The Rangers’ playoff pictures improves after the win over Winnipeg
By Steve Paulus
It was a busy Tuesday night in the NHL with 11 games on the schedule including four that directly affected the New York Rangers’ playoff hopes
It was a 50/50 split for the New York Rangers when it came to scoreboard watching. By defeating the Winnipeg Jets, the Blueshirts moved back to within nine points of the wild card. They must keep winning on this road trip if they hope to move closer.
In a frightening situation, St. Louis veteran defenseman Jay Boumeester collapsed on the bench, experiencing what was described as a cardiac episode. It happened with 7:50 left in the first period of the Blues game in Anaheim. He was rushed to the hospital and the game was postponed. All reports are that he was conscious during the trip to the hospital.
The playoff picture
The Rangers need to leapfrog three teams standing between them and the final wild card position. The good news is one of those teams lost. The bad news is one of them won The other teams the Rangers are watching are already in a playoff position and they split their results.
Dallas dominated the Hurricanes 4-1 and now the Blueshirts are only seven points behind Carolina with a game in hand. The other game beneficial to the Rangers was the Flyers 5-3 loss to the Islanders. Philadelphia clawed back from a two goal deficit in the third period, but the Isles scored twice late to win. The Flyers are in the last wild card spot, nine points ahead of New York.
On the negative side, the Panthers, Maple Leafs and Sabres all won. With their win, the Panthers remain six points ahead of the Blueshirts. The Leafs are two points ahead of Florida and remain in third place in the Atlantic Division. It was a big win for Florida and the Maple Leafs needed overtime to win their game against Arizona.
The Sabres remain two points behind the Blueshirts, a good result for lottery purposes, but by winning Buffalo kept their faint playoff hopes alive.
The standings
Atlantic Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Boston 57 34-11-12 80 30
Tampa 57 37-15-5 79 30
Toronto 57 30-19-8 68 22
Met Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Washington 56 36-15-5 77 27
Pittsburgh 55 34-15-6 74 23
Islanders 55 33-16-6 72 22
Wild Card GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Columbus 57 30-17-10 70 23
Philadelphia 57 31-19-7 69 22
Contenders GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Carolina 56 32-21-3 67 22
Florida 56 30-20-6 66 25
Montreal 58 27-24-7 61 17
Rangers 55 28-23-4 60 25
Buffalo 57 25-24-8 58 19
New Jersey 55 20-25-10 50 15
Ottawa 56 18-27-11 47 14
Detroit 58 14-40-4 32 11
The key games today
It’s a light schedule tonight with only one game with Eastern Conference playoff ramifications.
Canadiens @ Bruins – The Rangers are only one point behind Montreal with three games in hand. The Canadiens are one of the team the Blueshirts must pass in their payoff run so root for the Bruins to beat Montreal.
The lottery look
With their win over the Jets, the Rangers move to 11th from the bottom of the NHL, tied in points with the Minnesota Wild. They can still move up or down in the lottery standings as the point totals are very close.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GR W-L-OTL PT RW
1. Detroit 58 14-40-4 32 11
2. Los Angeles 57 19-33-5 43 13
3. Ottawa 56 18-27-11 47 14
4. New Jersey 55 20-25-10 50 15
5. Anaheim 56 30-16-7 52 16
6. San Jose 56 24-28-4 52 18
7. Buffalo 57 25-24-8 58 19
8. Chicago 56 25-23-8 58 18
9. Nashville 55 26-22-7 59 21
10. Minnesota 56 27-23-6 60 24
11. Rangers 55 28-23-4 60 25
12. Montreal 58 27-24-7 61 17
13. Winnipeg 58 29-24-5 63 22
14. Arizona 59 28-23-8 64 20
16. Vegas 58 28-22-8 64 22
15. Calgary 57 29-22-6 64 19
17. Florida 56 30-20-6 66 25
18. Edmonton 56 30-20-6 66 26
19. Vancouver 57 31-21-5 67 24
20. Carolina 56 32-21-3 67 22
21. Toronto 57 30-19-8 68 22
22. Dallas 56 32-19-5 69 22
23. Philadelphia 57 31-19-7 69 22
24. Columbus 57 30-17-10 70 23
25.Islanders 55 33-16-6 72 22
26. Colorado 55 33-16-6 72 30
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 69 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 64 points
Playoff teams in italics.
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