Rangers week ahead includes lots of waiting, watching as playoff scramble continues
The New York Rangers will be doing a whole lot of scoreboard watching this week.
With just two games (one at home, one at Prudential Center) on the schedule following their 1-1-1 trip to California, the Rangers will have plenty of time to keep an eye on how the other four teams battling them for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference are doing.
New York actually left SAP Center holding the second wild-card berth after demolishing the San Jose Sharks 6-1 on Saturday night – atoning, at least partly, for a 5-4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks the night before that saw them blow a two-goal lead in the final six minutes of the third period. But by the time they were back home, the Rangers had been leap-frogged by the Montreal Canadiens, who upended the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Sunday afternoon.
The Canadiens (34-30-9) and Rangers (35-32-7) are even with 77 points, but the Canadiens have played one fewer game. If they end tied in points after 82 games, the Rangers have a 32-25 edge in regulation wins, the first tiebreaker. They also have at least a six-win edge on each of the other three teams still in the hunt.
However, those teams all have games in hand on the Rangers. New York has eight games remaining; the Columbus Blue Jackets (33-30-9, 75 points) have 10,while the New York Islanders (32-31-10) and Detroit Red Wings (34-33-6) each have 74 points with nine games remaining.
Who’s hot
Artemi Panarin had two assists in Anaheim before scoring the first two goals in the win at San Jose. The two-goal night against the Sharks gave him a team-high 33 goals, the second-highest total he’s had in a season – but well behind the 49 he had in 2023-24. He scored 10 goals in the month of March.
Adam Fox’s goal-scoring touch has returned. After scoring five times in his first 62 games, he has four goals in his past four – including one in Anaheim and two against the Sharks. Fox is starting to look more like the player who won the Norris Trophy four years ago.
Who’s not
Chris Kreider’s miserable season continues. He had his fifth assist in 60 games on Saturday and is on track to finish with the fewest points he’s had in a season since becoming a full-time NHL player in 2013-14.
Related: Rangers sign top prospect Gabe Perreault to entry-level contract
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
A lot of time off to watch what’s going on in the “Turtle Derby,” with just two games and no travel (Newark doesn’t count).
Minnesota Wild at Rangers (April 2, 7 p.m. ET; MSGSN)
Longtime Rangers rival Marc-Andre Fleury, who is retiring at the end of the season, makes his final visit to Madison Square Garden, when the Wild play the second of their three-game swing through the Metropolitan area.
The second-winningest goaltender (573 entering this week) in NHL history has more wins against the Rangers than any other team – he’s 34-21-10 with a 2.81 goals-against average and .906 save percentage against New York. Fleury is 12-8-1 with a 2.78 GAA and .903 save percentage this season as the backup behind Filip Gustavsson, who’s 29-17-4 with a 2.51 GAA and .916 save percentage.
Gustavsson’s play has helped the Wild overcome a host of injuries – most notably to forward Kirill Kaprizov, who has 23 goals and 52 points in 37 games, but has played just three times since the Christmas break and not at all since Jan 26.
The Rangers won 3-2 in overtime on Braden Schneider’s game-winner at Xcel Energy Center on March 13. However, defeating the Wild at the Garden might be another matter. Minnesota is just 19-17-2 at home but 22-11-3 on the road entering this week.
Rangers at New Jersey Devils (April 5, 12:30 p.m.; ABC)
The Devils missed the playoffs last season but are pretty much locked into third place in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round playoff date with the second-place Carolina Hurricanes. One reason for that is their success against the Rangers.
New Jersey is 2-0-1 against their big-city rivals this season, including a pair of blowout wins three weeks apart in December – 5-1 at the Garden on Dec. 2 and 5-0 at Prudential Center on Dec. 23. The local rivals haven’t seen each other since the Rangers won 3-2 in overtime at MSG on Jan. 9.
But that was when the Devils had their top Rangers-wrecker, center Jack Hughes, in the lineup. Hughes had five goals and eight points in the three games against the Rangers, but won’t play again this season. Hughes had shoulder surgery in early March after being injured on March 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Jacob Markstrom was in goal for each of the first three games against the Rangers this season and is 11-4-3 lifetime against New York with a 2.24 GAA and .921 save percentage. Igor Shesterkin has fared well against the Devils in his career, with an 11-6-1 mark, 2.79 GAA and .914 save percentage.
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