The New York Rangers’ last match of March was a resounding success. Thrashing the Sharks 6-1 at the SAP Center, the Rangers finished the month in fourth place of the Metropolitan Division. However, that wasn’t the only part of the night that made the hosts coil. Instead, Sharks’ forward Macklin Celebrini’s misfortune only compounded when the Rangers’ bus crashed into his car in the parking lot after the match. However, it looks like San Jose players have enough humor left in them, despite last Saturday’s loss, to take the troubles with a grin.

The visitors’ team bus backed into Celebrini’s Range Rover, which was parked in the players’ lot. According to an eyewitness, the Sharks center wasn’t in the vehicle during the collision. Thankfully, the vehicle did not sustain any major damage. But the San Jose locker room remains unfazed and with a smile on their faces still.

New York Rangers experience makes the Sharks skeptical

After Saturday’s fiasco, the official San Jose Sharks X page took to the platform on March 31 to take a sly potshot at the New York Rangers with a candid question-answer session with some of the players. Captioned “We know firsthand the importance of a good bus driver,” the tweet didn’t try to hide its sneer about the Rangers bus driver’s navigating skills. In the accompanying video, the players can be seen answering a question put forth by a fan.

The Sharks fan was curious to know who the players would rely on to get them to the venue in a scenario where the team bus driver is unable to do his work. Left-winger William Eklund was the first to answer, and he immediately dismissed Will Smith as the designated bus driver. But he did admit that Carl Grundstrom might be able to pull off the task of reaching the game venue with his teammates safe in the bus.

Unsurprisingly, Celebrini made an appearance in the video. Right off the bat, it was apparent that the damage to his beloved ride had given him a fresh perspective about how difficult a job the team bus drivers execute on a daily basis. When asked the same question, Macklin grinned, saying that “No one,” is fit to do the job. Instead, after the dual collision (literally) with the New York Rangers, Celebrini admitted that getting a cab or simply walking to the arena seemed like the better option. Their teammate Lucas Carlsson, on the other hand, seemed comfortable at the thought of having defenseman Mario Ferraro behind the steering wheel.

Meanwhile, the New York Rangers haven’t responded to the dig, and it’s unlikely that they will considering they have bigger things to worry about.

New York Rangers continue their uphill climb

73 games in, and the San Jose team sits at the bottom of the Pacific Division. With only 49 points to their name, the Sharks have almost certainly lost their chance of making it to the Stanley Cup playoffs this season. In contrast, while the Rangers are at fourth spot in their division, their playoff qualification is far from guaranteed with MoneyPuck giving them only 32.7% chance of making the cut.

Just a day before defeating the Sharks, the New York squad was left bamboozled by the Anaheim Ducks, who pulled off a major 5-4 OT victory, despite having a 3-1 lead at one point in the game. In fact, they had lost 5 out of their last 6 games before things went in their favor at the SAP Center. Naturally, the Rangers fans weren’t amused. “I’m just viewing this season as a comedy. It’s much more bearable that way,” one fan grumbled on social media, and the thought of having to bid goodbye to legendary sports broadcaster Sam Rosen at the end of the season didn’t help either.

The veteran broadcaster will be leaving the Rangers’ box after decades of service. For understandable reasons, Rosen also wants to make his final year at the chair a memorable one and hopes his affair with the New York team could be extended by just a few more days if the squad can make it to the playoffs. “I want to drag the Rangers into the playoffs and extend the career a little bit with some exciting playoff games,” Rosen said in a recent podcast. Will his fantasy be made into a reality? What do you foresee about the Rangers’ playoff chances? Share your thoughts with us!