The New York Rangers' season has been up and down, but they have a chance to remedy things if they can make the postseason. With the Montreal Canadiens, who sit in the final wild-card spot in the East, losing last night to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers will have a chance to stake a claim to that position. They need to be quick and make the dance while they can because waiting too long may cause the Rangers' chances to dwindle.
The Rangers should be looking for some results around the league tonight. Montreal will complete the second half of its back-to-back in Carolina against the Hurricanes, so the Rangers will be hoping their Metropolitan compatriot will do them a favor tonight. If the Canadiens lose again tonight, the Rangers can put themselves into that second wild-card spot when they face the Ducks later in the night if the Canadiens lose.
Elsewhere, the Columbus Blue Jackets, who sit a point behind the Rangers with two games in hand, will face off at home against the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks already did the Rangers a favor when they defeated the New York Islanders; if they can beat the Blue Jackets, the Blueshirts are going to start opening a gap to their Metropolitan Division foes. That could be a great way to cement themselves in the final wild-card spot.
None of this matters if the Rangers cannot win their own games, but the scoreboard elsewhere could smile upon the Blueshirts tonight. They need to take advantage and start adding to their win total. If they are the team to seize the initiative in the East since everyone else is struggling to get control, it will get them over the line and into the postseason. New York has an opportunity to salvage a dire season, and it cannot waste it.