New York Rangers Playoff picture and lottery look

It was a quiet night for the New  York Rangers scoreboard watching.  The games on Monday  were mostly unimportant to the Blueshirts’ playoff hopes.

The Rangers arch-rivals for a playoff spot were all off on Monday.  As a result, there was no change in the Ranger’s position regarding a wild card spot and no gained or lost ground.  There was one game that was very interesting.

On the trade front, Tyler Toffoli of the Los Angeles Kings was traded to Vancouver.  What’s interesting in this transaction is what Los Angeles got in return for Toffoli who is a pure rental.  The Kings got forward Tim Schaller, prospect Tyler Madden and a 2020 second round pick along with a conditional fourth round pick in the 2022 draft.

Schaller is also going to be an unrestricted free agent so  he is a warm body in this deal.  The key return is the second round pick and center Tyler Madden who is the leading scorer for Northeastern University.  He was a third round pick in the 2018 draft and is former Devil John Madden’s son.

Chris Kreider is a better player than Toffoli and the return should be greater., probably something in between what Los Angeles got for Toffoli and what the Devils got for Blake Coleman.  What New Jersey got for Coleman who has one more year on his contract was  a Tampa first rounder and former first round pick Nolan Foote.

The playoff picture

We’ve been acknowledging that t he New  York Islanders are so far ahead of the Rangers that the odds of catching them are minuscule.  There is one big caveat to that statement and that is if the Islanders keep winning.  They haven’t been.

The Islanders lost a tight 2-1 decision to the Arizona Coyotes behind our old friend, Antti Raanta.   That’s the third straight loss for the Islanders who have been stuck with 72 points for a week.  The Rangers remain eight points behind the Isles, but if they keep losing, the Rangers contest with the Islanders next Tuesday could have some significance.

The only other game of note for the Rangers was the Panthers 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.  The win gives the Panthers 68 points and they are trying to become relevant in the wild card race.

In another note, Alex Ovechkin was scoreless for the fifth straight game in his quest to get his 700th goal.  He’s been stuck on 698.

The standings

Atlantic Div.  GP    W-L-OTL      PTS     RW
Boston            60      37-11-12     86      33
Tampa             60      40-15-5       85      32
Toronto           60      31-21-8       70      23
Met Div.         GP      W-L-OTL     PTS    RW
Washington   59      37-17-5       79     28
Pittsburgh      57      36-15-6       78     25
Islanders        58      33-19-6       72       22
Wild Card       GP       W-L-OTL     PTS   RW
Columbus       60     30-18-12     72    23
Philadelphia   59      32-20-7       71    23
Contenders   GP      W-L-OTL      PTS   RW
Carolina          58     33-21-4        70     23
Florida             59     31-22-6       68     26
Rangers           58     30-24-4       64     26
Montreal         61     27-26-8       62     17
Buffalo             59     26-25-8       58     20
New Jersey     58     22-26-10     54    16
Ottawa             59     20-28-11     51    15
Detroit              61     14-43-4       32     11

Key games today

Seven games on the schedule tonight and five of them are of some interest to the Rangers.

Blue Jackets @ Flyers – This is the big one of the night as  the two Eastern Conference wild card teams get to slug it out.  Who to root for?  Pick ’em or maybe you should root for the team you feel is the weaker of the two and more susceptible to fall behind he  Rangers.  The one thing we definitely don’t want is overtime.

Hurricanes @ Predators –  The Rangers need to pass the Hurricanes so root for them to lose.  The Canes go into the game knowing that if they win, they will be in the wild card.

Maple Leafs @ Penguins – Look for the Leafs to solidify their hold on third place. If they finish third is means nothing to the Rangers so this is really a pick’em.

Canadiens @ Red Wings – The Habs are in freefall and the only effect this has on the Rangers is if they look to shop Ilya Kovalchuk, some real competition for Kreider.  That said, a Montreal win and they are tied with the Rangers in points, though they will have played four more games than the Blueshirts.

Sabres @ Senators –   This game really has minimal playoff importance, but it could be crucial when it comes to the lottery.  The Sabres are six points worse than the Rangers and for lottey purposes, the Blueshirts wants Buffalo to do better.

The lottery look

By losing to Boston, combined with other results, the Rangers slipped a couple slots and are now 11th from the bottom of the NHL.  At this point, finishing as low as fourth worst is still possible. We’ll spend a little more time looking at the lottery implications when  it looks lie the playoffs are not going to happen.

The standings (Worst is first)

Teams                  GR     W-L-OTL       PT    RW
1. Detroit              61     14-43-4       32     11
2. Los Angeles    59     21-33-5       47     15
3. Ottawa             59     20-28-11     51    15
4. New Jersey     58     22-26-10     54    16
5. Anaheim         59      24-28-7       56    17
6. San Jose          59     26-29-4        56     20
7. Buffalo             59     26-25-8       58     20
8.  Chicago           59     26-25-8       60     19
9.  Minnesota      58    27-24-7       61     24
10.  Montreal       61    27-26-8       62     17
11.  Rangers        58     30-24-4       64     26
12. Winnipeg        60    30-25-5       65    23
13.  Nashville      58    29-22-7        65     24
14. Arizona            62   30-24-8        68    23
15. Calgary            61    31-24-6        68    21
16. Florida            59     31-22-6       68     26
17. Vancouver      58    32-21-5        69      25
18. Vegas               61   31-22-8        70    24
19 Toronto          60      31-21-8       70      23
20 Edmonton      59    32-21-6        70     27
21. Carolina          58     33-21-4        70     23
22. Columbus       60     30-18-12     72    23
23.Philadelphia   59      32-20-7       71    23
24. Islanders        58      33-19-6       72       22
25. Colorado         58     33-18-7       73      30
26. Dallas              58     34-19-6       74      23

Second East Wild Card Cut Line:  71 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 68 points
Playoff  teams in italics.