It’s back to action for the NHL, but with many teams on their bye weeks, the schedule is pretty light. The New York Rangers take on the Philadelphia Flyers as they return from a nine day vacation.
The New York Rangers get busy in a hurry with three games in the next five nights. The first game is important for the Ranger’s playoff hopes. With Pittsburgh losing their first game back from the break, a Ranger win can pull them within seven points of the last wild card slot, closest they have been in weeks.
While the Pittsburgh loss was a positive for the Rangers’s playoff picture, it was a good night for their lottery standings as well.
The Lottery Look
There were only two games on the first night after the break and they were both very good for the New York Rangers lottery aspirations. Both games involved teams below the Rangers in the standings and both teams won, making the lottery race even tighter.
Philadelphia won their fourth straight game, a 3-1 upset over the Winnipeg Jets. The win moved them up a slot and they are now 6th from the bottom of the league. More important for New York, they now have 46 points, only three points shy of the Rangers. Tuesday’s game at Madison Square Garden has all kind of implications.
In the other game, the New Jersey Devils came up with a big road win over the Penguins. The Devils had come into the game on a three game losing streak so it was an important win for them. It vaulted them out of a tie for worst in the NHL up to the 5th worst record. in the league. With 45 points, they are only four points behind the Rangers.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams         GP     W-L-OTL   PTS  ROW
1. Ottawa        50    19-26-5   43   19
2. Chicago       51   17-24-10   44   17
3. Los Angeles   50    20-26-4   44   19
4. Detroit        51    19-25-7   45   17
5. New Jersey    49    19-23-7    45   18
6. Philadelphia   49    20-23-6   46   18
7. Florida        47   20-20-8    48   18
8. Edmonton     50    23-24-3   49   21
9. St. Louis       49   22-22-5    49   22
10. Rangers     48    21-20-7   49   16
11. Arizona       50    23-23-4   50   21
12. Anaheim     51    21-21-9   51   18
13. Vancouver    51    23-22-6   52   22
14. Carolina     50    24-20-6   54   23
15. Buffalo      48    24-18-6   54   21
Who to root for
Only three games on the NHL schedule on Tuesday with the Rangers-Flyers the marquee match-up.  Mats Zuccarello is out with a foot infection, but Kevin Hayes and Neal PIonk will rejoin the team.  The other two games have minimal impact on the race for lottery positioning.
Sabres @ Blue Jackets – Buffalo is in the lottery race, four points out of a playoff spot. With 54 points, they are only five points ahead of the Rangers and they have been losing a lot lately, so it wouldn’t hurt for the Blue Jackets to win.
Speaking of the Blue Jackets, interesting info today from Artemi Panarin’s agent via Twitter.
Pity the Blue Jackets who have a tough decision to make at the trade deadline…and an enticing possible free agent signing for the Rangers. Stay tuned.