Rangers News & Rumors: Sullivan, early playoff pictures, Miller, Quick – Hockey Writers –

The New York Rangers are looking to bounce back from a difficult 2024-25 season and continue to look to the future in hopes of finding a way to advance to the playoffs. They haven’t gotten off to the best start in the competitive Metropolitan Division, but they still have a long way to go before they start to panic.

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In this edition of Rangers News & Rumors, we’ll get an update on head coach Mike Sullivan, the early playoff picture in their division, JT Miller’s slow start, and Jonathan Quick’s hot start.

Sullivan leaves due to family issues

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan missed the latest game due to personal matters. With assistant coaches David Quinn and Joe Sacco on the bench, they were unable to secure a victory, eventually losing 2-1 to the Detroit Red Wings.

Sullivan later returned and made it clear he had no interest in going into detail about the reasons for his departure, but thanked Chris Drury and James Dolan for their understanding.

Early playoff pictures

Things are always changing in the NHL, and it’s still so early in the 2025-26 season that we can’t predict who will finish strong and make the playoffs and who won’t. However, a quarter of the way through the season, it’s worth noting the plight of some teams.

So far, the Rangers have played 21 games and have a record of 10 wins, 9 draws and 2 losses. As of this writing, they are tied with three other teams on 22 points, but those other teams have games remaining and fewer regular-season losses, so the Rangers are currently out of contention for a playoff spot.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders have surprised their respective fans as they have made the playoffs at this point in the season, while the Florida Panthers find themselves on the outside. The Rangers have been very average, and given how competitive the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference are, they’re going to have to turn things around if they want to have a chance at making the playoffs.

JT Miller calls out ‘lazy play’

Rangers captain JT Miller was criticized on social media last night for his lackadaisical performance, with the focus being on one particular shift in the defensive zone where he seemed to give up.

Coming from the man who brought you “No Bullshit,” here’s some bullshit.@NYRangersRadio | #New York pic.twitter.com/1bPxOxMOif

— Steven Pappas (@StevenPappasTV) November 19, 2025

Miller has had a disastrous start to the season on both sides of the ball. Defensively, fans criticized his defense and positioning, while offensively, he only scored 10 points in 21 games.

It’s still early in the season, but he’s going to have to step up his game if the Rangers want to make the playoffs.

Played very well by Jonathan Quick

One of the bright spots for the Rangers has been goalkeeper Jonathan Quick. In the five games he participated in, he won three of them and completed a buzzer beater, averaging 1.42 goals per game. (GAA), 0.951 save percentage (SV%) and 6.2 goals saved above expected (GSAX). He’s one of the best goaltenders in the entire NHL, and with his Hall of Fame career coming to an end, his stellar play could help the Rangers make the playoffs and give him a chance to win another Stanley Cup.

Be sure to stay tuned as the 2025-26 season progresses hockey writer Be your source for news, updates and more from the NHL and hockey world.