New York Rangers: Yet another wrinkle in the lottery standings

NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 25: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers tends the net against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden on March 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The New York Rangers were off and watching the scoreboard. Of course, Buffalo lost again, but this time in overtime so they actually got a point. Meanwhile, Detroit has become a factor for the Rangers.

The Detroit Red Wings have been winning lately and they have closed to within three points of the New York Rangers and have passed the Devils into fourth place in the lottery standings. The Rangers have a game in hand, but the Wings own the ROW tiebreaker so if they end up tied, the Rangers win.

Believe it or not, there is still an improbable chance that the Rangers could slip into third place overall in the lottery standings. For that to happen, they will need a lot of help from the Devils and Red Wings.

Detroit got to fourth place by winning in overtime of the hapless Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo fought back from a two goal deficit to tie in the third period with two goals in 41 seconds. But an overtime goal by Tyler Bertuzzi sealed the 5-4 win for Detroit. Buffalo finally got a point, their first in five games. With the points, Buffalo moves one point ahead of the Rangers, though the Blueshirts have a game in hand.

In another game, the Canucks defeated the Kings 3-2 in a game that went to a shootout. The game was the debut of Quinn Hughes for Vancouver. Hughes, the brother of Jack Hughes, presumptive top draft pick this June, notched an assist in his first game. You have to give the Canucks credit for knowing a good thing, they actually used the rookie in the shootout (his shot was stopped). With the two points, the Canucks move five points ahead of the Rangers.

One major change in the overall lottery standings after Columbus defeated Montreal 6-2. The win moved the Blue Jackets back into the wild card and the Canadiens are now a lottery team.

The standings (Worst is first)

Teams GR W-L-OTL PT ROW
1. *Ottawa 5 27-44-6 60 27
2. Los Angeles 5 28-40-9 65 25
3. New Jersey 5 29-39-9 67 26
4. Detroit 5 29-38-10 68 26
5. Rangers 6 29-34-13 71 23
6. Buffalo 5 31-36-10 72 26
7. Anaheim 4 32-36-10 74 28
8. Vancouver 4 33-35-10 76 28
9.. Edmonton 5 34-34-9 77 31
10. Chicago 5 34-33-10 78 32
12. Minnesota 5 35-33-9 79 34
11. Florida 4 34-32-12 80 31
13. Arizona 5 37-33-7 81 33
14. Philadelphia 5 37-32-8 82 34
15. *Montreal 4 41-29-8 90 39

Asterisk means the Rangers cannot pass them in the standings.

Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 90 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 83 points

Who to root for

Obviously, the Blue-Rangers game is of vital importance to the lottery standings, but there are two other game scoreboard watchers shouldbe concerned with.

Ducks @ Flames – Anaheim has opened up a three point lead on the Rangers and have only four games left. One of them is tonight, a tough road match up with Calgary. Calgary is very close to clinching first place so they won’t have a lot of pressure on them. Hopefully, that helps the Ducks.

Devils @ Red Wings – This one is a real conundrum. Detroit has 68 points, three fewer than New York. New Jersey has 67 points, four fewer. A Ranger loss and a Wings win and they are one point away. A Ranger loss and a Devils win and they are two points apart. Detroit has a tough schedule with two more games against the Penguins and one with the Bruins. The Devils have a slightly easier schedule, so root for the Devils to win in overtime.

The Rangers are back in action with a Sunday matinee against the Flyers.

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