Blueshirts in the Rearview: Former Rangers Performance in the First Round of the 2025 Playoffs

With the Rangers' postseason dreams dead and buried, plenty of former Rangers are getting a chance at ultimate glory and the Stanley Cup. Here's where they are.

Carolina Hurricanes

Jack Roslovic

Roslovic dressed in three of five games in the series against the Devils. He tallied one assist while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time. He mostly featured in the bottom six for the Hurricanes, but after New Jersey took game three, Brind'Amour scratched him and he's remained in the press box ever since. The Hurricanes managed to quickly dispatch a banged up Devils squad with and without Roslovic's help.

Colorado Avalanche

Ryan Lindgren

Lindgren was an important piece of Colorado's first round effort, and unfortunately in the end it burned the Avalanche. He skated in all seven games, averaging over 18 minutes of ice time and chipping in three assists. Lindgren played his brand of hockey by throwing hits and putting his body in front of the puck. He helped the Avalanche kill penalties throughout the series, but in the end what he'll be most remembered for is getting burned on Miko Rantanen's game tying goal in the third period of game 7.

Jimmy Vesey

Vesey didn't end up skating in a single postseason game for the Avalanche. Colorado was too stacked and he was always more of an insurance acquisition than anything.

Dallas Stars

Colin Blackwell

Boy oh boy, Blackwell's series was filled with big moments, bad and good. He was scratched in game one but made his presence known in his game two debut by scoring the overtime-winning goal late in the extra period. This was Blackwell's only point in the six games he dressed for in the series.

Even after his overtime heroics, Blackwell's ice time was very limited, as he averaged just over 11 minutes, including two games that went to OT. After reveling in the glory of being the unlikely hero, just a few games later he was the victim of an unlucky bounce that sealed a game for the Avalanche this time around.

Brendan Smith

Even with Miro Heiskanen out for the entire series, Smith has yet to play in the postseason, which speaks volumes on the team's defensive depth. If further injury occurs, he will be one of the first skaters they call on.

Nils Lundkvist

Lundkvist is still listed on long term injured reserve after his shoulder surgery in January. Even if the Stars make a deep run, it's likely the severity of the surgery and the team's defensive depth that will prevent Lundkvist joining the team for this run.

Florida Panthers

Niko Mikkola

Mikkola brought the physicality in the incredibly aggressive series between the Florida state rivals. He averaged over 18 minutes of ice time but scored no points for the Panthers in the five game series. He did, however, rack up 25 penalty minutes, with most of them coming in game four after committing an egregious hit and receiving a game misconduct.

Minnesota Wild

Mats Zuccarello

I think we could all agree on wanting the Wild to take down the Golden Knights, but alas it wasn't in the cards. Zuccarello scored one goal and two assists in the six game series, and realistically his team needed more from him to have a chance. Minnesota's secondary scoring was absent in big moments and it led to their collapse and another early playoff exit. That being said, he did have some highlight reel plays in the series, particularly the clip below that will remind Rangers fans of his constant effort and tenacity.

St. Louis Blues

Pavel Buchnevich

Buchnevich proved to be one of the Blues best players throughout the series they almost stole from the Jets several times over. He scored three goals—although they were all in one game—and chipped in five assists. He was dangerous and elevated his teammates almost every time he touched the ice, and it still hurts to watch all these years later. However, a play that is certainly haunting Blues' fans was his decision to shoot for the open net in the waning seconds of game seven. We all know what happened: the Jets won the series, and had Buchnevich thought a little more about the play he made, the Blues would have moved on to the second round.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Ryan McDonagh

Tampa Bay was quickly eliminated by the Panthers, but it was through no fault of Ryan McDonagh. He averaged 19 minutes a game and had three assists in the five game series. He played in every situation for the Lightning and, while it's an archaic and unserious statistic, he managed to come out of the series with a team leading +2 when the majority of the Lightning were on the minus side. He hit 1,000 games this season, but McDonagh proved once again he still has it.

Brandon Halverson

What did you expect? Halverson didn't even sniff the postseason, and for the sake of his ego, that's probably a good thing.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Ryan Reaves

The Maple Leafs have added Reaves back to their NHL roster, but there has yet to be a sighting of him in an actual game. However, with their series against the Panthers becoming more and more aggressive, the odds of seeing him lace them up are exponentially increasing.

Vegas Golden Knights

Brett Howden

There is a lot to unpack with Howden's lack of success in New York City, especially as he keeps finding ways to contribute for the Golden Knights. We'll have an article investigating this later on in the dog days of summer. His performance against the Minnesota Wild was integral to Vegas finding a way to right the ship after briefly struggling in the series. In game one he scored the game winning and insurance goals for the Golden Knights when they were able to hold off the Wild's late game push. And in perhaps the pivotal moment of the series, Howden was the OT hero in game five as Vegas clawed their way back to take the series lead. He played in just under 13 minutes a game, but he made those minutes count.

Reilly Smith

In six games against the Wild, Reilly Smith had one goal and one assist. In a supplementary role, his ice time has been all over the place with a high of over 20 minutes when the team won in overtime and a low of 12 minutes when they lost in game three. Smith has done his job admirably and even assisted the overtime winning goal in game four by pouncing on a loose puck in the offensive zone and throwing it at the net.

Washington Capitals

Dylan McIlrath

The Undertaker has yet to see a game this postseason, but he's there for the Capitals if needed. However, barring injury disaster, it's likely he won't suit up as the stakes get higher and the opponents get tougher.

Winnipeg Jets

Morgan Barron

Barron has played an important bottom six role for the Jets all season and even more so as they did the unthinkable, came back to win game seven, and moved on to the second round. He logged over 26 minutes of ice time in the double OT thriller, and throughout the series logged two assists and a 51.6 FO%.

Vladislav Namestnikov

Like Barron, Namestnikov played a vital supporting role for the Jets well. He consistently logged at least 14 minutes of ice time and scored two goals and two assists in the series with one of his goals being the tally that brought Winnipeg within one with less than two minutes left in game seven. Namestnikov has been a journeyman for years, but Winnipeg's commitment to him paid off in this series.

Neal Pionk

As a Rangers fan it's quite easy to start feeling depressed watching Neal Pionk come up clutch in big moments for the Jets. He scored one goal and four assists in the series against the Blues, but three of those assists came in the epic comeback win in game 7 that saw him log a team high 46 minutes of ice time. His offensive prowess was on display, especially in the third period, as he empowered his team to cycle the puck smoothly and get good looks leading to high danger chances. However, his scoring wasn't the part of his playoff performance that stood out the most. In game six, the Jets were down a couple goals and Pionk still laid out his body to keep pucks in the offensive zone and give his team a fighting chance. It was the attitude of a player that's committed to winning by any cost necessary.