New York Rangers playoff picture: The Blueshirts slip one more point away

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.