The New York Rangers stirring final minute victory over the Islanders was one of the best wins of the season, but highlighted the issues that face this young Rangers team.
It’s true that it’s not how you win, it’s just important to win, but anyone who watched the game knows that the New York Rangers were lucky to come away with two points. The Islanders are a flawed team, a top defending squad that limits opportunities, but a team that is offensively challenged. It was actually kind of nice to play a team that over-passes on the power play, just like the Blueshirts.
The great news is that the Rangers lifted their record to 23-19-4 for 50 points. They are six points behind the Blue Jackets and Hurricanes who occupy the two wild card spots. The good news is that the Rangers have played the fewest games of all the teams they are competing with and their record in the tie breaker is one of the best in the Conference.
Prior to this season the tiebreaker was regulation and overtime wins. This season, it is regulation wins and the Rangers have won 20 games in regulation, better than all East Conference teams except Boston, Tampa and Washington. That’s where a last minute regulation win like the game against the Islanders is really important.
Looking at the standings, the positive is that Florida, Buffalo and Philadelphia all have a history of fading when the playoff crunch comes, but there is no way of knowing if they will do it again.
The playoff standings
Atlantic Division
Teams GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
1. Boston 48 28-9-12 68 25
2. Tampa 47 28-15-4 60 23
3. Toronto 48 25-16-7 57 20
Metropolitan Division
1. Washington 48 32-11-5 69 23
2. Pittsburgh 47 29-13-5 63 20
3. Islanders 46 28-14-4 60 18
Wild Card
1. Carolina 47 27-18-2 56 20
2. Columbus 48 24-16-8 56 18
The Rest
9. Philadelphia 48 25-17-6 56 16
10. Florida 46 25-16-5 55 20
11. Buffalo 48 22-19-7 51 17
12. Rangers 46 12-19-4 50 20
13. Montreal 49 21-21-7 49 15
Okay, the Rangers are definitely in the playoff picture. How real is it?