New York Rangers Daily: Finding the bright side; Oilers lose pair of superstars to injury
Listening to the Killers at the gym and “Mr. Brightside” popped up on the playlist. Yeah, I know there’s heavy sarcasm in that song, but the title did provide fodder for a reverse look at the New York Rangers and their playoff hopes with 12 games remaining in the regular season.
What exactly is the bright side for the Rangers, who’ve lost three in a row, cannot win on home ice and are now 10th in the Eastern Conference?
Well, as stated in a previous column this week, the Rangers are simply one of a number of mediocre teams battling for that final playoff spot — or two — in the East. No one is pulling away from anybody else here. Even the Ottawa Senators have now lost two in a row, kicked in the teeth by the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Of course, they’re in better shape than the others, sitting in the first wild card, three points up on the Montreal Canadiens and at least five points on everyone else.
The Rangers (33-31-6) aren’t very good, but they’re not terrible enough to completely fall out of this thing. Defeat the beatable Vancouver Canucks at home Saturday, take two of three on the California trip (they’ll play the tanking San Jose Sharks and improving Anaheim Ducks) and, boom. the Rangers are in a good spot.
The Islanders are surging, now with three wins in a row. But, really, that’s the team that scares you, even though they’re percentage points ahead of the Rangers now? The Canadiens? The Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings, each of whom is crumbling down the stretch?
The worst thing for the Rangers — outside of their shoddy defense and no-show performance against the Calgary Flames this week — is that they’ve played more games than each of their competitors. So, they easily could lose ground if one or more of these mediocre teams can actually string together some wins.
So, you’re saying there’s a chance?
Yes, there’s a chance still to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a fourth straight season. That’s the bright side. Even if reality appears to dictate otherwise.
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New York Rangers news
Here are our three Rangers takeaways from the 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs, including how they paid large price for small things.
Breaking down the winners and losers from the Rangers’ latest defeat. Guess where K’Andre Miller landed on the list …
I it too late already for the Rangers to change their mindset?
How about top Rangers prospects Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue of Boston College getting upset by fellow future Blueshirt Jackson Dorrington and Northeastern in the Hockey East tournament?
Going by the chants heard at MSG Thursday night, there’s a large segment of fans that agree with Boomer Esiason’s take that Peter Laviolette should be fired as Rangers coach.
NHL news and rumors
Oh boy. Could things get any worse for the Edmonton Oilers in one 24-hour span? Already playing without their leading scorer Leon Draisaitl, who’s got a lower-body injury, the Oilers lost superstar Connor McDavid, also with a lower-body injury, after a second period collision with Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey. And then goalie Stuart Skinner left the game in the third period with an unspecified injury.
The Oilers, though, did battle despite everything going against them, before losing 4-3 in overtime to the Jets.
The Rangers next opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, forced overtime on a Brock Boeser goal with under four seconds remaining in regulation before losing to the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in overtime.
Frank Seravalli reports that the Islanders are dipping into the college free-agent ranks to sign big center Gleb Veremyev from Colorado College, where he was a teammate of Noah Laba, a Rangers draft pick who just signed his entry-level contract this week.
The Maple Leafs signed NCAA free-agent defenseman John Prokop of Union College.
Might the NHL consider expanding to Houston? Reportedly, League officials met with billionaire Dan Friedkin, who’s interested in bringing an expansion team to Houston.
Rasmus Ristolainen is week to week with an upper-body injury for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Alex Ovechkin scored the 888th goal of his NHL career in the Washington Capitals’ 3-2 win against the Flyers. The Great 8 is now seven goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky (894) for most in NHL history.
The Ottawa Senators lost their second straight game, smoked by the Colorado Avalanche 5-1.
Worst-case scenario for the Rangers, when the Montreal Canadiens forced overtime and then lost to the Islanders 4-3 on Bo Horvat’s winner. So, the Islanders picked up two points and the Canadiens got one in the standings on a night the Rangers collected zero.
The Carolina Hurricanes keep rolling. They won their eighth straight game, 3-1 over the San Jose Sharks.
Pavel Dorofeyev had a hat trick to lead the Vegas Golden Knights past the Boston Bruins. 5-1.
It’s not just the Rangers. The Calgary Flames did it to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, too, rallying for a 5-3 road victory.
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