1. The 15-3-2 record’s significance is that, barring a stunning reversal of fortune, the Rangers should not have to sweat out a playoff race down the stretch.
Having accumulated 32 points entering Monday’s match at the Garden against the Predators, the Blueshirts would need 66 points over their final 62 games to equal Pittsburgh’s 98-point total as last year’s Eastern eighth-place qualifier.
But anyone operating with a dose of reality who has watched the Rangers should understand the record seems like an optical illusion.