Two points separate the New York Rangers and the final wild card spot. That’s because the team took their fate in their own hands and won a comeback victory in Montreal Thursday night.
There is one simple way for the New York Rangers to make the playoffs and that is if they keep winning. They have given no indication that they are going to stop anytime soon as they head into a weekend away and home series against Flyers followed by games against the last two Stanley Cup Champions.
One note about the standings. The Rangers now have 74 points, tied for 13th best in the NHL. There are four Western Conference teams in the playoffs right now that have fewer points than the Blueshirts. In fact, they’d be tied for second place in the Pacific Division.
The playoff picture
The big game was their own against the Canadiens and the Rangers passed that test with flying colors. Other than their own game, there were two games that they cared about and were sort of pleased by the outcomes.
The Islanders lost again, but in overtime to the St. Louis Blues. This time it was the Blues and not the Isles who scored with their goalie pulled, and then St. Louis followed up with a goal in the overtime period. The Isles stole yet another point in their 19th game to go to overtime. They now have 78 points, four more than the Blueshirts and both teams have played 63 games.
The other game worth noting was Toronto’s clutch 5-3 win over the Panthers. The Rangers prefer that Florida finishes ahead of the Maple Leafs as they could end up with Toronto’s first round draft pick. At the same time, Florida has 72 points , two fewer than the Rangers and for the standings, whether it be Florida or Toronto, the team that doesn’t finish third in the Atlantic needs to end up with fewer points than the Rangers.
The standings
Atlantic Div. GP  W-L-OTL   PTS   RW
Boston      65   40-13-12   92   35
Tampa       64   40-19-5    85   32
Toronto      65   34-23-8    76   26
Met Div.     GP   W-L-OTL   PTS  RW
Washington  64   39-19-6    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    63   35-20-8    78   24
Columbus    65  31-20-14    76  23
Contenders  GP   W-L-OTL   PTS  RW
Carolina     62   35-23-4    74   25
Rangers     63   35-24-4    74   30
Florida       64   33-25-6    72   28
Montreal     66   29-28-9    67   18
Buffalo       63   29-26-8    66   22
New Jersey   63   25-27-11   61  19
Ottawa      65   22-31-12   56  17
Detroit       66   15-47-4    34   12
Key games Friday
Five games in the NHL Friday and three are crucial Eastern Conference matches. Of course, the big game for the Rangers is their visit to Philadelphia, another true four point game.
Wild @ Blue Jackets – The Rangers need the Blue Jackets to stop getting points. Considering their injury issues, it’s reasonable to assume the Blueshirts will eventually pass Columbus, but the Jackets have been finding ways to win. Root for Mats Zuccarello and the Wild.
Avalanche @ Hurricanes – Colorado is one of the best teams in the Western Conference and only Washington has won more games on the road. The Rangers needs the Avs to beat the Canes in Raleigh so the Blueshirts can surpass them in the standings.
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       66   15-47-4    34   12
2. Los Angeles  64   23-35-6    52   17
3. Ottawa      65   22-31-12   56  17
4. San Jose     64   27-33-4    58  20
5. Anaheim     63   25-30-8    58  17
6. New Jersey   63   25-27-11   61  19
7. Chicago      64   28-28-8    64   20
8. Buffalo       63   29-26-8    66   22
9. Montreal     66   29-28-9    67   18
10. Minnesota  63  31-25-7    69   27
11. Arizona     66  31-27-8     70   24
12. Winnipeg    66  33-27-6    72  26
13. Florida      64  33-25-6    72   28
14. Nashville   63  32-23-8    72   25
15. Calgary      65  33-25-7    73   23
16. Edmonton   64  33-23-8    74   28
17. Vancouver   63  34-23-6    74   26
18. Rangers     63   35-24-4   74   30
19. Carolina     62  35-23-4    74  25
20. Columbus   65  31-20-14   76   23
21. Toronto      65   34-23-8   76   26
22. Islanders    63   35-20-8    78   24
23. Vegas       65   35-22-8    78   27
24. Philadelphia  63   36-20-7   79   26
25. Dallas       63   37-21-6    80   26
26. Colorado     62   37-18-7    81   33
Second East Wild Card Cut Line:Â 76 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line:Â 72 points
Playoff teams in italics.