Missed opportunities are a dime a dozen in sports, but the Rangers’ failure to make it out of the first round of the playoffs – equipped the way they were — just may be one of the most disappointing whiffs in recent memory.

Such was a result of their 4-0 loss to the no-quit Devils in Game 7 on Monday night at Prudential Center, where the Rangers were outplayed in every sense of the word and were shutout for the second time in this series.  

The talent assembled on this team will haunt the Rangers organization forever.

Hockey fans will look back at this roster and think: “How did THAT team not win the Stanley Cup?”

The Rangers who dominated in Games 1 and 2 for a 2-0 series lead never fully returned.

They got comfortable, fed into the Devils’ ballooning confidence and allowed their opponents to waltz back into the series and ultimately seize the opportunity that was in front of them.

Even if it took two tries to set it up, the Devils earned their second-round matchup with the Hurricanes, which will begin Wednesday in Raleigh.

At the end of day, the Rangers did not do enough with what they had.

In fact, in Games 5 and 7 – two of the three most pivotal moments of the series – they posted zeroes. 

Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury brought in two aces, Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, in addition to strong supporting players like Niko Mikkola and Tyler Motte.

These pieces were added to an already-loaded lineup that featured some of the highest-skilled skaters in the NHL, with a lights-out goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, as the last line of defense.

The Rangers simply fumbled a winning hand.