The New York Rangers maintained their tenuous hold on 5th place in the lottery standings. As time runs out on the season, the New Jersey Devils have suddenly become a factor.
It wasn’t a big night for the lottery standings for the New York Rangers. The biggest game of the night was their loss to Pittsburgh. It kept the Blueshirts in fifth place, just ahead of Buffalo and Anaheim.
The Lottery Look
In the craziest turn of events, the Devils beat the Sabres (expected) and now have 67 points on the season. They are only four points worse than the Rangers and own the ROW tiebreaker. There is a real possibility that the Rangers could drop into fourth place in the lottery standings. The problem is that time is running out. The Devils only have five games left while the Rangers have seven games to play.
If the Rangers continue their losing ways and the Devils keep winning, anything can happen. At any rate, the two teams meet on April 1 and that game could actually matter. One thing in favor of the Devils finishing strongly is their schedule. They face Detroit, St. Louis, the Rangers, Carolina and Florida, not the toughest schedule.
If the Rangers just miss catching them, on lottery day, April 9, the Rangers could rue their two victories over the Devils in the last few weeks.
The Sabres’ loss to the Devils didn’t help the Rangers as they remain tied with the Blueshirts with 71 points. Buffalo is in a freefall. They are 2-11-1 in their last 14 games and haven’t won a game in regulation in over a month.
Detroit also won and they are five points away from the Rangers. They have six games to play include a pair against Pittsburgh, so the chances of them passing the Blueshirts are slim.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GR W-L-OTL PT ROW
1. Ottawa 7 26-43-6 58 26
2. Los Angeles 7 28-39-8 64 25
3. Detroit 6 28-38-10 66 25
4. New Jersey 5 29-39-9 67 26
5. Rangers 7 29-33-13 71 23
6. Buffalo 7 31-35-9 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 6 33-31-12 78 30
12. Arizona 6 36-33-7 79 32
13. Minnesota 5 35-33-9 79 34
14. Philadelphia 6 36-32-8 80 34
15. *Columbus 7 41-30-4 86 40
Asterisk means the Rangers cannot pass them in the standings.
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 88 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 81 points
Who to root for
There are seven games in the NHL on Tuesday, with three of key interest to Ranger scoreboard watchers.
Ducks @ Canucks – Anaheim has only five games left. They are one point better than the Rangers and a win over Vancouver will widen the gap. At the same time, it would be nice for the Canucks to get some points so an overtime win for the Ducks is what Ranger fans should wish for.
Sabres @ Senators – As mentioned, Buffalo is horrible and they take on the worst team in the league. If they cannot get any points out of this game, the tank is on. Though they showed some progress earlier this season, the Sabres continue to be the laughingstock of the NHL, a team chock full of top draft picks (a top ten pick every year since 2013) that just cannot win.
Kings @ Oilers – Edmonton has 74 points, three more than the Rangers. A win for the Kings will widen that gap to five points with time running out. Root for the Oilers to win.
Blackhawks @ Coyotes and Panthers @ Canadiens – Both Chicago and Florida are comfortably ahead of the Rangers, but wins would help lock in the Rangers’ position.
The Rangers travel to Boston for their next game Wednesday night. With the second best record in the league, the Bruins have to be considered a favorite for the Cup if they can get past Tampa in the East. Although the Rangers have won both of their games against Boston this season, it will be a tough one for the Blueshirts.
It’s also a big night for some Ranger prospects. Newly signed free agent Jake Elmer and the Lethbridge Hurricanes take on the Calgary Hitmen in their WHL playoff game. Lethbridge has a 2-0 lead in that series and Elmer is one of top scorers with two assists. Two top Ranger defense prospects will be in action in OHL playoff games. Nico Gross and the Oshawa General take on Peterborough Petes and Joey Keane and the London Knights take on the Windsor Spitfires. Both the Generals and the Knights are up 2-0 in their series.