It was a pretty wild night in the NHL, though mostly for the teams battling for playoff position. Some games did affect the New York Rangers and the lottery standings.
There was some interest about the lottery standings for New York Ranger fans, but the real craziness was elsewhere in the Eastern Conference where Columbus lost and Montreal won. That means that they have the same 94 points, but Columbus owns the ROW tiebreaker. Carolina beat Toronto 4-1 to remain one point ahead in the first wild card slot.
In the West, Colorado fell behind 2-0 to the Edmonton Oilers and were in risk of dropping out of the wild card. They roared back, scoring six straight goals for a 6-2 win. Arizona then lost a must-win game 3-1 to Los Angeles and they are on the brink of elimination.
As for the lottery standings, there was one totally unexpected result. Detroit won its sixth in a row and beat Pittsburgh 4-1 and moved to within one point of the Rangers, with two games left to play. Detroit’s last two games are against the Penguins and the Sabres. Hmmm.
As mentioned earlier, Edmonton blew a two goal lead to the Avalanche and lost 6-2. That leaves the Oilers two points better than the Rangers with two tough games left to play against San Jose and Calgary. The only good news is those team have clinched their positions in the standings so they have nothing to play for and may rest some regulars before the playoffs.
The Tankers, er, the Sabres lost yet again. This time, 3-2 to the Nashville Predators. That’s eight in a row for Buffalo, a totally despicable record. They have two games left to play, one against Ottawa and the other against Detroit. Anyone want to bet on how many they will lose? The Sabres are an embarrassment to the NHL.
The final game of interest was between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks. The Canucks won 4-2 and that gives them 80 points, five more than the Rangers. One point gained by the Canucks or lost by the Rangers and the Canucks are out of reach.
With Chicago and Vancouver almost out of the picture and Buffalo losing every game, it looks like a finish for the Rangers anywhere from fifth to eighth in the lottery standings. .
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GR W-L-OTL PTS ROW
1. *Ottawa 3 28-45-6 62 28
2. *Los Angeles 2 30-40-9 69 27
3. *New Jersey 2 30-40-10 70 27
4. Buffalo 2 31-39-10 72 26
5. Detroit 2 32-38-10 74 29
6. Rangers 3 31-35-13 75 25
7. Anaheim 2 33-37-10 76 29
8. Edmonton 2 34-37-9 77 31
9. Vancouver 2 35-35-10 80 29
10. Chicago 3 34-33-12 80 32
11. *Minnesota 2 37-34-9 83 36
12. *Philadelphia 2 37-35-8 82 34
13. *Florida 2 36-32-12 84 33
14. *Arizona 2 38-34-8 84 34
15. *Montreal 2 43-29-8 94 41
Asterisk means the Rangers cannot pass them in the standings.
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 94 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 88 points
Who to root for
A quiet night tonight in the NHL with only three games. Ranger fans will be rooting for Henrik Lundqvist to get his 450th career win at home versus Ottawa. However, there are reasons to keep an eye on the other two games.
Flames @ Ducks – This game will be on national television and may be worth watching. The Ducks are one point better than the Rangers and have been keeping the Blueshirts in 6th place in the lottery standings. The Rangers really need the Ducks to beat the Flames who have clinched first place in the Pacific Division. Let’s hope the Flames rest all of their regulars. Go Ducks!
Blues @ Blackhawks – Chicago needs one point to be officially beyond the Rangers in the standings. There is a rub. If the Blues win, they tie the Winnipeg Jets in points for first place in the Central Division. The Rangers really want the Jets to finish as low in the standings as possible as it will improve the first round draft pick acquired in the Kevin Hayes deal. So, how about this? Root for the Blues to win, but in overtime.
There will be a lot of scoreboard watching on Thursday with twelve games in the NHL. The Rangers are off until Friday when they take on the Blue Jackets and they then wrap up the season on Saturday against Pittsburgh.