Fansided

A quiet night for lottery teams with no help for the New York Rangers

By Steve Paulus |
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 08: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers skates against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on February 08, 2019 in New York City. The Hurricanes shut-out the Rangers 3-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 08: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers skates against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on February 08, 2019 in New York City. The Hurricanes shut-out the Rangers 3-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 08: New York Rangers Defenceman Tony DeAngelo (77) in action during the third period of the National Hockey League game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers on February 8, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 08: New York Rangers Defenceman Tony DeAngelo (77) in action during the third period of the National Hockey League game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers on February 8, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

A quiet night in the NHL and there is nothing good to report when it comes to the New York Rangers and their lottery positioning.  All three lottery contenders lost, so no progress for the Blueshirts.

On the playoff front, the Rangers had closed to within seven points of the Pittsburgh Penguins, sitting in the last wild card spot.  The Pens won tonight so the Rangers now trail them by nine points, an almost insurmountable hurdle.  All in all, it was a bad night for both the Rangers’ playoff hopes and their lottery dreams.

The Lottery Look

There was one really important game tonight, between Washington and Los Angeles.  A Kings win would have moved them only three points behind the Rangers.  The other two games featured Vancouver and Philadelphia, teams one point ahead of the Rangers.  If they won it would have opened up some breathing room.  But they all lost.

The Penguins responded to the pressure of barely hanging onto a playoff spot by beating the red hot Philadelphia Flyers 4-1.  It was the Flyers first regulation loss in 11 games. They remain one point ahead of New York.

San Jose  demolished Vancouver 7-2 so the Canucks remain a scant one point ahead of the Rangers.

The Kings, who had been playing very well lately, lost 6-4 to the Capitals behind two goals by Evgeny Kuznetsov.  The Kings recent surge has lifted them from the worst record into the NHL to 4th worst and the loss does not affect their position.

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      56     23-28-5      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       57    25-25-7       57      23
13. Philadelphia    56    25-24-7       57      23
14.  Buffalo            55    27-21-7       61      23
15.  Carolina           56    28-22-6       62      27

Who to root for

12 games in the NHL on Tuesday night, including the Rangers on the road against the Central Division leading Winnipeg Jets. 11 lottery teams will be in action so there is an opportunity for some movement in the standings.

Blackhawks @ Bruins – Behind Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks are back in the playoff race with 55 points.  Only four points out of the wild card, they are one point worse than the Rangers.  Chicago will want this game very badly.  Root for them to win.

Hurricanes @ Senators – Carolina is six points ahead of the Rangers and Ottawa is nine points worse.  It’s much more important for the Rangers to be worse than the Senators for lottery purposes, so root for them to win.

Maple Leafs @ Avalanche – Colorado is one point worst than the Rangers, but still have playoff hopes.  The Leafs will be eager to win after Sunday’s game with the Rangers.  Root for the Avs, but this will be a tough game.

Coyotes @ Golden Knights – Arizona is three points worse than the Rangers.  The Blueshirts really need them to win this game.

Devils @ Blues – The Devils have 50 points, six points behind the Rangers.  The Blues are red hot and are in the playoffs so this will be a tough one for New Jersey.

Red Wings @ Predators – Detroit has done absolutely nothing lately and sit second from the bottom with 49 points.  It would help the Rangers if they won, but the Predators are too good.

Stars @ Panthers -Florida is only two points behind the Rangers, but they are playing a Dallas team that is fighting to stay in a playoff position. A home win for the Panthers would be very helpful.

Islanders @ Sabres – Buffalo is fighting to get back into the playoff picture.  They are also five points ahead of the Rangers so a Sabres will would be nice. Plus, that means they beat the Islanders.

Next. Alexandar Georgiev's longterm future. dark

Wednesday night is a slow night for the NHL with only two games on the schedule, but both feature teams worse than the Rangers.

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