The New York Rangers remain the fifth worst team in the NHL. They were helped a bit in their lottery hopes on Sunday, but they can still finish anywhere from fourth to ninth worst.
While all eyes are on the lottery standings as the New York Rangers prepare for their meeting with Pittsburgh Penguins, it was also a very good night for two Ranger defensive prospects who are in their own playoff battles.
Two Ranger prospects were in action in their first round series in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. The London Knights overwhelmed the Windsor Spitfires 5-0, taking a 2-0 lead in their series. Defense prospect Joey Keane had two assists, including one on the power play.
In the other game, Nico Gross and the Oshawa Generals defeated the Peterborough Petes 8-2. A stay at home defenseman, the Swiss-born Gross was held off the scoresheet.
Both series continue on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the selections to the NCAA Hockey Championships were announced on Sunday night. Morgan Barron and Cornell University made the cut and will play in the East Region. Their first game is against Northeastern University on Saturday. If they win, they will play in the Eastern Regional Championship game on Sunday, March 31. A win there and they get to go to the Frozen Four In Buffalo in April.
The Lottery Look
It wasn’t the busiest day for scoreboard watching. The Blackhawks beat the Avalanche in overtime 2-1. The win gives Chicago 76 points, five more than the Rangers. That’s a pretty wide gap to try to make up.
In the other game of interest, the Blue Jackets shut out the Canucks 5-0. Vancouver remains three points ahead of the Rangers in the standings. It was a big win for Columbus who remain two points out of the wild card.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GR W-L-OTL PT ROW
1. Ottawa 7 26-43-6 58 26
2. Los Angeles 8 27-39-8 62 24
3. Detroit 7 27-38-10 64 24
4. New Jersey 6 28-39-9 65 25
5. Rangers 8 29-32-13 71 23
6. Buffalo 8 31-34-9 71 26
7. Anaheim 5 31-36-10 72 28
8. Edmonton 7 33-34-8 74 30
9. Vancouver 6 32-34-10 74 28
10. Chicago 7 33-32-10 76 31
11. Florida 7 33-30-12 78 30
12. Arizona 6 36-33-7 79 32
13. Minnesota 6 35-32-9 79 34
14. Philadelphia 6 36-32-8 80 34
15. Columbus 8 40-30-4 84 39
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 88 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 81 points
Who to root for
There are nine games in the NHL tonight. Besides the Rangers match with Pittsburgh, there is only one game that Ranger fans should be concerned with.
Sabres @ Devils – Buffalo is tied with the Rangers in points, but win the ROW tiebreaker. The Sabres have been awful lately and there is no guarantee that they will beat the Devils. A New Jersey win will move them to within four points of the Rangers, but the Devils only have six games left and it is doubtful that the Rangers could pass them and move into fourth place in the lottery standings. So, a Sabres win is very important for the Rangers. Root for Buffalo.
The Rangers have a busy schedule coming up with eight games in 13 days. Their next game is Wednesday night in Boston.