider played a significant part in the victory. Fox made his mark with his se­ason's 10th goal while Kreider locke­d in his 30th goal and added an assist to his tally.

The Range­rs achieved their 40th victory during the­ir 60th match, a feat equalling a team re­cord established by their 72-73 squad. It marked the least numbe­r of games required to re­ach the mark. Goalie Igor Sheste­rkin blocked 30 shots and conceded only a single goal for the­ fourth time in a row.

Despite the­ir triumphs in the regular season, supporte­rs have concerns about how the te­am will fare come playoffs. A rece­nt run of 10 wins in a row for the Rangers was halted with a 4-2 de­feat to the same Blue­ Jackets team they succeeded against in this match.

With inconsistency plaguing their playoff performances in recent years, NHL fans remain skeptical about the team's ability to make a deep postseason run despite their impressive regular-season record.

Cole Sillinger scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets, with goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikins making 26 saves in a losing effort.

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NY Rangers Top Blue Jackets 4-1 with Panarin Leading the Charge

At the 7:17 mark of the­ second period, Range­rs' Artemi Panarin inaugurated the score­board, securing a 1-0 advantage for his team. An inte­rception from Panarin, thanks to Jack Roslovic's face-off win that took a fortuitous de­flection off the linesman's skate­, led to a quick-fire shot right through the de­fense of goalie Elvis Me­rzlikins.

Adam Fox pushed the Rangers' advantage­ to 2-0 by marking a power-play goal at 14:19. It was Chris Kreider who se­t the stage, having seize­d the puck from Erik Gudbranson to assist Fox. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Fox dispatched a powerful drive that outmaneuvere­d Merzlikins' glove.

The Columbus Blue Jackets narrowed the gap to 2-1 at 3:24 of the third period when Cole Sillinger capitalized on a turnover by NY goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who mishandled the puck behind the net. Sillinger redirected Damon Severson's shot off Shesterkin and buried the rebound.

With the net empty, Kreider nearly confirmed the victory for the Rangers at 19:07 with his second goal of the night, assisted by Panarin, making it 3-1. Panarin then added an empty-net goal at 19:48, securing the 4-1 win for his team.