First, in looking at the playoff picture, nothing changed for the Rangers. They are still eight points behind the idle Columbus Blue Jackets. Pittsburgh won after their big trade with Florida tightening the race in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders salvaged a point with their shootout loss to the Lightning. The Rangers can only hope for losses by the teams currently in the playoff picture. Tonight, that didn’t happen.
The Lottery Look
The lottery race got a little tighter as there were big wins for some of the teams below the Rangers in the standings. The Rangers remain 12th from the bottom with 51 points, but wins by Chicago and Detroit made the race to the bottom a little closer.