Is the New York Rangers' recent surge a feasible opportunity to make a playoff push?

Strictly speaking in numbers, yes, the New York Rangers, who currently occupy the eighth wild card spot for playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, can make the postseason and are technically only four points out. That's two wins. So, there's hope; it's just that they dug themselves a bit deeper into the standings than they'd likely like to be at this point in the regular season.

The Rangers began 2025 with a newfound ability to suddenly find the back of the net; finally scoring more than three goals in a game since early December. More importantly, though, they cruised through the first two weeks of the new year with some new chemistry (hello special teams, they have power-play goals in each of their last three contests) and their veterans beginning to step up (cough, cough, nice to see you Mika Zibanejad, who's found the score sheet the past six games).

The Blueshirts have come out with nine of a possible 12 points in their last six contests. They just beat the current best team in the league, the Vegas Golden Knights, in a close battle down on the Strip. Things are trending upward and in the right direction here!

We've seen Rangers' President and General Manager Chris Drury be aggressive on the trading block this season, having already sent captain defenseman Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks for d-man Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the upcoming 2025 NHL Draft. He also dealt winger Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen plus two draft picks for 2025 (third and sixth). To make a playoff push, do the Rangers need to buy and/or sell by the trade deadline?

Should Rangers buy at trade deadline to make a playoff push?

From now until the deadline, the Rangers have a decently tough schedule; battling the Colorado Avalanche twice, facing Vegas again but this time on home ice, a meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of February and a date with the Great Eight in Alex Ovechkin as they take on the Washington Capitals on March 5 (will this be the game he breaks the 894 all-time goals record?).

Listen, I am no GM here, but remember how the late Herb Brooks pieced together his "Miracle" gold medal-winning hockey team in 1980? He did not make a team of the best players, he made a team of the "right" players. So who are the right players for this New York Rangers team?

There's been rumblings of the Rangers' interest in Canucks' center JT Miller (who began his NHL career with the Rangers from 2012-2018) but what would they give up to get him? Miller is into his 30's and whether we like to admit it or not, that's not always great for long-term deals. But for a win-now mindset, is it worth it? They do need a center and an offensive spark...

The Rangers have promising young talent up front in Will Cuylle and Filip Chytil, but what will they have to sell to get the offensive production they're looking for? Will they make moves? Time will tell; but I think if what's already been done is any indication of what's to come, the roster will be shaken up with more movement before March 7.

I did boldly predict when the season first started that the Rangers would make the playoffs as a wild card, which was extremely bold as they were one of the Stanley Cup favorites back in October. Numerically, four points out of the race with 40 games remaining, it "could" happen. Realistically, it's going to be a tough hill to climb. They've started the trek with a confident and powerful start to 2025, but can it continue?