Rangers’ second pick in the 1st round will be 20th, 21st or 22nd overall

Where the New York Rangers will draft with their second first round draft pick is getting clearer

It was elimination day in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the New York Rangers are getting closer to knowing where their second pick in the first round of the NHL draft will end up.  The Hurricanes did a huge favor for the Rangers, losing their series.  Arizona and Columbus lost Wednesday, joining the Blackhawks who were ousted on Tuesday.

The pick was always going to be determined by how far the Hurricanes got in the playoffs.  By losing in five games to Boston in the First Round, it meant that the pick will be in the low 20’s.

If the teams with the best records all won (except the Hurricanes), the pick would have been 23rd overall.  If the underdogs all won (except Carolina), the pick could have been as high as 17th  overall.

With Chicago, Arizona and Columbus all losing, here’s where the pick stands. The best the Rangers can do now is 20th.   In order for that to happen, the Islanders and Canucks have to hold onto their series leads and Montreal has to come back and beat the Flyers.

Here’s how the series stand after Wednesday’s games with the underdogs in bold:

Islanders lead Washington 3-1
Vancouver leads St. Louis 3-2
Philadelphia leads Montreal 3-2
Dallas leads Calgary 3-2 (result doesn’t affect pick since both teams had a worse record than Carolina)
Boston beat Carolina 4-1
Vegas beat Chicago 4-1
Colorado beat Arizona 4-1
Tampa beat Columbus 4-1

The Islanders get to close out their series against the Capitals tonight.   That would guarantee the Rangers the 22nd pick , but it still could be 20th or 21st depending on the Canucks and Canadiens.

While it would be a huge upset for the Islanders to blow a 3-0 series lead, the Capitals are a seasoned playoff team and they’ve scored only eight goals in four games. They are primed for an offensive explosion.

Vancouver has a slim lead over the Blues and play next on Friday night.  After the opener, it’s been a close series with two games going to overtime.  J.T. Miller has five goals and 10 points in nine games and is making the Blueshirts regret that trade with Tampa.  The least he can do is help the Rangers’ draft position by beating the Blues.

The Montreal series is bizarre.  The Canadiens have scored 10 goals in their two wins (five goals each game) and scored one goal in their three losses (two shutouts).  Meanwhile, the Flyers have scored eight goals in five games, but still won three of them.

Draft positioning is crucial as long as the Rangers’ scouts do their job well.  In 2017 the Rangers picked Filip Chytil 21st overall and he has played in 144 NHL games with 26 goals and 49 points. That’s more goals than the next ten players drafted after him combined.  That’s more points and games played than the combined totals of the next seven players drafted.

Moving up is important and could put the Blueshirts in a better position to trade up using their second pick.   It makes watching teams other than the Rangers play in the postseason just a little more interesting.