New York Rangers playoff picture for Saturday
By Steve Paulus
It was a quiet night for the New York Rangers playoff push. None of their wild card rivals were in action so it was time for a break from scoreboard watching.
The New York Rangers pulled within two points of a wild card spot on Thursday night and with none of the teams contending for the wild card in action, that’s exactly where they are today. Tonight, that will change with the Rangers, Islanders, Columbus and Carolina all in action.
The playoff picture
The Rangers have a 33.7% chance of making the playoffs according to HockeyReference.com’s Playoff Probability Report. Their odds of winning the Stanley Cup have increased to 1.9%.
According to The Athletic (subscription required) their odds are 31% and they show the Blueshirts falling just short with 92 points compared to 96 points for the Islanders and 94 points for the Hurricanes.
If the cards fall in the Rangers’ favor today, those odds could go up a bit.
Friday, there was only one game worth noting, the Maple Leafs contest in Anaheim. Toronto dropped a 2-1 decision to the Ducks. With the loss, they remain five points ahead of the Florida Panthers who have two games in hand.
Toronto is important for one big reason. If they miss the playoffs along with the Hurricanes, then both of their first round draft picks will be lottery picks and the Rangers get the worse of the two as a result of the Brady Skjei trade.
The standings
Atlantic Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Boston 16 43-13-12 98 37
Tampa 15 42-20-5 89 34
Toronto 13 35-25-9 79 27
Met Div. GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Washington 15 40-20-7 87 30
Philadelphia 15 40-20-7 87 30
Pittsburgh 16 39-21-6 84 28
Wild Card GP W-L-OTL PTS RW
Columbus 14 32-21-15 79 24
Islanders 16 35-23-8 78 24
Contenders GR W-L-OTL PTS RW
Rangers 15 65-27-4 76 30
Carolina 17 35-25-5 75 25
Florida 15 33-26-8 74 28
Montreal 14 31-29-9 71 19
Buffalo 15 29-30-8 66 22
New Jersey 15 27-28-12 66 21
Ottawa 14 24-32-12 60 18
Detroit 13 16-48-5 37 13
Key games Saturday
It’s a really big day for the Blueshirts and by the end of the day, the Rangers have a chance to supplant the Islanders in the last wild card spot. Even better, they could also be one point out of the first wild card spot. The challenge is they have to win their home game against the New Jersey Devils.
Hurricanes @ Islanders – The good news is this game is a 1pm start time so we’ll know the result earlier. The bad news is it isn’t easy to figure out who to root for. Assuming that the Rangers win, if the Isles lose, they are out of the playoffs, replaced by the Blueshirts who will have the same points, but win the tiebreaker. Carolina would remain one point behind the Rangers and Islanders.
The key question is which team is a bigger threat to the Rangers? The Hurricanes with two games in hand, or the slumping Islanders. Flip a coin. one thing, please no overtime!
Blue Jackets @ Oilers – This one is easy. Root for the Oilers to win at home in a very big game for them. A Columbus loss would leave them as few as one point ahead of the Blueshirts (if they win) with only 13 games left in the season. Go Edmonton!
Canadiens @ Panthers – If the Panthers can win at home, they will draw within three points of the Maple Leafs with two games in hand. Strictlyl important for the draft picks. Go Habs.
Sabres @ Flyers – Not much to think about this game, as the Sabres are ten points below the Rangers and the Flyers are 11 points better. Pick the Sabres for lottery purposes.
The lottery look
As far as the lottery goes, after a night like tonight in the roller coaster known as the Rangers’ season, there’s no need to even think about the lottery and the Blueshirts, but just in case, here is what happened.
As far as the lottery goes, there were some games worth noting. In the first, the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks, the team we wanted to lose.
Winnipeg beat Vegas and that was the result we wanted.
There was no overtime in the Coyotes-Flames match and either team winning was okay with the Rangers.
The Canucks upset the Avalanche and that was good for the lottery look.
The standings (Worst is first)
Teams GR W-L-OTL PT RW
1. Detroit 13 16-48-5 37 13 (E)
2. Los Angeles 15 26-35-6 58 18
3. Ottawa 14 24-32-12 60 18
4. San Jose 15 29-34-4 62 22
5. Anaheim 14 28-32-8 64 19
6. New Jersey 15 27-28-12 66 21
7. Buffalo 15 29-30-8 66 22
8. Chicago 14 31-29-8 70 22
9. Montreal 14 31-29-9 71 19
10. Arizona 13 33-28-8 74 26
11. Nashville 15 33-26-8 74 26
12. Florida 15 33-26-8 74 28
13. Minnesota 15 34-26-7 74 30
14. Carolina 17 35-25-5 75 25
15. Vancouver 15 35-26-6 76 27
16. Winnipeg 15 35-28-6 76 28
17. Rangers 15 65-27-4 76 30
18. Calgary 15 36-26-7 79 25
19. Islanders 16 35-23-8 78 24
20. Columbus 14 32-21-15 79 24
21. Toronto 13 35-25-9 79 27
22. Edmonton 14 36-24-8 80 30
23. Vegas 13 37-24-8 82 29
24. Dallas 15 37-22-8 82 26
25. Pittsburgh 16 39-21-6 84 28
26. Philadelphia 15 40-20-7 87 30
27. Washington 15 40-20-7 87 30
28. Colorado 15 40-19-8 88 36
29. Tampa 15 42-20-5 89 34
Second East Wild Card Cut Line: 78 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line: 76 points
Playoff teams in italics.
E= Eliminated from the playoffs
Here is who to root for in Saturday’s games for lottery purposes:
Predators @ Stars – Dallas has more points, so root for Nashville.
Wild @ Kings – This is an easy one. Kings all the way.
Canadiens at Panthers – We still want the Panthers to finish ahead of Toronto, so pull for Florida.
Sabres @ Flyers – The Sabres need points, go Flyers.
Blue Jackets @ Oilers – For lottery purposes, this is a toughie. You would want the Blue Jackets to prevail. Not a happy choice to have to make.
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