In the playoffs, the Rangers reached the Conference finals for the first time since 1997, losing to the New Jersey Devils in six games.
[4] On July 2, free agent Brad Richards signed a nine-year contract worth almost $60 million with the Rangers.
[10] The throwback jerseys the Rangers wore for the Winter Classic were unveiled at an event on November 28.
The Rangers, with back-up goaltender Martin Biron playing, lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 15 by a score of 5–2 to break the streak.
The Rangers became the first Eastern Conference team to clinch a playoff spot with a 4–2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on March 20.
[18] On March 28, Henrik Lundqvist notched his 250th career win as the Broadway Blueshirts netminder, thus becoming the 45th goalie in NHL history to reach this plateau, in a 4–2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre.
Rookie Carl Hagelin was an early standout, coming in 6th on the team in both goals and total points, despite playing in only 64 games.
On May 2, 2012, Marian Gaborik scored 14:41 into the third overtime of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals to defeat the Washington Capitals 2–1 at the Verizon Center.
[21] Later in the series with Washington, on May 7, 2012, Brad Richards tied Game 5 with 6.6 seconds left in regulation, on a power-play.
Marc Staal then scored at 1:35 of overtime on the power-play, giving the Rangers a 3–2 victory, and a 3–2 series lead.