New York Rangers playoff picture: A quiet night for scoreboard watching

Fans of the New York Rangers could take the scoreboard watching night off as there was only one game that mattered just  a little to the Blueshirts’ pursuit of a playoff spot.

The was no ground to lose last night for the New York Rangers as there was only one game involving a rival for the Eastern Conference playoffs.  It’s a different story in the West where there were a couple games worth noting.

Tonight is completely different story with 11 games on the schedule including the Blueshirts’ visit to Minneapolis-St. Paul.  Igor Shesterkin is making all of these games very relevant and tonight will be no different as he is probably getting the nod as David Quinn continues to ride the hot hand.

The playoff picture

The only game of note last night was Montreal’s visit to Boston and it ended predictably with a 4-1 Bruins win. Led by a David Pastrnak hat truck, the Bruins dealt the Canadiens quite a blow to their playoff hopes.

While Montreal remained eight points out of the wild card, they have played more games than any team in the East.  The Rangers have four games in hand and trail them by only one point.   Get this, the Rangers have won 25 games in regulation compared to the Habs with only 17.

The standings

Atlantic Div.  GP    W-L-OTL      PTS     RW
Boston            58      35-11-12     82      31
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         59     27-25-7       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 tonight

There are 11 games on the schedule with five of them having playoff ramifications for the Rangers and that includes their match with the Minnesota Wild.

Flyers @ Panthers  – This is the key game of the night and a true four point game. The Flyers are eight points up on the Rangers and Florida has a six point lead. A loss for either team works for the Rangers as they must pass both, but it would be more important for the Flyers to lose as they are in the Met Division.  This is a rematch for these two teams as the Flyers won 4-1 over the Panthers on Monday.  Please…no overtime!

Blue Jackets @ Sabres – Columbus has a ten point lead on New York though they have played two more games.  They just added Cam Atkinson to their list of walking wounded and they face the Rangers on Friday.  Here’s the deal.  If the Blue Jackets lose to Buffalo and the Rangrers, they will have 70 points and the Blueshirts will have 62 and three games in hand.  Hmmm.

Islanders @ Predators – With 72 points and 55 games played, the Islanders are thisclose to becoming uncatch-able.  If they keep winning that will a reality very soon, so root for Nashville to win at home. A Nashville win also helps the Rangers in the lottery race

Stars @ Maple Leafs – The Leafs have an eight point lead and are in a fight for third place in the Atlantic Division with Florida.  It appears that there is a good chance that both Eastern Conference wild card teams will come from the Met Division so the Rangers need to surpass either Florida or Toronto, but not both.  Root for Dallas.

The lottery look

While we all want the Rangers to make the postseason (okay, most of us), it’s important to keep track of the draft lottery competition in case the Rangers fall short.

it’s logical to assume that Detroit, Los Angeles, Ottawa, New Jersey, Anaheim and San Jose will all be tough for the Rangers to catch.  However, with the 60 points, the Rangers are in a group of 15 teams within ten points of each other.  A Chicago win would have helped the Blueshirts’ lottery aspirations but they were shut out by the Canucks.

The Rangers remain 11th from the bottom of the NHL standings.  On a positive note, the Kings unexpectedly beat the Flames to move them a little closer to New York.

The standings (Worst is first)

Teams                  GR     W-L-OTL       PT    RW
1. Detroit              58     14-40-4       32     11
2. Los Angeles    58     20-33-5       45     14
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           57     25-24-8       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        59     27-25-7        61    17
13. Winnipeg        58    29-24-5        63    22
14. Arizona            59   28-23-8         64    20
15. Calgary            58    29-23-6         64    19
16. Vegas               58    28-22-8        64     22
17. Florida             56    30-20-6        66     25
18. Edmonton      56    30-20-6        66     26
19. Carolina          56     32-21-3        67     22
20. Toronto           57    30-19-8        68     22
21. Vancouver      58    32-21-5        69      25
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.