New York Rangers Daily: East playoff race narrows to 3 contenders; Leon Draisaitl injured again for Oilers
With two weeks remaining in the 2024-25 regular season, it’s looking more and more like the New York Rangers are in a three-team battle for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers (36-32-7) are ninth in the conference, two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card and two points up on the 10th-place Columbus Blue Jackets. New York and Montreal each have seven games remaining, Columbus has eight games to play.
No disrespect to the Detroit Red Wings nor New York Islanders, but those teams have pretty much played their way out of contention — though each is still alive and within striking distance. The Red Wings haven’t won consecutive games since late February, and now face the prospect of needing to win at least seven of their final eight games (including the one they have against the Canadiens next week) to even have a chance at the wild card.
The Islanders? They have must-win games against the Rangers and Blue Jackets remaining on their schedule. But they’ve lost six in a row (0-4-2) and nine of 12 (3-6-3), and show zero signs of being able to win out over the final eight games, which is what they’d need to do in all reality.
So, it’s the Rangers, Canadiens and Blue Jackets. The Rangers have picked things up a bit, 2-0-1 in their past three games, and seek their first three-game winning streak since Nov. 14-19 when they visit the vulnerable New Jersey Devils on Saturday. They have the experience, roster and playoff pedigree, not to mention the best goalie among the three teams, to make it feel like they should be the favorites here to earn that final playoff spot in the East.
Of course, the Rangers have been anything but predictable this season and have not lived up to any expectations. So, there’s that to consider.
The Canadiens have won three in a row following a five-game skid (0-3-2) that nearly derailed their playoff hopes. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki are hot at the right time, and the Canadiens still have games against the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. That’s plenty of reason to believe they should be the favorites down the stretch.
As for the Blue Jackets, a 1-8-1 stretch March 4-21 may end up to be their undoing. They’re 3-2-0 in their past five games, but lost 7-3 at home to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday and have a pretty touhh schedule down the stretch, including two games each against the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals.
The Red Wing and Islanders each have games Friday night. But the next day to really watch is Saturday. The Rangers visit the Devils; the Canadiens host the Flyers; and the Blue Jackets are in Toronto to face the Maple Leafs.
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New York Rangers news
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As for Gabe Perreault’s NHL debut Wednesday with the Rangers? “It was super surreal” the 19-year-old said.
Here are our three Rangers takeaways from that thrilling 5-4 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.
Winners and losers? Yup, we’ve got ’em from Rangers latest victory — including K’Andre Miller landing on both lists.
The latest RINK RAP podcast is posted! Talking Gabe Perreault’s arrival on Broadway, youth being served, the entire K’Andre Miller experience and why Mats Zuccarello is such a mensch. LISTEN HERE or WATCH ON YOUTUBE.
Shout out to Jonny Lazarus — good job by him catching up with Rangers rookie forward Brennan Othmann in this story.
NHL news and rumors
Uh oh! For the second time in the past couple weeks, Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl is hurt. The NHL goal-scoring leader left the Oilers 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks in the second period with an undisclosed injury and didn’t return. There was no update after the game.
After being ripped by Islanders coach Patrick Roy earlier in the week for lack of effort, former Rangers forward Anthony Duclair is “taking some time off to reflect” and may not play again this season.
Ryan Leonard (Boston College), Zeev Buium (Denver) and Isaac Howard (Michigan State) were named finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, which is presented annually to the top men’s player in NCAA hockey.
Following in the footsteps of former Boston College teammates Perreault (Rangers) and Leonard (Washington Capitals), goalie Jacob Fowler signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens. He’ll report to their AHL affiliate in Laval on an amateur tryout (ATO) so that he doesn;t burn a year off his Canadiens contract.
The Canadiens edged ahead of the Rangers in the East playoff race by defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1.
Cale Makar joined exclusive company Thursday when he scored his 30th goal of the season in a 7-3 win over the Blue Jackets. Makar is the ninth different defensemen to score 30 goals in the NHL and first since Mike Green had 31 for the Washington Capitals in 2008-09. Hall of Famers Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey each scored 30 goals four times in their respective careers.
Nikolaj Ehlers left the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 shutout win over the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period after he was hit in the leg by a shot.
The Ottawa Senators maintained their hold on the first wild card in the East with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Wyatt Johnston scored for the sixth straight game to help the Dallas Stars win their seventh in a row, 5-1 over the Nashville Predators.
The surging St. Louis Blues won their 11th straight game, a 5-4 overtime decision against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
However, Blues forward Dylan Holloway was ruled out of the game after taking a hit late in the first period.
Watch Robert Thomas score the OT winner for the Blues.
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