New York Rangers Last Week of Play
The New York Rangers clinic on how to “Blow a Third Period Lead” last night leaves them traveling back home, to yet again try and clinch a playoff spot. Their inability to hold onto a third period lead last night coupled with the Penguins demolition of the Predators, also means the Penguins have leaped in front of the Rangers, who have now fallen to third place.
They lost their second place seed in the divisional standings last night, but they still control their fate. With the regular season’s last week upon us, the Rangers will face the Sabres on Saturday, then the Blue Jackets in Columbus before they head back home for a three game homestead. The Blueshirts will play the Lightning, Islanders and lastly the Red Wings in MSG before the post-season begins.
With the Metro division as tight as it is (with the exception of the Capitals), the Rangers may end the season either in second place or as a wild card team. The possibilities of them facing either the Islanders, Penguins or Flyers in the first round are all still very real. However, now another thought may creep into the minds of New York Ranger fans. Lose.
Wild Card Possibilities
If the Blueshirts fall beyond third place and into the first wild card position, they would be put up against the Panthers, this is if the standings remain the same through this last week. This thought of falling out of the Metropolitan Divisional playoffs does come with benefits.
If the New York Rangers do end up playing the Panthers and win, they would continue to play Atlantic Division teams, which leaves all the Metro teams to beat up one another. This would be nice, but assuming the Lighting make it past the first round along with the Rangers these two teams would meet in the Divisional Finals.
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Recent history would worry some Ranger fans. The Lighting surpassed the Rangers in the Conference Finals last year, but would fans rather see the Rangers play the lightning in the divisional round, or the Capitals. I for one would roll the dice on a Lightning vs. Rangers series.
The biggest issue with this entire scenario is the fact that the Rangers would have to enter the playoffs without a string of wins. If I have learned anything while watching post-season play throughout any professional sport it is, entering the playoffs hot can be just as beneficial as a first place seed with home ice/field.
New York Rangers already Playing in the Post-season
Teams that enter the post-season as a wild card, or as a low seed, have defined the odds because of timing. They leave the regular season on a roll, wining back-to-back games or more, which is always a great confidence booster.
For the New York Rangers to position themselves as a wild card team, they would need to lose this week and that is dangerous. The entire idea of playing the “road warrior” and having to lose just to place yourself in that position is similar to walking on thin ice. They may make it, but they are more likely going to plummet, experience hypothermia and fade into darkness.
The Blueshirts need to take this week one game at a time. They will be expected to beat the Blue Jackets and if they don’t the team has much larger issues at hand than playoff positioning. Once the team returns to MSG the schedule will pick up and they will need to focus on earning two points at a time. Put the blinders up; let every other team in the Metro do whatever they want and just play hockey. Heed my warning; don’t take the road to Florida.
Yes, Hank tends to become an even more amazing goalie come post-season play and yes, the Rangers tend to win in a fashionable manor after they experience a loss, but as good as the Flyers, Islanders, and Penguins are, taking on a comparable Panthers or Lightning team will become just as difficult to combat without home ice. Flying back and forth to Florida would impact each team, but the Rangers seem to not only win in streaks, they seem to play streaky between periods.
Next: New York Rangers Play Who'd You Rather
Last night, they could have out played any team in hockey during the second period, however their first and third periods were amateur and that has been their Achilles Heel throughout the past month or so. This flaw may be exacerbated with travel and that is a road that should be avoided at all costs.