It was night for the New York Rangers to make up some important ground in their hunt for a wild card spot. Instead, they couldn’t take advantage and lost to a team they had to beat.
The one common theme throughout this improbable playoff run has been the poor play of the New York Rangers’ playoff rivals.
Since February 10, the Islanders have gone 2-7-3, the Hurricanes are 4-5-2 and the Blue Jackets are 2-5-6. The Rangers need to pass only two of these teams to make the playoffs and all three are doing their best to make it possible.
Since February 10, the Blueshirts started off with an 8-1-0 record drawing them to within two points of a wild card berth. Now, they’ve lost four of five and luckily, have been treading water instead of falling far behind.
Ditto for Saturday. While losing a sloppy, mistake-ridden game to the last place New Jersey Devils, they lost only minimal ground. The Islanders gained a point and the Hurricanes took back the two points they lost on Thursday. The Blue Jackets continue to lose.
Perhaps the Rangers should have looked at the standings a little closer. They would have realized that the Devils have gone 8-4-2 since February 10. Right now, they are playing better than any of the teams fighting for a playoff spot.
The playoff picture
In the most important game of the day, the Hurricanes beat the Islanders in the worst possible way, by going to overtime. Sounding like a broken record, this was the 20th time the Isles have gone to OT compared to the Rangers with ten. That’s ten additional points they gained by losing in extra time. ’nuff said.
That game leaves the Islanders three points (79) ahead of the Blueshirts and the Hurricanes leapfrogged over the Rangers with 77 points to the Rangers’ 76. An important factor is the Islanders have a game in hand and the Hurricanes have two.
The Blue Jackets continued their losing ways, dropping a late 4-1 decision to the Oilers. The loss moved the Blue Jackets into the last wild card spot behind the Islanders. They both have 79 points, but Columbus has only 13 games left.
The Panthers beat Montreal, 4-1 and are now tied with the Rangers with 76 points in the same number of games. The Rangers own the tiebreaker. Perhaps more important is they drew within three points of the Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division and have a game in hand.
In other games, the Flyers and Caps won again so are virtually tied for first place. The Penguins lost and are pretty much a lock for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The standings
Atlantic Div. GP  W-L-OTL   PTS   RW
Boston      13   43-14-12   98   37
Tampa       14   43-20-5    91  35
Toronto      13   35-25-9    79   27
Met Div.     GP   W-L-OTL   PTS  RW
Washington  14   41-20-7   89   31
Philadelphia  14  41-20-7    89   31
Pittsburgh   15  39-22-6    84   28
Wild Card    GP    W-L-OTL   PTS  RW
Islanders     15   35-23-9   79   24
Columbus    13   32-22-15  79   24
Contenders  GR   W-L-OTL   PTS  RW
Carolina     16   36-25-5    77  25
Rangers     14  36-28-4    76   30
Florida       14  34-26-8    76   29
Montreal     13   31-30-9    71   19
New Jersey   14   28-28-12   68  22
Buffalo      14   29-31-8    66   22
Ottawa      13   25-32-12   62  18
Detroit       13   16-48-5    37   13
Key games Sunday
Two incredibly important games are on the schedule for Sunday and the question will be, can the playoff contenders still continue to lose?
Hurricanes @ Penguins – This is an afternoon game so we will know early if the Hurricanes can move into a playoff spot by beating the Pens. This one of those games in hand owned by Carolina so a loss to Pittsburgh on the road is vital. Consider this a must win for the Penguins for the Rangers’ benefit.
Blue Jackets @ Canucks – Columbus is on a western Canada road trip so this will be a late decision. It’s a simple situation. The Blue Jackets need to continue to lose. The Canucks are precariously perched in the wild card, tied in points with three teams. It’s a must win for slumping Vancouver so root for the Canucks.
The lottery look
Once again, Ranger fans have cause to start looking at the lottery picture as the playoff picture looks just a bit grimmer this morning. If the season finished today, the Rangers would have the 15th worst record in the NHL. However, they would be 14th in the lottery standings.
Nashville came through with a clutch 1-0 win over the Dallas Stars and are tied with the Rangers with 76 points.
The Kings upset the Wild, damaging their playoff hopes and leaving Minnesota two points worse than New York.
With the Panthers beating Montreal, it improved their odds in their hunt to pass Toronto (a good thing for lottery pick purposes), but kept Montreal five points worse than the Rangers.
With their loss to the Flyers, the Sabres have no way of finishing with more points than the Rangers so forget about them moving forward.
Teams         GR   W-L-OTL    PT  RW
1. Detroit       13  16-48-5    37   13 (E)
2. Los Angeles  14   27-35-6    60   19
3. Ottawa      13   25-32-12   62  18
4. San Jose     14   29-34-5    63  22
5. Anaheim     14   28-32-8    64  19
6. Buffalo      14   29-31-8    66   22
7. New Jersey   14   28-28-12   68  22
8. Chicago     14   31-29-8    70   22
9. Montreal     13   31-30-9    71   19
10. Arizona     13  33-28-8     74   26
11. Minnesota  14  34-27-7    74   30
12. Winnipeg   13  35-28-6    76   28
13. Nashville   14  34-26-8    76   27
14. Florida      14  34-26-8    76   29
15. Rangers     14  36-28-4    76   30
16. Vancouver   15  35-26-6    76   27
17. Carolina    16   36-25-5    77  25
18. Calgary      15  36-26-7    79   25
19. Islanders    15   35-23-9   79   24
20. Columbus   13   32-22-15  79   24
21. Toronto     13   35-25-9    79   27
22. Edmonton   13  37-24-8    82   31
23. Vegas       13  37-24-8    82   29
24. Dallas       14   37-23-8   82   26
25. Pittsburgh   15  39-22-6    84   28
26. Colorado     15   40-19-8   88   36
27. Philadelphia  14  41-20-7    89   31
28. Washington  14   41-20-7   89   31
29. Tampa       14   43-20-5   91  35
Second East Wild Card Cut Line:Â 79 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line:Â 76 points
Playoff teams in italics.
E= Eliminated from the playoffs
For lottery purposes, the teams you want to win the rest of the way are Arizona, Calgary, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville, Vancouver and Winnipeg. Here are the big games for Sunday’s lottery look.
Golden Knights @ Flames – Root for Calgary.
Blues @ Blackhawks – The Hawks are six points worse than the Blueshirts, so root for them to win.
Wild @ Ducks – No issue here…go Minnesota!
Blue Jackets @ Canucks – The Rangers need the Canucks to win for the playoff push and the lottery.