Rangers week ahead includes biggest 4-game stretch of season
The New York Rangers know they can’t afford any more losses if they hope to get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but even winning all four games on the schedule this week might not be enough to prevent a too-early end to their season.
Splitting two games last week against teams with better records doesn’t sound bad, but when combined with the Montreal Canadiens winning four games in six days, the Rangers (36-33-7) find themselves six points behind Montreal (38-30-9) for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers and Detroit Red Wings (36-33-7) are even in points and have a game in hand on the Canadiens. The New York Islanders (34-32-10) are one point further back and also have a game in hand on Montreal.
Whatever wiggle room the Rangers might have felt they had disappeared over the weekend. The Blueshirts no-showed in their only game, a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils in Newark, while the Canadiens, Red Wings and Islanders each won twice.
The one thing the Rangers have going for them is that if they can get hot enough to tie any of those teams for the last playoff spot, they’re all but assured of making the postseason via tiebreaker. Regulation wins is the first tiebreaker, and the Rangers have 32 – none of the teams they’re battling with has more than 28.
Of course, that means the Rangers need to reel off a string of wins – something they’ve been unable to do. New York hasn’t won three in a row since Nov. 14-19 – the loss Saturday marked the eighth time since then that the Rangers were unable to extend a two-game winning streak to three games; they are 0-4-4 in those games.
Related: ‘Brain-dead’ Rangers shredded by broadcasters in 4-0 loss to Devils
Who’s hot
Artemi Panarin had seven points (three goals, four assists) in three games before being held scoreless against the Devils. He’s the runaway team leader in goals (34) and points (82), and his next goal will be the 300th of his NHL career.
Gabe Perreault didn’t have a point in his first two NHL games after signing with the Rangers following Boston College’s elimination from the NCAA tournament on March 30. But the 19-year-old didn’t look out of place and showed glimpses of why the Rangers took him in the first round (No. 23) of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Who’s not
Kudos to Will Cuylle for winning the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award last week, but that effort isn’t translating into production. Cuylle has just two assists in his past eight games. He’s minus-3 and has just nine total shots on goal in that span.
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
The most important four-game, six-day stretch of the season.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Rangers (April 7, 7 p.m. ET; MSG)
The Lightning make their first visit to Madison Square Garden this season; they’ll be back next week for the season finale on April 17. The Bolts and Blueshirts haven’t seen each other since Dec. 28, when the Lightning sent Igor Shesterkin to the bench after he allowed five goals on 13 shots in a 6-2 blowout loss.
Though the Rangers are battling to get into the playoffs, the Lightning are in a three-way scrap with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division. They begin the week in second place, four points behind Toronto and two in front of the Panthers (who’ve played one more game than the other two teams). The Lightning visit the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
Nikita Kucherov, who’s battling Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche for the NHL scoring lead, has 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 28 career games against the Rangers. That includes a goal and two assists in the Dec. 28 win at Amalie Arena.
This figures to be a battle between two of the top Russian goalies in the NHL. Despite the loss in December, Shesterkin is 6-2-1 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .925 save percentage against the Lightning. The Rangers are one of two teams with a winning record against Andrei Vasilevskiy; he’s 6-8-2 against New York with a 2.86 GAA and .910 save percentage.
Philadelphia Flyers at Rangers (April 9, 7:30 p.m.; TNT/truTV)
The Flyers have looked like a different team since canning coach John Tortorella on March 27. They won their first three games under interim coach Brad Shaw before failing to hold a third-period lead in a 3-2 loss at Montreal on Saturday.
Philadelphia will miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season, matching their longest drought since entering the NHL in 1967. They enter the week last in the Metropolitan Division and tied with the Boston Bruins for last in the Eastern Conference.
Perhaps the brightest light for the Flyers in another gloomy season is Russian rookie Matvei Michkov, who shares the team lead in goals (24) and is second with 58 points. Before going scoreless in Montreal, he had eight points (four goals, four assists) in his previous four games.
Panarin has feasted on the Flyers during his career, with 45 points (14 goals, 31 assists) in 35 games. He’s also plus-16 against them.
Rangers at New York Islanders (April 10, 7 p.m.; MSG/MSGSN)
The Rangers have embarrassed their biggest rival this season, winning all three games while outscoring the Islanders 14-3. That includes 5-1 and 4-0 victories in a nine-day span a few weeks ago.
But the Islanders are coming off back-to-back weekend home wins against the Minnesota Wild (3-1) and Washington Capitals (4-1). Ilya Sorokin entered the history books as the goalie who allowed Alex Ovechkin’s record-setting 895th goal, but that was the only Washington shot that beat him Sunday.
The Islanders have been riddled with injuries. Ranger-killer Mathew Barzal hasn’t played since Feb. 1 because of a broken kneecap, and ex-Rangers forward Anthony Duclair missed two months because of injury, didn’t play well after his return and took a personal leave last week after he was called out by coach Patrick Roy for his poor play in a 4-1 loss to the Lightning on April 1.
Shesterkin struggled against the Isles early in his career but is 3-0-0 against them this season and 6-1-0 since the start of 2023-24.
Rangers at Carolina Hurricanes (April 12, 3 p.m.; ABC)
The Hurricanes have gotten a measure of revenge for their second-round playoff loss to the Rangers last spring by winning all three meetings this season, outscoring New York 11-4.
The bad news for the Rangers is that this game is at Lenovo Center, where the Hurricanes have an NHL-best 30 wins (30-8-1). Though Carolina won both visits to the Garden this season, it enters the week 16-18-3 away from home – a big reason why the Hurricanes are all but locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round series against the Devils.
Chris Kreider’s third-period hat trick in Game 6 last May sent the Hurricanes home for the summer. He’s done OK against them in the regular season as well with 17 goals in 40 regular-season games.
More About:New York Rangers News