53-21-4

With the Flyers, Capitals, and Red Wings falling over each other, the door is wide open for the final two playoff spots in the East. The Flyers have been skating on their face for almost two weeks now and that’s let the Islanders take third place in the Metro division with 85 points (on a 4 game win streak). That’s about 2 miles behind the Rangers and Hurricanes. Led by Sidney Crosby, the Penguins are taking advantage of others’ poor play. Beating the Rangers on Monday was huge for them and was the start of their current 4 game win streak. Look at how close it is:

Tampa has a large enough cushion that they won’t be moved from the first wild card place. The Islanders are still in danger of not making the playoffs, especially with the experience and skill that the Penguins still have. With 5 or 4 games left, every game is huge. Two losses could mean the end of the season. I think the Flyers have completely lost the plot now, and the Caps are more or less in the same boat. The Caps were playing well but even if they pulled it together, their goal differential is so bad I think they’d get swept in the first round by either the Rangers or the ‘Canes.

Can the Islanders hold on? Their biggest obstacle is 2 games against the Rangers. Detroit has the Penguins and Toronto. The Penguins have it the worst, with 3 against playoff monsters Toronto, Boston, and Nashville (who admittedly aren’t playing their best right now but they can beat anyone). The Penguins’ entire season could hang on their final game…against the Islanders.

After losing to the Penguins where it seemed like most things didn’t go their way, the last game of the season with the Devils was a roccus one. It started with an old fashioned line brawl 2 seconds in (The Rempe Effect) and ended with the Rangers winning 4-3. This regular season sweep (only the third time in history) is a big reason why the Devils won’t be making the playoffs. Some nice revenge for last season’s playoff bounce.

The battle against the desperate Red Wings was another fun one where the Rangers’ fourth line, led by Barclay Goodrow, saved the day. A 4-3 win.

To end the week was a 5-2 win over Montreal who can’t manage a full 60 minutes of a hockey game.

With 4 games remaining, the priority for the Rangers is to keep their good gameplay habits going and to stay healthy. The Islanders will put up a fight for both games and if there’s anything the Flyers know how to do it’s be a pain in the ass. Ottawa will likely be a game on cruise control no matter what. The benefit is that there’s very little travel this week. All home games except for Tuesday’s game against the Islanders and that’s basically driving to another neighborhood.

Last season the Rangers had a terrible final 2 weeks. There was no positive momentum going into the playoffs against the Devils, which turned into a disaster. Everything feels much different today. The level of focus, skill, and determination this team has now is at another level.