The New York Rangers' Playoff Chances: It All Comes Down To Philly

Like most people after the 2-1 loss to the hands of the Boston Bruins on March 21, I thought the New York Rangers were dead in the water.

They had just lost three consecutive games to the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, and, of course, to the Bruins, and found themselves seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Things sure looked grim on Broadway.

Since then, however, the Blueshirts have been able to gain control of their ship, and now find themselves just two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the final playoff spot.

They have a home-and-home set for this weekend, the first of which is slated for 7 p.m. tonight at Madison Square Garden, with the second at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia.

Don't get your hopes up just yet, though. Sure, anything is possible.

It is possible that they can still finish as high as sixth, if they are able to sweep this weekend, along with Montreal losing their final game against rival Toronto, coupled with the Bruins losing both of their games against the Carolina Hurricanes and President's Trophy winning Washington Capitals. 

But let's be honest, that isn't going to happen. What can happen, however, is the Rangers sweeping this weekend. Will it be difficult? Sure it will. It has been done before, though, and as recent as a year ago.

The Flyers have a laundry list of injured goaltenders that would put the New York Mets' woes of 2009 to shame. Brian Boucher has been carrying his team for the last couple of weeks, and will have to do so for two more games. Jeff Carter is also on the injured list as well.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, their rivals from Broad Street have plenty more tricks up their sleeves in Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Chris Progner, and Danny Briere, just to name a few...and there are more. New York has to find a way to keep those players quiet, which is a tall order.

The Rangers have shown that they can put together some wins with their backs against the wall. They've also shown their inability to compete with upper-level teams.

They've had their way with the Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Wednesday night's battering of the Maple Leafs, but lost in a dominating fashion to the Northeast Champion Buffalo Sabres, a game in which Henrik Lundqvist was pulled in the second period.

The game comes down to the Rangers having to keep the Flyers' scorers quiet. Lundqvist has to carry his team like he has the entire season. Marc Staal and Dan Girardi have to play stellar defense in front of The King. If New York can get a dirty goal or two, they should be able to hold on.

Win, lose, or shootout, it should be a great Friday night at MSG. If the fans are sent to Penn Station with smiles on their faces, it should also make for a great Sunday night as well. If Lundqvist and company don't bring their A game, it will get pretty ugly in New York.