New York Rangers playoff picture leading up to a big night

There wasn’t much to report in the playoff race for the New York Rangers on Monday, but Tuesday is going to be a big day.

It seems like Ranger fans need to watch the scoreboard every other day and Monday was no exception.  That will change dramatically on Tuesday when there are some very important match-ups.

The playoff picture

The only game of note for the Rangers playoff hopes featured the Florida Panthers on the road in St. Louis.  The Panthers are finally starting to come around and posted a huge 2-1 win over the defending champs.  Florida is 2-1-1 in March after they won only five out of 16 games in February.

Here’s the conundrum.   With the win, the Panthers have 78 points, two more than the Rangers in the race for the wild card.   That’s the bad news.  The good news concerns their catching up to the Toronto Maple Leafs who are in third place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead.   If the Panthers can knock the Leafs out of the playoffs, their first rounder becomes a lottery pick and the Rangers have a shot at that pick they acquired in the Brady Skjei trade.

What’s better for the Rangers?  It’s too early to tell.  At any rate, it was the only game of consequence on Monday.

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   13     41-20-8      90     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
Florida             13      35-26-8     78     30
Rangers          14      36-28-4     76     30
Montreal         12     31-30-9      71     19
New Jersey     14     28-28-12    68    22
Buffalo            13     30-31-8       68     22
Ottawa            13     25-32-12    62    18
Detroit             12      17-48-5     39     13

Key games Tuesday

Whoo, this is going to be a doozy of a night.   First off, the absolutely crucial game is the Rangers’ own game in Dallas.   While they’re comfortably in a playoff spot, like any team in the West, they cannot afford to lose a lot of games.  So, for Dallas this is an important game.

Hurricanes @ Red Wings – Prepare yourselves Ranger fans.  This is a game that Carolina should win, considering that they have 37 wins compared to 17 for Detroit, the worst team in the league.  Detroit has gone 5-13-1 since the All-Star break though they have won two games in a row including a win over Tampa on Sunday.  Can they beat the Hurricanes?  It’s doubtful, but they have had wins over Tampa and Boston in the last month and they will be at home.  Cross your fingers and root for a huge upset.

Islanders @ Canucks –  We rooted for Vancouver to beat Columbus on Sunday and they lost.   It’s time to root for them again to beat the Islanders.   The Isles will have extra incentive since they were knocked out of the wild card over the weekend.  Meanwhile, the Canucks are one point out of the wild card so they have a lot to play for.  Go Canucks!

Penguins @ Devils – We’ll include this game as one to watch and hope for New Jersey to upset the Penguins (like they did to the Rangers).  The odds that the Pens will slip out of a playoff spot are slim, but if they keep losing, anything can happen.

The lottery look

Winnipeg beat the Coyotes 4-2 and that didn’t help the Rangers lottery aspirations. With the win, the Jets are two points ahead of New York and in the playoffs.  Arizona remains two points worse than the Rangers and they are out of the playoffs. so they are lottery contenders.   A Coyotes win would have been more helpful.

The Golden Knights beat the Oilers in overtime and that result is just fine.  Both teams got points and moved deeper into the playoffs.

The standings (Worst is first)

Teams                  GR     W-L-OTL       PT    RW
1. Detroit             12    17-48-5        39     13  (E)
2. Ottawa            13     25-32-12     62    18
3. Los Angeles   13     28-35-6        62     20
4. San Jose          13     29-35-5        63    22
5. Anaheim         13     28-32-9        65    19
6. Buffalo            13     30-31-8        68     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          12   33-29-8         74     26
11.  Nashville      14    34-26-8        76     27
12. Vancouver     14    35-27-6       76     27
13. Rangers         14    36-28-4        76     30
14. Minnesota    13    35-27-7        77     30
15. Winnipeg      12    36-28-6        78     29
16. Florida           13    35-26-8        78     30
17. Calgary           12    36-27-7       79     25
18. Toronto          13     35-25-9       79     27
19. Islanders        15     35-23-9      79     24
20. Carolina          15     37-25-5      79    26
21. Columbus      12     33-22-15    81     25
22. Dallas              14     37-23-8      82     26
23. Edmonton      12    37-24-9       83     31
24. Pittsburgh      14    39-23-6       84     28
26. Vegas              11    39-24-8       86     30
26. Philadelphia   14    41-20-7       89     31
27. Washington   14     41-20-7      89     31
28. Colorado         13    41-20-8       90     37
29. Tampa             13     43-20-6      92    35

Second East Wild Card Cut Line:  79 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line:  77 points
Playoff  teams in italics.
E= Eliminated from the playoffs

Here are the key lottery match-ups for Tuesday

The tightness of the Western Conference playoff race is wreaking havoc on the lottery standings.

Lightning @ Maple Leafs  – This one is all about the lottery.  The Panthers are one point behind the Leafs and can drop them out of a playoff spot.  The question is whether Toronto will make the wild card.  If not, their draft pick turns into a lottery pick that will either belong to the Rangers or the Hurricnes.  Root for Tampa.

Predators @ Canadiens – Nashville is desperate for a win to get back into the playoff picture. They also have the same number of points as the Blueshirts so a Predators win would work out nicely.  The only issue is that Montreal is five points worse than the Rangers and if they can win a few and the Rangers lose a few….let’s compromise and root for Montreal to win in overtime.

Islanders @ Canucks – This one has been discussed for its playoff impact. The Canucks have the same point total as the Rangers so it’s another reason to root for them over the Islanders.