The New York Rangers take on the Vancouver Canucks in the second game of a four game road trip. This is another game with major implications for the Entry Draft Lottery standings.
With only 12 games left in the New York Rangers season, focus has shifted almostly completely to the entry draft lottery. The Rangers sit in 7th place with the same number of points as three other teams. They are at the bottom of that group because they have the fewest regulation and overtime wins (ROW’s) with 22, the second fewest in the league.
At this point, the best (for lottery purposes) that they can finish is 5th from the bottom. In order for that to happen, the have to pass Anaheim and Vancouver. That’s why tonight’s game is important.
A Vancouver win will put them only two points worse than New York, with both teams having played the same number of games.
Although the Rangers are doing everything in their power to short circuit a drive to the bottom of the standings, the good news is that that Anaheim is doing the same thing. The Ducks held on for a clutch 3-2 win over the second place Nashville Predators last night.
In other good news for the Rangers, the Coyotes won in St. Louis 2-1 and moved into the last wild card spot, dropping the Wild into the lottery picture. Minnesota sits five points better than the Rangers and with the final game of this road trip in the Twin Cities, that game now takes on more importance.
Both New Jersey and Detroit lost their games last night and are basically out of reach. Let’s put it this way. If the Rangers LOSE all of their remaining games, here’s what the bottom four teams would have to do to finish AHEAD of the the Blueshirts.
Ottawa 8-3-1
Detroit 6-6-0
Los Angeles 5-7-1
New Jersey 5-7-0
Again, that is if the Rangers go 0-13-0 in their last 13 games and we know that is not going to happen.
The other concern for the Rangers are the teams directly above New York in the standings. Chicago, Buffalo, Edmonton, Florida, Colorado and Minnesota are all within reach of the Rangers and if any of them go on an extended losing streak, the Blueshirts could drop as far as 13th from the bottom.
At any rate, scoreboard watching will grow in importance as the season goes on.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GP W-L-OTL PT ROW
1. Ottawa 70 23-41-6 52 23
2. Detroit 70 24-36-10 58 21
3. Los Angeles 69 25-36-8 58 23
4. New Jersey 70 25-36-9 59 24
5. Anaheim 71 28-34-9 65 25
6. Vancouver 69 28-32-9 65 25
7. Rangers 69 28-28-13 69 22
8. Chicago 69 30-30-9 69 28
9. Edmonton 69 31-31-7 69 28
10. Buffalo 69 30-30-9 69 26
11. Florida 69 30-27-12 72 27
12. Colorado 70 30-28-12 72 29
13. Minnesota 70 33-29-8 74 32
14. Philadelphia 69 34-27-8 76 32
15. Montreal 70 37-26-7 81 35
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 81 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 75 points
Who to root for
Knowing all of this and that the Rangers will do their best to win tonight, there are two games that need monitoring, both featuring teams with the same number of points as the Rangers.
Blackhawks @ Maple Leafs – The Leafs are losing ground in their race to finish second in the Atlantic Division. They don’t want to face Boston without home ice advantage, so this is a big game for them. The Blackhawks are playing much better, winners of three in a row and 6-4 in their last ten games. Chicago is one of four teams in the NHL with three 30 goal scorers (Calgary, Colorado & Tampa are the others) in Kane, DeBrincat and Toews. It’s a tall order, but root for Chicago.
Devils @ Oilers – The Oilers are fresh off their OT win over the Rangers and have only lost two games in their last ten. An Edmonton win will help the Rangers immensely. The Devils were pathetic in a 9-4 loss to Calgary last night.