On Monday they rested. After four games in seven days, including back-to-back contests Saturday and Sunday, which comes on the heels of three games in four days in California and prior to six games in 10 days to close the season, New York is in the midst of a brief break. With no game until Thursday against Carolina, the Rangers were off Monday and will be given the day off Tuesday. So until practice Wednesday, we are left to discuss off-ice news, including one definite and possible signing, and other games that have either a direct or indirect impact on the team. Of course, I am sure in some circles the rhetoric will be on line combinations, who was on ice late in the overtime and how Keith Yandle can be re-signed. I believe we discussed the first two items yesterday, and I don't foresee anything on the former changing in the immediate future, while the third has been a constant area of conversation for the past two months.
Monday , the Rangers’ chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association nominated Mats Zuccarello for the 2016 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The award is handed out annually to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.… Given what Zuccarello rebounded from after getting hit by Ryan McDonagh's slapshot in Game 5 of last year's first round series against Pittsburgh, which left him unable to talk, his nomination really comes as little surprise. You all know my view on Zucc, as I was beating the drum years ago to bring him back when he went to Europe. So seeing how valuable he has become to the team and his recovery from the devastating injury is pretty solid evidence that he is a deserving candidate to be the Rangers' nominee. Dominic Moore won the award in 2014. This year’s winner will be announced at the 2016 NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 22.
Monday, Cristoval “Boo’’ Nieves, a second-round draft pick in 2012 who completed his senior year at the University of Michigan with 10 goals and 31 points, agreed to a two-year entry-level deal averaging $755,000 with the Rangers. Nieves, per Jess Rubinstein, has the speed to excel in AV's system and brings additional size to the organization. He needs to get stronger, which he should be able to hopefully do now that he is turning professional. Given his size and build, adding the needed 10-15 pounds should be fairly easy. Nieves has improved his game steadily and glad he is now officially in the organization.
The pending signing is Steve Fogarty, a third round pick in 2011 by New York, who had 1 goals and 13 assists this year at Notre Dame. The two sides are reportedly in discussions and hopefully the team locks Fogarty up. In addition, news broke yesterday that Jimmy Vesey, a third round pick in 2012 out of Harvard by Nashville, won't sign with the Predators and will be a free agent in August. The situation gets more and more interesting as news filters out, especially if you believe GM David Poile, who says Hayes was offered a top-six role and ability to burn a year off his ELC by joining the team now. The Rangers were able to add Kevin Hayes in a similar situation two years, as he didn't sign with Chicago. You wonder what the level of interest the team might have in Vesey.
Playoff Picture :
Starting with 10 games to go, scoreboard watching became the sport inside of the sport. As of the end of games March 28, the Rangers, who have six games left after their overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, sit second in the division, 43-24-9 with 95 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.
Monday, Philly defeated Winnipeg in overtime while Detroit got past Buffalo. Neither had a direct impact as the Flyers and Red Wings aren't on the Rangers' tails, but each winning kept New York's magic number to clinch a playoff berth at five. In addition, each game could have an impact on standings placement down the road when in the post-season, depending on who wins first and second round matchups. Tuesday: Direct - Isles-Hurricanes, Penguins-Sabres. Indirect (overall standings) - Bruins-Devils, Red Wings-Canadiens and Panthers-Maple Leafs.
Division:
Washington locked up the division and top seed in the conference with their win over Ottawa on March 22.
Pittsburgh- beat New York 3-2 in overtime Sunday. 8-2-0 in last 10, one game in hand, third in the division, three points behind the Rangers. (played 38 games at home, 37 on road, three left at home, four on road)
NYI- defeated the Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime on Saturday after losing 7-4 to the Lightning on Friday. 3-5-2 last 10, two games in hand on the Rangers, six points behind NY, in fourth place in Metro. First Wild Card. (played 35 games at home, 39 on road, six left at home, two on road)
Philly- defeated Winnipeg 3-2 on Monday. 6-2-2 their last 10, one game in hand on the Rangers, eight points behind NY. Tied with Detroit for eighth place in conference but are the Second Wild Card as they have one game in hand on the Red Wings. (played 37 games at home, 38 on road, four left at home, three on road)
Conference (teams with a reasonable shot at the playoffs. Right now, three team race for division with Detroit looming. Florida has 93 points with seven games left after beating the Lightning on Saturday. Tampa Bay has 93 points with six games left after their shutout win Monday over Toronto. Boston has 88 with six games left and ended a five game losing streak by beating Toronto on Saturday. Carolina trails Boston by seven points and has six games left, so they will have a difficulty beating the Bruins out. In addition, they are six points behind Philly, who has one game in hand, and Detroit. The 'Canes game Tuesday against the Isles is a big one for both teams. A loss could eliminate them and change their mindset for Thursday's game against the Rangers).
Detroit - defeated Buffalo 3-2 on Monday. 6-4-0 in last 10. Two points behind Isles, who have two games in hand. Tied with Philly but Flyers have one game in hand and are therefore in playoff spot. One point behind Boston. Sure looks like the Rangers final game of the season April 9 against Detroit will mean something. (played 39 games at home, 37 on road, two left at home, four on road)
Summary: After a disappointing road trip, a solid win at home against the Panthers followed by one over Boston, a victory in Montreal and overtime loss to Pittsburgh. There is still work to be done, as the team needs to stop playing a shell and laying back on their heels in the third period. The Rangers the past several seasons have been excellent down the stretch, to lock in a spot, they may need to do the same thus year. Upcoming schedule is no cake walk. Remaining games overall are four at home and two on the road. The Rangers are going to get no help from others, so they will need to keep winning in order to make the post-season and 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 4/2 - Buf 4/4 - @CBJ 4/5 - TB 4/7 - NYI 4/9 - Det