The Rangers and Islanders meet for the fourth and final time Thursday at MSG. Both teams have something in the line but not in the manner one might expect. Rather than rooting for their teams to win, each organization's fanbase might be hoping that they lose, thereby avoiding the bracket of death.
The Isles trail the Rangers by two points and sit in the First Wild Card. After tonight's contest, the Brooklynites play Saturday and Sunday while the Rangers end their season Saturday against Detroit. A win by the Isles puts them in the drivers seat to finish third in the division and the pleasure of a first-round match up against Pittsburgh. A win by the Rangers puts them four points up on the Isles, forcing the later to win both of their games and hope the Rangers don't get a point against the Red Wings. In addition, that might not even matter, as the Rangers would have an insurmountable lead in ROW, which is one of the tiebreakers.
But the argument that most have been making is that a loss would be more beneficial to both teams. If the Rangers lose and Isles get three points their last two games, the Blueshirts would end up in the Atlantic Division bracket, facing Florida in the first round. If they get past the Panthers, the Rangers would take on the winner of what is expected to be Tampa Bay-Detroit. On paper, that is a lot easier than needing to beat Pittsburgh, even though the Penguins may be without Marc-Andre Fleury, and the winner of the Washington-whoever, as the eighth seed is not yet decided, series.
The adage of be careful what you wish for, you just may get it applies. It may appear easier to face Florida, but with Barkov, Huberdeau, Jagr, Bjugstad, Jokinen, Smith, Ekblad and Luongo Etc., it's not as if the Panthers are a walk in the park. Plus once you get into the playoffs, as we have seen, anything can and usually does happen. In addition, the postseason is a war of attrition. Whose to say that Pittsburgh or any other oponent remains healthy. What if - and I am not advocating or hopefully anything happens to the fellow - Kris Letang was knocked out of the first round or Washington lost one of their stud forwards or John Carlson? Would they still be as difficult to face? In addition, there is some psychological advantage to entering the playoffs on a roll with a good mindset, which is why playing well the next two games does have some value.
Both squads enter tonight's game banged up. The Rangers will definitely be without Ryan McDonagh, who is sidelined with a fractured metacarpal (s), while Dan Girardi's status is up in the air. G, who was boarded by Brian Boyle on Tuesday, may have suffered a concussion, though we won't know his status until about 5:30 today. If G can't go, Dan Boyle, who sat for Dylan McIlrath against Tampa Bay, slides back in. The pairings then might be Yandle-Staal, Skjei-Klein and Boyle-McIlrath. One thing to watch is how well Kevin Klein plays, as his game has gone south a bit lately.
For the Isles, Christopher Gibson, their fourth string goalie may be between the pipes again, though Thomas Greiss could get the nod. The Brooklynites will be without Travis Hamonic, while it's unclear if Calvin de Haan and Cal Clutterbuck, both of whom are banged up, will dress. Of course, the Isles are fueled by John Tavares, who has been hot again lately, carrying the team into the playoff berth.
Play for third in the division or seventh in the Conference. That is the question facing each team tonight.
Playoff Picture :
Starting with 10 games to go, scoreboard watching became the sport inside of the sport. As of the end of games April 6, the Rangers, who have two games left after their win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday, sit third in the division, 45-26-9 with 99 points. When I do a recap or game preview blog, I will include this at the bottom of the blog. However, on non-game/recap days, I will run this daily since this is a huge topic of conversation and a large component of our focus.
Wednesday, the only game on the slate that had an impact was the Red Wings win over the Flyers. That out Detroit two points up on the Bruins, with each team having played 80 games, as well as the Flyers, who have a game in hand. Thursday is a key date with each team's remaining games having an impact on standings placement down the road when in the post-season, depending on who wins first and second round matchups. Thursday: Direct - Pittsburgh-Washington. Indirect (overall standings) - Detroit-Boston, Tampa Bay-NJ, and Toronto-Philly
Division:
Washington locked up the division and top seed in the conference with their win over Ottawa on March 22.
Pittsburgh- defeated Ottawa 5-3 on Tuesday for their seventh straight win. 9-1-0 in last 10, second in the division, three point ahead of the Rangers with same number of games played. One point in their last two contests locks up second in the Metro. (played 41 games at home, 39 on road, none left at home, two on road)
NYI- 4-3 win over Washington on Tuesday, 6-4-0 in last 10, one game in hand and two points behind the Rangers, in fourth place in Metro with a game at MSG against the Blueshirts on Thursday. First Wild Card. (played 39 games at home, 40 on road, two left at home, one on road)
Philly- lost 3-0 to Detroit 6-2 on Wednesday. 5-4-1 their last 10, one game in hand on the Rangers, eight points behind NY. Tied with Boston for eighth place on conference and Second Wild Card spot but the Flyers have a game in hand, giving them the edge. By virtue of their loss to Detroit, the Red Wings, who are third in Atlantic, lead Philly by two points. (played 39 games at home, 40 on road, two left at home, one on road)
Conference (teams with a reasonable shot at the playoffs. Right now, three team race for division with Detroit looming).
Florida has 101 points with two games left after beating Monday on Tuesday. That win coupled with Tampa's loss to the Rangers means that the Panthers have locked up first in the Atlantic with 101 points to Tampa's 95. Florida is 7-3-0 in last 10, having won four in a row and played 40 games at home and 40 on the road. One game left at home and one on the road.
Tampa Bay has 95 points with two games left after their 3-2 loss to the Rangers on Monday. They are 5-5-0 in their last 10, losing two straight while having played 41 games at home and 39 on the road. No games left at home and two games on the road.
Detroit - beat Philly on Wednesday to retain third place in the Atlantic. 7-3-0 in last 10. Four points behind Isles, who have one game in hand. Their win over the Flyers put the Red Wings two points ahead of Philly, who have a game in hand. Two points ahead of Boston with each team having played 80 games. (played 41 games at home, 39 on road, none left at home, two on road.
Boston lost 2-1 in overtime Tuesday to Carolina and are now 3-6-1 in last 10. Their last two losses moved them behind Detroit and out of the playoffs as of right now. They trail TB by four points but both teams have played 80 games and the Lightning have clinched a playoff berth. Detroit is two points ahead of Boston in third in the Atlantic with both teams having played 80 games. The Bruins have played 39 games at home and 41 on the road. Two games left at home and none on the road.
Summary: After a disappointing road trip, a solid win at home against the Panthers followed by one over Boston, a victory in Montreal, overtime loss to Pittsburgh and defeat by Carolina. Home loss to Buffalo, then playoff clinching win in Columbus and rally to beat Tampa on Tuesday. The Rangers the past several seasons have been excellent down the stretch, to lock in a specific spot, they may need to do the same thus year. Upcoming schedule is no cake walk. Remaining games overall are two at home and none on the road. The Rangers are going to get no help from others, so they will need to keep winning in order to maintain a top-three seed in division.
In order:
3/21- Fla - win 4-2 3/23 - Bos - win 5-2 3/26 - @Mtl - win 5-2 3/27 - Pit - lost 3-2 in overtime 3/31 - @Car - lost 4-3 4/2 - Buf - lost 4-3 4/4 - @CBJ - won 4-2 4/5 - TB - won 3-2 4/7 - NYI 4/9 - Det