The New York Rangers playoff situation has gotten much worse and Sunday the results were all bad. It may be time to start paying attention to the draft lottery.
The Carolina Hurricanes have picked a fine time to start winning games and if they keep it up, the New York Rangers’ playoff hopes are in big trouble. Out of the Rangers, Blue Jackets, Islanders and Hurricanes, two teams will make the post season. Until now, all four have been stumbling along, but that might be changing and not for the Blueshirts.
According to Hockeyreference.com’s Playoff Probability Report  now has the Rangers with a 23.9% shot at making the playoffs. Saturday, it was 33.7%.  A ten percent drop is what happens when the Rangers lose, the Hurricanes win twice, the Blue Jackets win and the Islanders get an overtime point.
The playoff picture
The biggest game of the day was between the Hurricanes and the Penguins in Pittsburgh and the hope was for a predictable home win for the Pens. The unpredictable happened and the Canes blew out the slumping Penguins who have now lost eight of their last ten.
Pittsburgh had a 2-1 lead after on period and Carolina scored five straight goals for the 6-2 win. The victory gives the Hurricanes 79 points and knocks the Islanders out of the wild card due to regulation wins tiebreaker.
You have to hand it to the Columbus Blue Jackets. They keep winning despite a series of devastating injuries. The latest victory was clutch 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. It gives the Jackets 81 points, a five point spread over the Rangers. At this point, Columbus can start thinking about catching Pittsburgh, now only three points ahead of them in third place.
The Rangers do have two games in hand on Columbus, the only good thing to report about the standings.
The standings
Atlantic Div. GP  W-L-OTL   PTS   RW
Boston      13   43-14-12   98   37
Tampa       13   43-20-6   92  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   14  39-23-6    84   28
Wild Card    GP    W-L-OTL   PTS  RW
Columbus   12   33-22-15   81   25
Carolina     15   37-25-5    79  26
Contenders  GR   W-L-OTL   PTS  RW
Islanders     15   35-23-9   79   24
Rangers     14  36-28-4    76   30
Florida       14  34-26-8    76   29
Montreal     12   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       12  17-48-5    39   13
Key games Monday
There is a respite from scoreboard watching on Monday with only one game of moderate interest. It’s a night for the Western Conference playoff wannabes with the action picking up for real on Tuesday.
Panthers @ Blues – This is a tough one. The Panthers are tied with the Rangers with 76 points and are threatening to get into the wild card race. At the same time, a win will get them within one point of the Maple Leafs and if the Maple Leafs miss the playoffs, their draft pick becomes a lottery pick and the Blueshirts have a shot of getting that pick as a result of the Brady Skjei deal. So, if the Panthers can knock the Leafs out, great. If they overtake the Rangers in the wild card race, not so great. Flip a coin.
The lottery look
As bad as the results were for the Rangers when it came to their playoff rivals, it was just as bad or worse when it came to lottery positioning.
Calgary, Chicago and Vancouver all lost, not helpful to the Rangers in their lottery hopes. Minnesota did win, but it took overtime. The win pushed them ahead of the Rangers in the points race, but they are in the playoffs as a result and thus, it doesn’t really matter.
The Rangers remain in 14th place in the lottery sweepstakes, though they have the same number of points as Winnipeg, Nashville and Florida. If the Blueshirts’ woes continue, it’s possible the Rangers could slip to eight or ninth in the lottery race.
Teams         GR   W-L-OTL    PT  RW
1. Detroit       12  17-48-5    39   13 (E)
2. Los Angeles  14   27-35-6    60   19
3. Ottawa      13   25-32-12   62  18
4. San Jose     13   29-35-5    63  22
5. Anaheim     13   28-32-9    65  19
6. Buffalo      14   29-31-8    66   22
7. New Jersey   14   28-28-12   68  22
8. Chicago     13   31-30-8    70   22
9. Montreal     12   31-30-9    71   19
10. Arizona     13  33-28-8     74   26
11. Winnipeg   13  35-28-6    76   28
12. Nashville   14  34-26-8    76   27
13. Florida      14  34-26-8    76   29
14. Rangers     14  36-28-4    76   30
15. Vancouver   14  35-27-6    76   27
16. Minnesota  13  35-27-7    77   30
17. Islanders    15   35-23-9   79   24
18. Carolina     15   37-25-5   79  26
19. Calgary      12  36-27-7    79   25
20. Columbus   12   33-22-15  81   25
21. Toronto     13   35-25-9    79   27
22. Edmonton   13  37-24-8    82   31
23. Vegas       12  38-24-8    84   30
24. Dallas       14   37-23-8   82   26
25. Pittsburgh   14  39-23-6    84   28
26. Philadelphia  14  41-20-7    89   31
27. Washington  14   41-20-7   89   31
28. Colorado     164  41-19-8   90   37
29. Tampa       13   43-20-6   92  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
Here are the key lottery match-ups for Monday.
Coyotes @ Jets – The Coyotes have two fewer points than the Rangers while the Jets have the same number. For this game, root for the Yotes to win in overtime.
Golden Knights @ Oilers – Vegas is eight points up on the and Edmonton is six up and both teams are in the playoffs so the result of this game doesn’t really matter, but they could slip into lottery contention. The Oilers are closer to the Rangers and could possibly drop out of the playoffs so root for Vegas.