The New York Rangers Are Creeping Towards Playoff Elimination

Last night’s loss to the Maple Leafs didn’t eliminate the Rangers from playoff contention, but it has made their path there a bit harder. Here are the standings following last night’s 3-2 overtime loss:

7. Philadelphia – 80 points – 37 wins – 7 games remaining
8. Boston – 80 points – 34 wins – 8 games remaining
9. Atlanta – 78 points – 33 wins – 7 games remaining
10. Rangers – 76 points – 33 wins – 7 games remaining
11. Tampa Bay – 72 points – 30 wins – 7 games remaining

Here are the standings for the bottom of the league:

23. Rangers – 76 points – 33 wins – 7 games remaining
24. Columbus – 73 points – 30 wins – 7 games remaining
25. Tampa Bay – 72 points – 30 wins – 7 games remaining
26. Islanders – 72 points – 31 wins – 7 games remaining
27. Florida – 71 points – 30 wins – 8 games remaining
28. Carolina – 71 points – 31 wins – 7 games remaining
29. Toronto – 68 points – 28 wins – 7 games remaining
30. Edmonton – 55 points – 24 wins – 8 games remaining

The bad news is that Boston picked up a win last night and so did the Thrashers, putting the playoffs a little further in the distance for the Rangers. The really bad news that most of the teams behind the Rangers lost as well making it less likely that some of the teams behind them will catch up and if the Rangers aren’t going to make the playoffs, they’d rather lose as much as possible to get a better draft pick. As it stands right now they are going to miss the playoffs and draft eighth overall.

The good news is that the Rangers' playoff hopes are still alive, if only barely. Their schedule the rest of the way is actually pretty easy though as they face teams behind them in the standings four more times this season. They finish the year with back-to-back games against the Flyers which at this point is looking like those two games could decide the fate of their season.

We’ll keep you updated until then.

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