Despite the Rangers having more than twice as many shots, it was the home team, Toronto, that took advantage of their chances and led throughout the match.
Mika Zibanejad did his best to turn the game around, but despite his two goals the visitors never got closer than the final score, 3–4.
The Rangers have long been out of playoff contention, for the second year in a row, and are last in the Eastern Conference. With the loss to Toronto there is no longer any mathematical chance of reaching the playoffs, with ten games remaining.
You play to win, and we're in the situation we're in. It's tough, of course," Zibanejad told NHL.com.
Toronto, for its part, could theoretically reach the playoffs, but the more likely scenario is that the team misses the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in a decade.
