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New York Rangers: Lottery Look/Playoff Picture for Tuesday, January 8

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 16: Paul Stastny #26 of the Vegas Golden Knights takes a face off against Kevin Hayes #13 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 16, 2018 in New York City. The Vegas Golden Knights won 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 16: Paul Stastny #26 of the Vegas Golden Knights takes a face off against Kevin Hayes #13 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 16, 2018 in New York City. The Vegas Golden Knights won 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 16: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal against the Vegas Golden Knights at Madison Square Garden on December 16, 2018 in New York City. The Golden Knights defeated the Rangers 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 16: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal against the Vegas Golden Knights at Madison Square Garden on December 16, 2018 in New York City. The Golden Knights defeated the Rangers 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The Playoff Picture

Only one game of any interest to the Rangers and their playoff hopes.  Minnesota beat Montreal so the Habs remain eight points ahead of the Blueshirts and still on the outside of he playoffs bubble, looking in.

No change in the standings on a quiet night in the East playoff race.

The standings

Atlantic Div.  GP    W-L-OTL      PTS    ROW
Tampa             42       32-8-2         66      29
Toronto           42      27-13-2       56      27
Boston            42      24-14-4       52      23
Met Div.         GP      W-L-OTL     PTS   ROW
Washington   41      25-12-4       54     22
Pittsburgh     42      23-13-6        52     22
Columbus       41      24-14-3       51     24
Wild Card       GP       W-L-OTL      PTS  ROW
Islanders        40       23-13-4      50     21
Buffalo            42      22-14-6       50     19
Contenders   GP      W-L-OTL      PTS  ROW
Montreal         43      22-16-5       49     20
Carolina          41       19-17-5       43     18
Rangers         41        17-17-7      41     12
Florida            39        17-16-7      41     15
New Jersey    40       16-18-7       39     15
Detroit            44       16-21-7       39     14
Philadelphia 42       15-21-6       36     13
Ottawa           44       15-23-5       35     15

Who to root for

There are a lot of games with some meaning for the Rangers playoff hopes.  All of the teams ahead of the Rangers in playoff spots are playing and if the Blueshirts are to have any hope of catching them, they need to lose.  Ironically, in three games the outcome will affect the playoff push and the lottery drive to the Rangers’ benefit or detriment.

Wild @ Bruins – Boston is in third place in the Atlantic, 11 points ahead of New York.  it may be too much ground to catch up, but a Bruins loss would be a start.  Root for the Wild.

Devils @ Sabres – This one is really important.The Sabres are slumping and are nine points ahead of the Rangers.  Root for the Devils to win this one (it’ll help lottery  aspirations as well).

Hurricanes @ Islanders – The Isles are a playoff team right now, so the Rangers need them to lose.  Root for Carolina.

Panthers @ Penguins – Pittsburgh has the same number of points as Boston.  They’ve been hot and the Rangers want Florida to cool them off.  A Panthers win helps both with the playoff and lottery aspirations.

Canadiens @ Red Wings – Montreal dropped out of a playoff spot on Sunday.  A Detroit win will keep them there and helps the lottery push.

Blue Jackets @ Lightning – Columbus is sitting in a playoff spot the Rangers want so root for Tampa to do the Blueshirts a favor.

Lessons learned from last years sell-off. dark. Next

Tuesday is a much busier night with several games with playoff consequences.  Until the Rangers get closer to a playoff slot, IF they get closer to a playoff spot, we will keep the Lottery Look first in these posts.

Early morning note…I made a couple errors in the who to root for category…sorry about that. Thanks to Ian for pointing this out.

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