New York Rangers Daily: Backward steps for Blueshirts; Flyers get head start on trade deadline
A busy NHL schedule Thursday turned up to be a real mixed bag for the New York Rangers and the Eastern Conference playoff race.
When the dust settled, the Rangers dropped to 13th in the East, passed by the Islanders who won their sixth straight game. The Rangers also are now five points out of a wild-card berth because the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets each won their respective games.
On the positive side, two of four teams that played Thursday and are ahead of the Rangers in the standings — the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens — lost. That game Saturday in Boston feels like a must for the Rangers. The Bruins just are not playing well right now; they’ve been, hammered in each of their past two games.
Not as good is that the Ottawa Senators are pulling away from the mediocre middle of the East a bit. They’re now third in the Atlantic Division, a point ahead of the Lightning, who are the top wild card.
But listen, this is how it’s going to be every day for the rest of the season. The Rangers put themselves in this position with that crushing 4-15-0 stretch and by chucking standings points with late-game meltdowns. However, they have at least a game in hand on everyone ahead of them (though even in games with the Lightning and Islanders) and just an eye blink ago, they had a 10-game point streak.
So, winning four of five, let’s say, before the 4 Nations Face-off break should have the Rangers in a pretty good spot for the stretch drive. And it’s very doable considering there’s really only one solid playoff team in that mix — the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
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New York Rangers news

Dan Rosen joined us on the Rink Rap podcast to discuss all things Rangers, including what the future holds for K’Andre Miller and Ryan Lindgren, and what his take on a possible J.T. Miller reunion is. Check it and subscribe to the podcast here.
One other topic discussed on the podcast that was worthy of a write up was Alexis Lafreniere’s “alarming” struggles this season with the Rangers.
The Rangers do not play again Friday, they will practice then travel to Boston. And it’s looking like Arthur Kaliyev will be a healthy scratch for that game against the Bruins.
We examined the ways that Brennan Othmann’s recent hot streak could play a role in what the Rangers do ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
NHL news

The Philadelphia Flyers got a head start on the trade deadline by sending a pair of 25-year-old forwards, Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, to the Calgary Flames for forwards Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, plus two draft picks.
The Flyers also lost again last night, running into the buzzsaw that is the Islanders. The team from Long Island has won six straight following this 3-0 shutout Thursday.
The Blue Jackets reportedly have had trade talks with the Vancouver Canucks about star center Elias Pettersson, per Pierre LeBrun.
Watch Cole Sillinger score in overtime to lift the Blue Jackets to an exciting 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Alex Ovechkin is now 19 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record in the NHL (894) after scoring for the Washington Capitals in their 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen is week to week with a lower-body injury and withdrew from the 4 Nations Face-off, where he was set to play for Finland.
Former Rangers center Alex Wennberg is day to day with an upper-body injury for the San Jose Sharks. He didn’t play Thursday when the Sharks were walloped 6-2 by the Seattle Kraken.
The Detroit Red Wings opened a four-game road trip with a big 3-2 shootout win against the Edmonton Oilers.
Mark Scheifele scored a pair of goals and the Winnipeg Jets cruised past the Bruins 6-2.
Watch Quebec native Marc-Andre Fleury record an emotional shutout in his final NHL game in Montreal, leading the Minnesota Wild to a 4-0 win against the Canadiens.
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