The New York Rangers are going to benefit from other teams losing in the Qualifier
The was some real drama on Thursday as the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were all slated to pick before the New York Rangers, but now they won’t so the Rangers have moved up.
Going into Thursday, the Blueshirts would have had the 13th or 14th overall pick in the Entry Draft. Now, they are quietly inching into the top ten and will pick either 10th or 11th, depending on the winner of the draft lottery.
The Minnesota Wild were eliminated when they lost in overtime in their fourth game against the Vancouver Canucks, locking the Rangers into the first, 10th or 11th pick.
The reason the pick can be either the 10th and 11th pick is it depends on who wins the lottery. If Minnesota or Winnipeg win the lottery, the Rangers get the10th pick overall. If the lottery goes to one of the teams with a better point percentage, they will pick 11th.
Friday will be remembered as a day of upsets. The Montreal Canadiens entered the Stanley Cup Qualifier as the worst of the 16 teams in the competition. With 71 points in 71 games, they were 15 points behind their opponents, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who finished with 86 points in 69 games. Behind Carey Price and a stingy defense, they allowed eight goals in four games, while scoring only ten.
It was another bitter disappointment for the best player in the league as Connor McDavid and the Oilers were eliminated by the team with the second worst record among the Qualifiers, the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago scored a tournament high 16 goals in four games while McDavid is pacing all scorers with nine points.
The Arizona Coyotes shook off front office drama to beat the Nashville Predators in four games. Ex-Rangers Derek Stepan and Michael Grabner combined for two goals and three assists, their five points one more than the Rangers scored in their three games.
This means it will be four years in a row that the Rangers will have a pick in the top 11. That’s the second time that has happened in franchise history and the first time since 1969-1972.