On a busy night in the NHL, the New York Rangers lost no ground in the race for the playoffs. They remain six points out with a big game with Carolina tonight.
The NHL season is in the stretch run. There’s less than four days to the trade deadline and the playoff races are loaded with contending teams. As for the New York Rangers, it wasn’t a particularly satisfying night for scorebard watching.
The playoff picture
The big game for the Rangers was the match between Columbus and Philadelphia. The Flyers continue to win, but it took overtime to do it so the Blue Jackets got a points as well. For Philadelphia, it solidified their hold on third place in the Metropolitan Division and inched them a little closer to the Capitals, now only five points ahead of the Flyers.
With the one point, Columbus moved into the first wild card slot, one point ahead of the Islanders.
The Atlantic Division got murkier with Florida and Toronto swapping spots. It’s the Panthers outside of the playoff picture, but only two points out of third in the Atlantic and the wild card.
The standings
Atlantic Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Boston 61 38-11-12 88 33
Tampa 61 40-16-5 85 32
Toronto 62 32-22-8 72 24
Met Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Pittsburgh 59 37-16-6 80 26
Washington 60 37-17-6 80 28
Philadelphia 61 34-20-7 75 24
Wild Card GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Columbus 62 30-19-13 73 23
Carolina 59 34-21-4 72 24
Contenders GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Islanders 59 33-20-6 72 22
Florida 61 32-23-6 70 27
Rangers 59 31-24-4 66 27
Montreal 63 28-27-8 64 17
Buffalo 60 26-26-8 58 20
New Jersey 60 23-27-10 56 17
Ottawa 61 21-29-11 53 16
Detroit 62 15-43-4 34 12
Key games Friday
There are seven games on the NHL schedule Friday, but other than their own game, there is only one with playoff implications for the Blueshirts. For the Rangers, the huge game is their own match with the Carolina Hurricanes. A victory over the Hurricanes and the Rangers would trail them by only four points. There’s only one other game that the Rangers really care about .
Red Wings @ Islanders – The Islanders have lost four games in a row and have scored only two goals in those four games. What better time for them to take on the Detroit Red Wings at home. The danger is if they lose to the worst team in the NHL. If that happens, look for the Islanders and their fans to go into a full fledged panic. A Ranger win combined with an Islander loss would leave the Rangers only four points behind them. Go Red Wings!
The lottery look
The Rangers are 12th from the bottom, but only ten points separate the Blueshirts from the Devils, the fourth worst team in the league. The middle of the lottery pack is incredibly tight with only ten points separating eight teams.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GR W-L-OTL PT RW
1. Detroit 62 15-43-4 34 12
2. Los Angeles 61 22-34-5 49 16
3. Ottawa 61 21-29-11 53 16
4. New Jersey 60 23-27-10 56 17
5. Anaheim 60 24-29-7 56 17
6. San Jose 60 26-30-4 56 20
7. Buffalo 60 26-26-8 58 20
8. Chicago 60 26-26-8 60 19
9. Minnesota 59 28-24-7 63 24
10. Montreal 63 28-27-8 64 17
11. Nashville 59 29-23-7 65 24
12. Rangers 59 31-24-4 66 27
13. Arizona 64 30-26-8 68 23
14. Calgary 61 31-24-6 68 21
15. Winnipeg 62 32-25-5 69 25
16. Florida 61 32-23-6 70 27
17. Vancouver 59 32-21-6 70 25
18. Toronto 62 32-22-8 72 24
19. Vegas 62 32-22-8 72 25
20 Edmonton 60 32-21-7 72 27
21.Islanders 59 33-20-6 72 22
22. Carolina 59 34-21-4 72 24
23. Columbus 62 30-19-13 73 23
24. Philadelphia 61 34-20-7 75 24
25. Colorado 59 34-18-7 75 31
26. Dallas 59 35-19-6 75 24
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 72 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 68 points
Playoff teams in italics.