Last night, the New York Islanders lost to the Vancouver Canucks, and the paradigm in the Eastern Conference playoff race took another turn. For the New York Rangers, last night's defeat by their cross-city rival could not have come at a better time. As the Blueshirts look to lift their season from despair, they fight for their lives in California. The Islanders were hot and got worn down by the Canucks, essentially nullifying the Rangers defeat in Los Angeles.
Moving forward, the Rangers have a slightly easier path in the immediate future in Anaheim and San Jose. At the same time, the Islanders are about to dance a gauntlet of playoff opponents. It's a good sign that the Islanders have folded to a team sitting just outside the playoff places in the West for the teams that want to get into the Eastern Conference playoff picture ahead of the Islanders, and there is a reason to be optimistic now.
Ultimately, both teams still trail the Montreal Canadiens for the final wild-card spot, but they play the Philadelphia Flyers later tonight in the first half of a difficult back-to-back for them. If they don't get anything tonight, they're traveling to Carolina tomorrow, and the Rangers could continue to close the gap, slowly but surely, and drag themselves back into the playoff places during the final ten-game stretch of the season.
The Islanders will not take to the ice again until Saturday against Tampa Bay. That night, the Rangers will be in San Jose, so if things go their way, the Rangers could jump the Isles in the standings and potentially move ahead of the Canadiens. However, the Rangers needing so much to go right is part of the problem with this season. This should have been much simpler to qualify for the playoffs.