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:Â 79 points
Second West Wild Card Cut Line:Â 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.