The Rangers and the playoffs: Go for it

The New York Rangers enter a nine-day hiatus from competitive hockey today.  The long layoff will be torture for Rangers fans who will have nothing better to do than contemplate and argue about what direction the team should go once they are back in action on January 31.

What are the New York Rangers right now?  Are they a team on the cusp of breaking a two-year playoff drought? Are they a team that still needs to shed some veteran talent at the trade deadline in order to complete the rebuild? Or are they simply spinning their wheels?

It really all depends on your perspective as a fan, and what you think is best for the team. As fans, nothing we say, do, think or feel will have any effect on Jeff Gorton and John Davidson as they contemplate the next move for the organization.  It is after all, up to them, and let’s face it, in all honesty, that is a good thing.

But as fans, we all come to this website to discuss what we think, how we feel, and what we as individuals want to see the organization do.  As such, here is one fan’s opinion on why the Rangers should push for the playoffs.

The Rangers are oh sooooo close.

This is fun.  Watching Rangers games this season provides better entertainment value than anything on Netflix, Hulu or HBO.  With very few exceptions each game has been at least interesting to watch for one reason or another. Even if you stuck it out to the end of the Islander game last night, you were at least rewarded with a glimmer of hope.

But nothing would be more entertaining than watching the Rangers in a playoff series. The playoffs would also be a great big stepping-stone in the right direction for this team.

It doesn’t matter that a first round match-up would most likely be against the Capitals, Bruins or Lightning.  It doesn’t matter that the series may only last four or five games.  What matters is the value the experience of playing in the cauldron of playoff hockey would bring.

Filip Chytil, Brett Howden, Kaapo Kakko, and two-thirds of the defensive unit, would all benefit from even the slightest amount of playoff experience. It would essentially end the rebuild and start the Rangers on the path to a Stanley Cup.

But are the playoffs a real possibility at this point?

Look at their record.

At 23-21-4, the Rangers sit 10 points out of a playoff spot, but they have played the fewest games (48) of any of the seven teams that have are currently in the hunt for the two wildcard spots in the east. If you are a glass half-full fan, then you see the Rangers as only six points out of a playoff spot.

Now take a closer look at the standings and it reveals a rather interesting story.  The Rangers have 20 regulation wins. Only nine teams in the entire Eastern playoff hunt have as many as 20 regulation wins as we get to the All-Star break. The Islanders are currently holding down the third playoff spot with only 19 regulation wins. Montreal is the weakest from the wildcard group with only 15 regulation wins.

The teams in the wildcard hunt with 20 plus regulation wins include Toronto, Columbus, Carolina and the Rangers.  With the exception of the Blueshirts all were playoff teams last year.

Not only are regulation wins the first tie-breaker should teams be tied for a playoff spot, but it is the true indicator of how well a team is actually playing.  In that scenario, the Rangers are certainly in the playoff hunt and should approach the rest of the season accordingly. The playoffs are not a pipe dream.

Points gained while participating in the overtime spectacles during the regular season are clearly valuable, but they can also be an indication of weakness. Teams that make hay by collecting overtime wins are living a delicate existence.  There is a lot of luck that goes into three-on-three and certainly more goes into a shootout.  Things can go south pretty quickly for a team should the bounces not go your way in overtime.

The Rangers are not flirting with Lady Luck as much as several other teams.  That makes them a legit playoff contender. But the question remains, can they get there?  Here’s how.