It was a fascinating night for scoreboard watching though it didn’t benefit the New York Rangers in their fight for a playoff spot.
What a night. The headline for the New York Rangers is that they slipped one more point away from a playoff spot and and are now eight points out of the wild card, with only one game in hand. What was wild was how the results upended the Eastern Conference playoff races.
The playoff picture
The big match of the night was between the Flyers and Blue Jackets and Philadelphia beat Columbus soundly by the score of 5-1. It was a big night for the Flyers as the win vaulted them over the Islanders into third place in the Metropolitan Division. For Columbus it meant they are now out of the wild card for the first time in weeks.
The reason that Columbus is out of the wild card is that the Hurricanes won a big road game over Nashville, 4-1. The Canes are now in the last wild card spot in a three way tie with the Islanders and Blue Jackets with 72 points. The Isles take the first wild card and the Hurricanes take the second because of games played.
The Maple Leafs continue their slide, losing 5-2 in Pittsburgh. They sit only two points ahead of Florida for third place in the Atlantic Division and the Panthers have two games in hand. The other big news was that It was a big win for the Penguins as they moved into first place in the Met, ahead of idle Washington.
The last two games featuring potential Rangers playoff rivals were embarrassments. Montreal lost 4-3 to the worst team in the league, the Detroit Red Wings. It was the Habs fifth loss in a row and if you want to know why they are missing the playoffs, consider this. They have lost to the Red Wings four times this year. That’s unbelievable and the reason that Montreal is now just a lottery rival.
The Sabres were overwhelmed by the Senators 7-4 and are pretty much out of the playoff picture for the ninth straight year.
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 61 31-22-8 70 23
Met Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Pittsburgh 58 37-15-6 80 26
Washington 59 37-17-5 79 28
Philadelphia 60 33-20-7 73 24
Wild Card GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Islanders 58 33-19-6 72 22
Carolina 59 34-21-4 72 24
Contenders GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Columbus 61 30-19-12 72 23
Florida 59 31-22-6 68 26
Rangers 58 30-24-4 64 26
Montreal 62 27-27-8 62 17
Buffalo 60 26-26-8 58 20
New Jersey 59 22-27-10 54 16
Ottawa 60 21-28-11 53 16
Detroit 62 15-43-4 34 12
Key games today
There are six games on the schedule tonight, highlight by the Rangers nationally televised match against the Blackhawks. Except for their own game, only two games really matter to the Blueshirts.
Islanders @ Avalanche – The Islanders are thisclose to dropping out of the playoff picture. They have lost three in a row, scoring all of one goal in the three games. If the Isles don’t get some offensive help at the deadline, their season could be headed for an early end. Andy Greene was not the answer to their problems. On another note, it will be worth watching how the injury wracked Avalanche do as they are prime contenders for Chris Kreider’s services.
Panthers @ Ducks – The only thing worth watching is how the Panthers do. A Florida win and they knock the Maple Leafs out of the third place in the Atlantic Division. Whether it be the Panthers or the Maple Leafs fighting for the wild card, the Rangers will have to pass one of them.
The lottery look
The Rangers still sit 11th from the bottom of the NHL. On a purely lottery look basis, the game with Chicago could have tremendous lottery implications since the Hawks are four points worse than the Rangers.
With New Jersey in full selloff mode, they are probably out of reach, but there are six teams that could potentially pass the Blueshirts in the standings as doubtful as that may seem. A finish 11th from the bottom would give the Rangers a 9.8% chance of getting into the top three picks.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GR W-L-OTL PT RW
1. Detroit 62 15-43-4 34 12
2. Los Angeles 60 21-34-5 47 15
3. Ottawa 60 21-28-11 53 16
4. New Jersey 59 22-27-10 54 16
5. Anaheim 59 24-28-7 56 17
6. San Jose 59 26-29-4 56 20
7. Buffalo 60 26-26-8 58 20
8. Chicago 59 26-25-8 60 19
9. Minnesota 58 27-24-7 61 24
10. Montreal 62 27-27-8 62 17
11. Rangers 58 30-24-4 64 26
13. Nashville 59 29-23-7 65 24
12. Winnipeg 61 31-25-5 67 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 61 31-22-8 70 23
20 Edmonton 59 32-21-6 70 27
22. Columbus 61 30-19-12 72 23
21. Carolina 59 34-21-4 72 24
24. Islanders 58 33-19-6 72 22
23. Philadelphia 60 33-20-7 73 24
25. Colorado 58 33-18-7 73 30
26. Dallas 58 34-19-6 74 23
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 72 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 68 points
Playoff teams in italics.