New York Rangers: Another good night for the playoff picture

MONTREAL, QC – FEBRUARY 27: Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers makes a save against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at the Bell Centre on February 27, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

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: 76 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 72 points
Playoff teams in italics.

Related Story. A 4 goal third period in a comeback win over Montreal. light

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