If the Rangers learned anything at all from their four-game sweep over the hapless Devils, it was that they simply have no wiggle room if they are to stay in the playoff race. Four straight wins gained them no ground on the fourth-place Boston Bruins; all it did was allow them to keep pace.
So Tuesday night’s game at Nassau Coliseum against the Islanders was virtually a must-win for the Rangers.
But when Jacob Trouba was forced to leave the game with 10:45 remaining in the first period, after absorbing a heavy hit into the boards from the Islanders’ Matt Martin, things fell apart for the Rangers.