The Rangers faceoff against the Hurricanes secure in the knowledge that a playoff berth was locked up with New Jersey's 1-0 loss to Calgary. You can say they backed in, though to me, the only way that argument holds water is if they lose the next four games and fail to garner a point, which would have given them the automatic berth. Also, and I include myself in this list, for the hand-wringing that occurred when the Rangers fell to Calgary, give the Flames credit, as they have played hard for the past month or so and been a thorn in the side of lots of teams, including a Devils squad fighting for their playoff live.
The focus now for the Rangers is trying to lock up home-ice advantage. Though, given their play at home this year compared to that on the road, one could view that option as being a lesser one. However, the ability to have the last shift coupled with what should be a raucous MSG crowd, makes me hope they get the second seed in the Metro Division. The magic number to clinch is six, as that would give the Rangers 97 points, which is the maximum number of points that Philly (three games left) and Columbus (four games left) can earn. Since the Rangers have tie-breakers over both, six points - either by Rangers win or by Philly/Columbus loss, which would reduce the number - gets the Blueshirts the #2 seed in the division.
Tal Pinchevsky on NHL.com laid out the five reasons why the Rangers made the playoffs. I agree with most of them, but thought I would list them here and get your views:
1) Lundqvist a Rock - played 16 of last 18 games for New York, closed March going 5-1-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
2) Adapting to the new system - after rough start, Rangers found their stride, coinciding with the move of Kreider to the top line with Stepan and Nash. Since 1/1, Rangers have scored 115 goals in 38 games.
3) Road play - After nightmarish start, Rangers went 22-8-1 away from home, allowing just 65 goals. Overall, they are 25-14-1 overall on the road.
4) Depth in the middle - Stepan, Richards, Brassard, D. Moore and Boyle, with the latter two excellent on faceoffs and a big reason for the fourth line success.
5) McDonagh breaks through - Mack Truck is a clear Norris Trophy candidate, posting a 14-29-43 line with a +11 rating.
The lines tonight should be the same that were used in practice Monday, following the call up of Jesper Fast:
Rick Nash-Derek Stepan-Martin St. Louis Carl Hagelin-Brad Richards-Jesper Fast Benoit Pouliot-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello Brian Boyle- Dominic Moore-Derek Dorsett
Chris Kreider was on the ice for the Rangers optional skate today, wearing a brace with no glove on his surgically repaired left hand. A positive sign, but until we see him without the brace and a glove on, this is only a mildly positive sign. It looks as if he has a long way to go, though I would love to see him sometime during the first round of the playoffs.
Dan Girardi-John Moore Marc Staal-Anton Stralman Raphael Diaz-Kevin Klein
Ryan McDonagh was also on the ice for the Rangers skate today, taking light wrist shots on goal. This is definitely a very good sign. If the Rangers do clinch home-ice, with the Knicks home on April 16 and Billy Joel playing April 18, the Rangers first game is probably April 17 followed by an April 19 contest, giving McDonagh another week to heal.
Henrik Lundqvist
The Playoff Race:
Starting with 12 games to go, scoreboard watching became the sport inside of the sport. As of March 27, the Rangers sit second in the division, 42-31-5 with 91 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, the one game of import was the Flames 1-0 win over the Devils, locking up the playoff berth for the Rangers. Tuesday, besides Rangers-Hurricanes, games of major import to the Blueshirts are Philly-Florida and Phx-CMB and of minor import, since they impact the playoffs as a whole in the East, are Ott-NYI, Det-Buf, Tor-TB and Was-StL.
Division:
Philly - won 5-2 over Buffalo on 4/6. 4-4-2 last 10, one game in hand, third in division and two points behind the Rangers. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, those are @Fla, @TB, @Pitt, Canes)
Columbus - shutout Islanders 4-0 on 4/6, 5-4-1 in last 10, one game in hand, fourth in the division and four points behind the Rangers. Second Wild Card. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, Phoenix, @Dal, @TB, @Fla)
New Jersey - lost 1-0 to the Flames on 4/7, 5-2-3 last 10, no games in hand, seven points behind NY. Three points behind second wild card but Columbus has one game in hand. (played 39 games at home, 40 on road, three left at home, one on road, @Ott, Isles, Bos)
Washington - defeated the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on 4/4, 4-3-3 last 10, one game in hand, sixth in division and eight points behind NY. Two points behind second wild card but Columbus has one game in hand. (played 39 games at home, 39 on road, two left at home, two on road, Dallas, @St.L, @Canes, Chi, TB)
Carolina - lost 3-1 to NJ on 4/5, 5-3-2 last 10, one game in hand, 12 points behind NY, six behind last wild card spot. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, @NYR, Was, @Det, @Phi) (will drop off list with next loss)
Conference (teams within 10 either way, as Boston has a lock of Atlantic division, with third place, since Montreal locked into a spot, either second or third, and wild cards up for grabs)
Montreal - second in Atlantic, won 7-4 over Ott on 4/4 and 5-3 over Detroit on 4/5, 8-2-0 last 10, no games in hand and six points up on Rangers. (played 39 games at home, 40 on road, two left at home, one on road, Det, @Chi, Isles, Rangers)
Tampa Bay - third in Atlantic, lost 5-2 to Dallas on 4/4, their second in a row, 5-3-2 last 10, one game in hand and two points up on Rangers. (played 38 games at home, 40 on road, three left at home, one on road, Tor, Flyers, Columbus, @Caps)
Detroit - fourth place in Atlantic, lost 5-3 to Detroit on 4/5, 6-3-1 in last 10, have played one less game than Toronto, one game in hand and three points behind the Rangers. First Wild Card. (played 40 games at home, 38 on road, one left at home, three on road, @Buff, @Pitt, Canes, @St.L)
Toronto - fifth place in Atlantic, lost 4-2 to Winnipeg on 4/5, 2-8-0 last 10, same number of games and seven points behind the Rangers. One point behind Columbus for second wild card, but Blue Jackets have two games in hand (played 41 games at home, 38 on road, none left at home, three on road, @TB, @Fla, @Ott)
Ottawa - sixth place in Atlantic, beat the Rangers 3-2 on 4/5, 5-4-1 last 10, one game in hand, 11 points behind the Rangers and five behind last Wild Card spot. (played 39 games at home, 39 on road, two left at home, two on road). (will drop off with next loss, @NYI, NJ, Tor, @Pit)
Summary: Two huge wins over Columbus and New Jersey, followed by a gut-check win over Phoenix, solid team effort in victory over Philly, bad loss to Calgary, convincing rebound win over Edmonton, solid victory over Vancouver, disappointing shootout loss to Colorado and frustrating loss to Ottawa. 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. Rangers have three games left, two at home, Hurricanes and Sabres at the Garden on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, before the Apr. 12 finale in Montreal.
In order:
3/21- @ CMB - win 3-1 3/22 - @NJ - win 2-0 3/24 - Phx - win 4-3, OT 3/26 - Phi - win 3-1 3/28 - @Cgy - lost 4-3 3/30 - @Edm - won 5-0 4/1 - @Van - won 3-1 4/3 - @Col - lost 3-2, S/O 4/5 - Ott - lost 3-2 4/8 - Car 4/10 - Ott 4/12 - @MTL