April 6th, 2019.
That was the last time the Rangers played an official NHL game. An overtime goal by Ryan Strome earned the Rangers two meaningless points to decrease their draft lottery odds by propelling themselves past the Buffalo Sabres into 26th place in the league wide standings.
As a result of that win, the Rangers won the draft lottery and were rewarded with the 2nd overall selection in the 2019 Entry Draft, while the Sabres slid from finishing 5th worst in the league to drafting 7th overall. The 2nd overall pick, Finnish sensation Kaapo Kakko, will be skating on the Blueshirts’ first line as his team welcomes the New Jersey Devils to town to open the pre-season.