The New York Rangers haven’t clinched a playoff spot just yet but that can all end on Monday night.
Even with having another off-day Monday night, the Rangers can clinch a playoff berth for the second straight year if the Buffalo Sabres lost to the Montreal Canadiens in any fashion and the Florida Panthers lose to the Ottawa Senators in regulation.
According to Playoffstatus.com, the Rangers’ magic number to clinching a playoff berth, and the third seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If either situation were to not happen, New York could still clinch a playoff berth with a win on Tuesday night against Columbus.
Luckily for the Rangers, their first-round opponent, while not official, is very close to being confirmed. The New Jersey Devils have the largest odds of being the Rangers’ first-round opponent in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at 87%. The next closest is the Carolina Hurricanes at just 11%. New York has gone 1-2 against their Metro division rivals with one more matchup upcoming to end the season.
New York has won six of their last seven contests and eight of their last 10. If they were to win two of their remaining nine games, it would give them 100 points and be the third time in franchise history the team has recorded back-to-back 100-point seasons. The latest of which came through the 2014-2017 seasons.
The Blueshirts are back on the ice Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets and play four games this upcoming week.
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