After losing in the Eastern Conference Final, the Rangers are determined to build on their previous success and win their first Stanley Cup since 1994.
The New York Rangers had a season to remember last year as they won the Presidents’ Trophy with a 55-32-4 record and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final.
However, their season ended in heartbreaking fashion after getting eliminated by the Florida Panthers.
The Rangers were two games away from a trip to the Stanley Cup Final and Chris Kreider knows that the team needs to keep building on this success going into the 2024-25 season.
"I just don't think you ever downshift after that," Kreider said, per NHL.com. "Personally, I haven't really been able to, so I just think you roll right into next season and continue to get better as a team and as individuals."
The Panthers went on to win the Stanley Cup and Kreider sat through to watch Florida accomplish the ultimate goal.
"For whatever reason I just wanted to suffer through it," Kreider said.
The Rangers were so close to winning the franchises’ first Stanley Cup since 1994, but the Panthers were just the better team.
Their Eastern Conference Final loss will serve as a learning lesson and Kreider knows there is still work to be done.
"I think that was the best team we played all year," Kreider said. "I think they had absolutely zero ego to their game. They got to their game quicker than any other team. They had complete buy-in up and down their lineup, and to a man we all knew we were right there with them. It's a game of inches so we've got to do the things right now in the offseason going into camp to make sure we come out on the other side of those close ones."
