New York Rangers: A very good night for the playoff picture

With the New York Rangers idle on Saturday, it was a night for scoreboard watching and for once, nearly all of the dominoes fell in the Rangers favor.

There were five games on Friday with playoff implications for the New York Rangers.  The teams the Rangers need to lose lost in four of them.

The results make the Eastern Conference playoff race that much tighter and it will be up  to the Blueshirts to take a great stride forward and beat the mighty Boston Bruins in a nationally televised game at Madison Square Garden.  If they do that, look out.

The playoff picture

The big game of the night with the result the Rangers needed the most was between the Flyers and Lightning in Tampa.    The Bolts beat the Flyers 5-3 although Philadelphia fought back from a 4-1 deficit to get within a goal.  Tampa remains undefeated in February (8-0) and have lost only one game in overtime out of the 11 they have played since the All-Star break.   With the loss, the Flyers remain seven points up on the Rangers for the wild card, but the Blueshirts now have two games in hand.

The Golden Knights shut out the Islanders in Vegas meaning eight points separate the two New York teams and they have played the same number of games.  Catching them will be tough, but the loss helps.

The Panthers lost to Edmonton 4-1 and are in kind of a freefall, losing five out of their last six games. Florida remains two points up on the Rangers, but the Blueshirts now have a game in hand.

The Stars beat the Canadiens on the road in overtime with Montreal blowing a three goal lead.  The point helps the Canadiens, but they have fallen two points behind the Rangers and have played 61 games, four more than New York and the most in the NHL.  Time is running out for them.

The only result that didn’t go in the Rangers’ favor was Toronto’s 4-2 win over the Senators. Toronto solidified their hold on third place in the Atlantic Division and have opened up a four point lead on the Panthers. If they finish third, it really doesn’t matter to the Blueshirts, so the more important result was the Florida loss.

The standings

Atlantic Div.  GP    W-L-OTL      PTS     RW
Boston            59      36-11-12     84      32
Tampa             59      39-15-5       83      32
Toronto           59      31-20-8       70      23
Met Div.         GP      W-L-OTL     PTS    RW
Washington   58      37-16-5       79     28
Pittsburgh      56      35-15-6       76     24
Islanders        57      33-18-6       72       22
Wild Card       GP       W-L-OTL     PTS   RW
Columbus       59      30-18-11     71    23
Philadelphia   59      32-20-7        71    23
Contenders   GP      W-L-OTL      PTS   RW
Carolina          57     33-21-3        69     23
Florida             58     30-22-6       66     25
Rangers           57     30-23-4       64     26
Montreal         61     27-26-8       62     17
Buffalo             58     26-24-8       60     19
New Jersey     57     21-26-10     52    16
Ottawa             58     19-28-11     49    15
Detroit              60     14-42-4       32     11

The key games today

There are nine games on the schedule, including the Rangers’ key match up with the Bruins. Other than their own game, there are only three worth watching for playoff purposes.

Blue Jackets @ Devils – This is a 6pm start and is pretty important to the Rangers.  The Blue Jackets are reeling and are only seven points up on the Blueshirts and the Rangers have two games in hand. The Devils have pulled off some impressive wins lately and it would be nice for them to step up again.

Oilers @ Hurricanes  – Edmonton is in their own playoff struggle so this is an important game for both teams. The Canes stand between the Rangers and a wild card spot and are up five points.  The Blueshirts really need the Oilers to get that road win.

Maple Leafs @ Sabres–  This may not really matter if Toronto is fated to finish third and Buffalo has slipped four points below New York.  So, who do you want to win?  Probably Buffalo since the Maple Leafs still have a better record than the Rangers. Please, no overtime.

The  lottery look

The Rangers hope to not be a lottery team, but if they do, you will want to root for Buffalo to beat Toronto, the Devils to upset the Blue Jackets and the Senators to beat the Stars.   That’s the Eastern Conference.

It’s much more difficult in the West due to the large number of teams in the playoff hunt.  Let’s just say that you want the Predators to beat the Blues and the Blackhawks to beat the Jets.

The standings (Worst is first)

Teams                  GR     W-L-OTL       PT    RW
1. Detroit              60     14-42-4       32     11
2. Los Angeles    59     21-33-5       47     15
3. Ottawa            57     19-28-11     49     15
4. New Jersey     57     21-26-10     52      16
5. Anaheim         57      23-27-7       53     16
6. San Jose          58     26-28-4        56     20
7.  Chicago           58     26-24-8       60     19
8. Buffalo             58     26-24-8       60     19
9.  Minnesota      58    27-24-7       61     24
10.  Montreal      61     27-26-8       62    17
11. Winnipeg        59    29-25-5       63    22
12.  Nashville      57    28-22-7        63     23
13.  Rangers         57     30-23-4      64     26
14. Calgary            60    30-24-6        66    20
15. Arizona            60   29-24-8        66    22
16. Florida             58    30-22-6        66     25
17. Vegas               60   30-22-8        68    23
18. Edmonton      58    31-21-6        68     27
19. Vancouver      58    32-21-5        69      25
20. Carolina          57     33-21-3        69     23
21. Toronto           59    31-20-8        70     23
22. Columbus       59     30-18-11     71     23
23.Philadelphia   59      32-20-7       71     23
24. Islanders         57    33-18-6       72      22
25. Colorado         57     33-18-6       72      30
26. Dallas              58     34-19-5       73      23

Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 69 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 66 points
Playoff  teams in italics.