The playoff race in the Eastern Conference took on a new look after all action was over with on Saturday. The Toronto Maple Leafs were unable to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in an emotional tilt, and with that their playoff hopes were crushed as it will be very difficult for them to string together a winning streak that would somehow put them in the top eight. The New Jersey Devils, too, suffered a big loss to the Buffalo Sabres which diffused their fire that brought them from the bottom of the standings to the playoff race over the past couple months. You can add the Atlanta Thrashers to the list of teams that are now down and out, as they fell to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, 3-1.
So with those teams not in the picture anymore, there are three playoff spots in the East that are up for grabs and there are four teams competing for them. The Montreal Canadiens, who currently sit in sixth place, were shutout for the third straight game last night against the Washington Capitals. That club is slumping at the wrong time so their entrance into the postseason is no guarantee just yet. Breathing down their neck, of course, are our New York Rangers. The Blueshirts obviously picked up two big points in Boston yesterday afternoon and are tied with Montreal in points. They remain in seventh, though, as more of their wins have come in shootouts as opposed to regulation/overtime compared to the Habs.
The Sabres were the team to bury New Jersey last night, pulling out an easy but solid 2-0 shutout victory. It seems like each time the Rangers win the Sabres are also picking up points, so New York cannot afford to take their foot off the gas pedal. Buffalo is determined to make the playoffs this year and right now it looks like they will.
Their only threat at the moment is the Carolina Hurricanes. The 'Canes are five points out of eighth and seven out of seventh/sixth. Disheartening losses lately have not helped the Hurricanes' cause and they are a team to keep a close eye on over the next week because a few more losses will see them drop out of the playoff race as well.
Taking a look at all of this from a Rangers perspective, I think the Blueshirts are in very good position to make the playoffs right now. They are seven points ahead of ninth place and have been rolling lately, so it would have to take a pretty epic collapse for them to somehow fall out of the top eight over the course of the next two weeks. Their biggest game will probably be this Wednesday when they visit the Sabres in Buffalo, because they will either create some breathing room between themselves and the Sabres or give Buffalo the opportunity to overtake seventh.
I think now the focus for the Rangers should be on surpassing Montreal for sixth. If they can do that then I think that they will be safe for the playoffs by far. Plus, they would probably end up playing Boston in the first round as opposed to Washington. I am willing to play either, really, but they have a better chance against Boston since most of the games in that series would be low-scoring instead of a track meet.
Here's a look at the top nine spots in the East at the moment:
========================================================================
Follow me on Twitter or e-mail me at nmontemagno@rangerstribune.com
moochmadden 