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.