New York Rangers: Shuffling the lottery race standings
The New York Rangers took a tough loss in Pittsburgh, but it helped their lottery aspirations. The Penguins were desperate for a win after dropping out of the last wild card spot.
The Penguins victory put them back into a wildcard spot, only the first spot as they passed both Carolina and Montreal in the standings. It’s going to be a dogfight with five teams fighting for four slots and only separated by three points.
The Lottery Look
There were some surprising results in the NHL on Sunday and they caused some shuffling in the lottery standings. Upset winners included New Jersey (4-1 over Buffalo), Florida (6-3 over Montreal) and Anaheim (5-2 over Washington).
As a result, the Devils moved up from second worst in the NHL to 6th worst and they are only four points shy of the Rangers. The Ducks remained fourth worst, but are now only three points behind the Rangers. The Panthers passed the Rangers in the standings, dropping the Blueshirts to the 10th worst in the league. Florida moved from seventh worst to 11th.
Team jumping four spots in the lottery race shows you how tight this is.
Other good news for the Rangers was that Philadelphia won over Detroit 3-1 and moved five points better than the Blueshirts.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GP W-L-OTL PTS ROW
1. Ottawa 58 22-31-5 49 22
2. Los Angeles 58 23-29-6 52 21
3. Edmonton 58 24-29-5 53 21
4. Anaheim 59 23-27-9 55 20
5. Detroit 60 23-29-8 54 21
6. New Jersey 59 23-28-8 54 22
7. Chicago 59 24-26-9 57 23
8.. Colorado 58 23-24-11 57 23
9. Arizona 58 26-27-5 57 24
10. Rangers 58 25-25-8 58 19
11. Florida 57 25-24-8 58 22
12. Vancouver 60 26-27-7 59 23
13. Philadelphia 59 28-24-7 63 26
14. Buffalo 58 28-23-7 63 24
15. Carolina 59 31-22-6 68 30
Who to root for
Only six games on the schedule on the holiday, but if the lottery teams can will it will help the Rangers lottery hopes immensely.
Coyotes @ Flames – Beating the Flames in Calgary is a tall order, but if Arizona can do it, they will have more points than New York.
Senators @ Blackhawks – A Chicago win puts them ahead of the Rangers. Ottawa is nine points worse than New York, so a the least the game should go to overtime.
Golden Knights @ Avalanche – Another game where a win by the lottery team will result in them passing the Rangers. Root for the Avs.
Capitals @ Kings – This is a late game, a win for Los Angeles will move them to within four points of the Rangers. After a resurgence, the Kings have lost four in a row. The Caps have been playing .500 hockey so the Kings have a shot at Staples Center.
Next. Lessons learned from a frustrating loss in Pittsburgh. dark
Tuesday is a much bigger night with nine games on the schedule. The Rangers take on the Hurricanes who are in a titanic struggle to make the playoffs and their two main rivals, Montreal and Pittsburgh, are both in action as well. Nine of the 15 lottery teams will be playing.