The New York Rangers were taught a lesson by the Islanders, losing 4-0 in a game that was billed as the biggest game of the year. While it would be easy to say that the Rangers didn’t show up, the fact is that they did show up and their flaws were exposed for all to see.
Lets’ get the ugly news out of the way, the playoff hunt. All eight East Division teams were in action on Thursday.
Here’s where we stand:
Thursday’s results
Islanders 4, Rangers 0
Bruins 5, Sabres 2
Penguins 5, Capitals 4 (overtime)
Devils 5, Flyers 3
Standings GP W-L-OTL PTS ROW
1- √Pittsburgh 51 33-15-3 69 points 30
2- √Washington 50 32-13-5 69 points 29
3- Islanders 50 30-15-5 65 points 26
4- Boston 49 29-14-6 64 points 25
5- Rangers 51 26-19-6 58 points 25
6–Philadelphia * 50 22-21-7 51 points 19
7- New Jersey * 50 16-27-7 39 points 16
8- Buffalo* 51 13-31-7 33 points 10
√ Clinched playoff spot
* Eliminated from the playoffs
The Flyers were eliminated and the Rangers dropped six points behind Boston and seven points behind the Islanders. If the Rangers win all five of their remaining games, the Islanders will have to get four points out of their last 12 to beat them. The Bruins will need to get five of their last 14 points to eliminate the Rangers.
If the Islanders beat the Rangers on Saturday at the Nassau Coliseum, the best the Blueshirts could hope for is for the Bruins to lose all of the remaining games. Face it, it’s not going to happen.
If you missed the game, here is a video recap, let’s not call it highlights.