As Mick Jagger once crooned, "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime... you get what you need. That is exactly what happened on Tuesday night for the New York Rangers, and boy did they need it after enduring a near-historic embarrassment against the Ottawa Senators. While the "want" for this season was a deep playoff run, the "need" has shifted toward the future. As the end of the schedule draws near, the Blueshirts got a near-perfect sweep on the scoreboard that did more for their long term future than any two-point night at The Garden ever could.
You get points, and you get points... EVERYBODY GETS POINTS!!!
The Rangers currently hold the No. 2 spot in the Tankathon standings with 65 points. On Tuesday, nearly every team in their proximity found a way hurt their lottery odds.
- Chicago Blackhawks (67 pts) - 4-3 victory over New York Islanders.
- Calgary Flames (67 pts) - Won 3-2 over the Los Angeles Kings in shootout.
- St. Louis Blues (69 pts) - 3-0 defeat of Washington Capitals.
- Winnipeg Jets (72 pts) - 4-1 victory against Vegas Golden Knights.
- Florida Panthers (73 pts) - 5-4 shootout win vs Seattle Kraken.
- Toronto Maple Leafs (73 pts) - Won 4-2 over the Bruins.
- New Jersey Devils (74 pts) - 6-4 defeat of the Stars.
The "free hockey" points also hit in a major way. Both Seattle (7th) and Los Angeles (12th) managed to drag their games into overtime, picking up crucial single points that push them farther away from Rangers' 65-point mark.
Can't win them all...
The only game that didn't go the Rangers' way involved the San Jose Sharks. Sitting 6th from the bottom with 70 points, the Sharks lost in regulation to Nashville. While a San Jose win would have been the cherry on top... their failure to pick up a point does little to threaten the Rangers' current standing in the bottom three just a bit.
What Rangers fans need to know going forward
With 11 games remaining for most teams, the race to the bottom is tightening. Chicago and Calgary's win puts them two points ahead of the Rangers, and it gave the Blueshirts additional security in their lottery positioning. Up tonight for the Rangers is Toronto, after that is Chicago, Florida, and then New Jersey. Losing all of these games would be huge for their lotto odds, and it will be interesting to see if Jonathan Quick ends up back in goal for "tanking purposes".
The battle for the best odds to select Gavin McKenna at No. 1 overall (currently held by the 50-point Vancouver Canucks) seems out of reach, but securing the No. 2 spot is crucial. Under the current lottery rules, the team in the No. 2 slot is guaranteed a pick no lower than 4th overall, and that provides Chris Drury a massive safety net in a draft that also features top defensive prospects like Keaton Verhoeff, Alberts Smits, and Chase Reid if they were to miss out on the chance to select Ivar Stenberg.
In this bizarre centennial season, the Rangers find themselves in a WarGames scenario. The only winning move is not to play... or at least, not to win. Rather than cheering for two points in Toronto tonight, perhaps we should all just settle in for a nice game of chess.