Blue Line Station
Fansided

The good and the bad from the win over the Islanders

By Steve Paulus

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: Anthony Beauvillier #18 of the New York Islanders skates in on Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 2-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: Anthony Beauvillier #18 of the New York Islanders skates in on Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 2-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers is stopped by the New York Islanders
Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers is stopped by the New York Islanders /

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?

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