Analysis

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 24: Brendan Smith #42 of the New York Rangers skates against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden on October 24, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

The playoff picture & lottery look for Friday plus Kreider talks to begin

New York Rangers: Kreider tug-of-war, other takeaways from triumph over Leafs

New York Rangers vs Toronto Maple Leafs: A rock solid 5-3 win

New York Rangers vs Toronto Maple Leafs: Join the live conversation

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 28: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs takes a face off against Filip Chytil #72 of the New York Rangers during the second period at the Scotiabank Arena on December 28, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers: Intrigue as a reeling Toronto team come to town

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 06: Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens scores a first period goal against Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Ten points out of the playoffs and one reason why

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 03: Joe Pavelski #16 of the Dallas Stars celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the first period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on February 3, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers: Outclassed at even strength in 5-3 loss to Dallas

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 19: Blake Comeau #15 of the Dallas Stars skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 19, 2018 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Stars 2-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

New York Rangers vs Dallas Stars: Join the live conversation

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden on January 31, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers: A tough match up with the Dallas Stars

DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 1: Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers makes a save on a shot by Tyler Bertuzzi #59 of the Detroit Red Wings as Dylan Larkin #71 of the Wings and Brady Skjei #76 of the Rangers look for the rebound during an NHL game at Little Caesars Arena on February 1, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

Henrik Lundqvist shines in a 1-0 shutout over Detroit

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 31: Brendan Lemieux #48, Igor Shesterkin #31 and Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers defend against Darren Helm #43 of the Detroit Red Wings during the second period at Madison Square Garden on January 31, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

New York Rangers vs Detroit Red Wings redux: Join the live conversation

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: Filip Chytil #72 and the New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden on January 31, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers: Going for two in a row in Detroit

New York Rangers

A tough make or break schedule in February

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: Tony DeAngelo #77 and Brady Skjei #76 of the New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden on January 31, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers vs Red Wings: A sweet beginning with a 4-2 win

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 06: The New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 at Madison Square Garden on November 6, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers vs Detroit Red Wings: Join the live conversation!

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers scores the game winning goal on the power-play at 19:35 of the third period against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

New York Rangers looking to start fresh against Detroit

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 13: The New York Rangers .celebrate a goal during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers on January 13, 2020 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Beware the first game back from the bye week

New York Rangers: Shesterkin does it again in a 4-2 Wolf Pack win

HARTFORD, CT - OCTOBER 18: Puck slides away from Hartford Wolfpack goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) after he makes save as Hartford Wolfpack defenseman Vincent Loverde (26) closes in to clear puck during the Springfield Thunderbirds and Hartford Wolfpack AHL game on October 18, 2019, at XL Center in Hartford, CT. (Photo by John Crouch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

New York Rangers: Business as usual for Igor Shesterkin

BUFFALO, NY - FEBRUARY 15: Alexandar Georgiev #40 and Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers celebrate a win over the Buffalo Sabres following an NHL game on February 15, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. New York won, 6-2. (Photo by Rob Marczynski/NHLI via Getty Images)

The three goalie outlook is not as bad as you think

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 19: New York Rangers Goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) with a save during a regular season NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers on January 19, 2020, at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Igor Shesterkin to get some work in Hartford

Ryan Strome #16 of the New York Rangers battles

New York Rangers vs Islanders: It was too good to be true after 4-2 loss

Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers

New York Rangers vs Islanders round 3: Join the live conversation

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: The New York Rangers defend the net against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 2-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

New York Rangers going for three in a row versus the Islanders

Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers

New York Rangers vs Blue Jackets: A bitter 2-1 last minute loss

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 5: Pierre-Luc Dubois #18 of the Columbus Blue Jackets battles with Brady Skjei #76 of the New York Rangers for control of the puck on December 5, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Join the live conversation!

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 5: Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers skates against against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 5, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

New York Rangers vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Two surprise teams compete

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers scores the game winning goal on the power-play at 19:35 of the third period against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2020 in Uniondale, New York. The Rangers defeated the Islanders 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

New York Rangers vs Islanders: A huge last minute 3-2 win