Rangers shut out Lightning in season finale at the Garden in Sam Rosen's final game

Their season was an utter mess, but the Rangers at least closed the 2024-25 season with a positive result that left the Garden fans cheering.

Mika Zibanejad had two goals, Chris Kreider scored in what may have been his final game in a Rangers jersey and goalie Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves for his sixth shutout of the season in the Rangers' 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night at the Garden.

The Rangers, who were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss at Carolina on Saturday, ended the season with victories in their last two games, and finished 39-36-7 (85 points). They finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division and will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

Coach Peter Laviolette, who led the Rangers to a Presidents’ Trophy and an appearance in the Eastern Conference finals last season, is expected to be let go, meaning GM Chris Drury will be looking to hire his third coach in little more than four years this summer. Laviolette guided the Rangers to a 94-59-11 record over his two seasons.

Vincent Trocheck’s shorthanded goal in the third period Monday was the game-winner in the Rangers’ win over the Florida Panthers. On Thursday, his shorthanded goal at 1:02 of the second period gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

Kreider, the longest-tenured Ranger, is expected to be traded in the offseason. But he went out in style, scoring to make it 2-0 at 4:02 of the third, and setting up the second goal by Zibanejad, his longtime linemate, who notched his 19th and 20th of the season to make it 4-0.

Tampa Bay (47-27-8, 102 points) finished in second place in the Atlantic Division and will meet rival Florida (47-31-4, 98) in the first round of the playoffs.

Before the game, the Rangers took warmups with each player wearing the number 40 and the name ROSEN on the back, in tribute to Sam Rosen, who is retiring after 40 seasons as the team’s TV play-by-play man.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.