New York Rangers: A big win and some help from lottery rivals
It was a busy weekend in the NHL with 14 games Saturday and another eight on Sunday. The New York Rangers ended their home stand with a stunning win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. It doesn’t help their lottery aspirations, but other lottery teams helped out by winning as well.
On the playoff front, the Rangers are now only seven points out of the final wild card spot as Pittsburgh was idle after their loss on Saturday. The top wild card slot is occupied by Montreal and the Rangers are 13 points behind the Habs. It looks like if the Rangers have a prayer of making the playoffs, it will be at the expense of the Penguins. They would also have to climb over the Sabres, Hurricanes and Flyers as well. Doubtful, but not impossible.
The Lottery Look
There were eight lottery teams in action on Sunday, including the Rangers. There were three wins, four losses and one overtime loss. With the win over Toronto, the Rangers are now 11th from the bottom of NHL, separated by nine points. There are six teams within three points of the Rangers, so standings are changing daily.
The Devils beat the Hurricanes 3-2, a devastating loss for Carolina. If they had won, they would have moved into a wild card spot. The Devils have 50 points, six points behind the Rangers.
The Blackhawks continued their revival with a 6-2 win over Detroit. Chicago is now four points out of a playoff spot while Detroit lost their third in a row and are in danger of dropping into last place overall.
Colorado salvaged a point out of their overtime 2-1 loss to the Bruins. The slipped one point behind the Rangers.
Besides Detroit and Carolina, the other losers were Florida who dropped a 5-2 decision to the Lightning and the Sabres who lost 3-1 to the Jets. Florida has 54 points to the Rangers’ 56. The Sabres remain with 61 points, two points out of the wild card. A win and Buffalo would have had the same number of points as Pittsburgh though the Pens hold the tiebreaker.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GP W-L-OTL PTS ROW
1. Ottawa 55 21-29-5 47 21
2. Detroit 56 21-28-7 49 19
3. New Jersey 55 21-26-8 50 20
4. Los Angeles 55 23-27-5 51 21
5. Anaheim 56 21-26-9 51 18
6. Edmonton 55 24-26-5 53 21
7. Arizona 55 24-26-5 53 22
8. Florida 54 23-23-8 54 21
9. Chicago 56 23-24-9 55 22
10. Colorado 55 22-22-11 55 22
11. Rangers 55 24-23-8 56 18
12. Vancouver 56 25-24-7 57 23
13. Philadelphia 55 25-23-7 57 23
14. Buffalo 55 27-21-7 61 23
15. Carolina 56 28-22-6 62 27
Who to root for
A quiet Monday night with only three games. A lottery team is playing in all three games.
Penguins @ Flyers – This is a big game for both teams. A win for the Flyers and they move within four points of the Penguins. Pittsburgh is in danger of slipping out of a playoff spot with Carolina only one point behind them and the Sabres only two. A win give the Flyers 59 points and a three points more than the Blueshirts. Root for the Flyers.
Kings @ Capitals – The Kings have lost only two out of their last ten while Washington has won only three out of their last ten. The Caps are ripe for the taking and the Kings are only five points behind the Rangers.
Sharks @ Canucks – A win for the Canucks and they are tied in points with the two West wild card teams. They are only one point ahead of the Rangers and the Blueshirts could use the breathing room. Root for Vancouver to end the Sharks’ five game winning streak.
Next. Georgiev stars in big 4-1 win over Toronto. dark
Tuesday is a much busier night with 12 games including a tough road game for the Rangers in Winnipeg.