All hope is not lost for the New York Rangers. If the Islanders, Hurricanes and Blue Jackets keep winning, it is out of their hands. If those teams lose, the Rangers can catch them.
One thing we cannot do is look at their schedules and predict which games they will win and lose. Teams are winning games they should lose and losing games they should win. They are winning on the road and losing at home. Nothing is predictable except that there will be wins and losses.
The good news is the Rangers have the advantage in the tiebreaker over all of their rivals.