Enjoy it Ranger fans. A night off from watching the New York Rangers in action or monitoring the scoreboard to see how their rivals are doing. That’s because none of them played.
It was a quiet night in the NHL with only three games on the schedule and none of the New York Rangers’ arch rivals in action. In fact, only two Eastern Conference teams were in action to provide a modicum of interest for fans of the Blueshirts.
The playoff picture
The Buffalo Sabres had staged a mini-revival, winning five of six games coming into tonight. While ten points from the wild card is a probably too many to make up, the Sabres were making themselves relevant again. They came crashing to a halt, losing to the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. That leaves them six points behind the Rangers.
Believe it or not, the Penguins lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Kings in Patrick Marleau’s debut wearing the gold and black. It means the Rangers are eight points behind the Pens. Tough to catch? Yes. Impossible? No.
The standings
Atlantic Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Boston 64 39-13-12 90 34
Tampa 63 40-18-5 85 32
Toronto 64 33-23-8 74 25
Met Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Washington 63 39-18-6 84 29
Pittsburgh 62 37-19-6 80 26
Philadelphia 63 36-20-7 79 26
Wild Card GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Islanders 62 35-20-7 77 24
Columbus 65 31-20-14 76 23
Contenders GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Carolina 62 35-23-4 74 25
Rangers 62 34-24-4 72 29
Florida 63 33-24-6 72 28
Montreal 65 29-27-9 67 18
Buffalo 63 29-26-8 66 22
New Jersey 62 25-27-10 60 19
Ottawa 64 21-31-12 54 16
Detroit 65 15-46-4 34 12
Key games Thursday
Ten games on the schedule and the big one is the Rangers visit to Montreal. Let’s not call any of these games “must win” games. They all are. Other than the Blueshirts’ own contest, there are two games to keep your eyes on.
Islanders @ Blues – The Blues are battling Colorado for first place in the Central Division so this is a meaningful game for them. They will be tough to beat at home and if the Rangers can win and the Isles lose, it will be a three point spread between the two teams. Root for the Blues, hard!
Maple Leafs @ Panthers – This game is huge. Toronto wins and they open a four point lead over Florida for third place in the Atlantic Division. If the Panthers win, Toronto is out of the playoffs. Normally, we would say pick your poison, but that Brady Skjei draft pick makes the Toronto finish kind of important. Go Panthers!
The lottery look
Since the Rangers are going to make the playoffs, we really don’t have to include the lottery standings, but we will just to keep everyone in the loop.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GR W-L-OTL PT RW
1. Detroit 65 15-46-4 34 12
2. Los Angeles 64 23-35-6 52 17
3. Ottawa 64 21-31-12 54 16
4. San Jose 63 26-33-4 56 20
5. Anaheim 63 25-30-8 59 18
6. New Jersey 62 25-27-10 60 19
7. Chicago 63 27-28-8 62 19
8. Buffalo 63 29-26-8 66 22
9. Montreal 65 29-27-9 67 18
10. Minnesota 62 30-25-7 67 26
11. Arizona 66 31-27-8 70 24
12. Winnipeg 65 32-27-6 70 25
13. Nashville 62 31-23-8 70 25
14. Calgary 64 33-25-6 72 23
15. Florida 63 33-24-6 72 28
16. Rangers 62 34-24-4 72 29
17. Vancouver 61 33-22-6 72 26
18. Toronto 64 33-23-8 74 25
20. Carolina 62 35-23-4 74 25
19. Edmonton 64 33-23-8 75 28
21. Columbus 65 31-20-14 76 23
22. Islanders 62 35-20-7 77 24
23. Vegas 65 35-22-8 78 27
24. Philadelphia 63 36-20-7 79 26
25. Dallas 62 37-20-6 79 26
26. Colorado 62 37-18-7 81 33
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 76 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 70 points
Playoff teams in italics.