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New York Rangers: Shuffling the lottery race standings

By Steve Paulus

PITTSBURGH, PA - FEBRUARY 17: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers makes a save in the second period during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on February 17, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - FEBRUARY 17: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers makes a save in the second period during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on February 17, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – FEBRUARY 17: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers makes a save in the second period during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on February 17, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – FEBRUARY 17: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers makes a save in the second period during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on February 17, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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.

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