With a five-point lead and four games in hand on the second-place Islanders as well as a seven-point lead and two games in hand on the banged up Penguins, it’s looking more and more likely that the Rangers will win the Metro Division. If the Blueshirts do manage to hang on to their lead, they could face one of four Atlantic Division teams: Detroit, Boston, Ottawa or Florida. The Bruins currently hold wild card position, trailing the third-place Red Wings by four points and leading the Senators by the same number. However, with a dozen games to go and Boston streaking, it’s still possible the Bruins will overtake the Wings – just as it’s possible The Hamburglar, Andrew Hammond, will steer the rallying Sens into the postseason.

So with the Blueshirts comfortably in playoff position, let’s (gasp) take a look ahead at these potential first-round foes.

Detroit – The Wings’ performance in their 2-1 OT victory against New York on March 4 proved that this Detroit club is a force to be reckoned with. Just when it seemed the club’s incredibly long run of success was nearing an end following the apparent decline of Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings have roared to their best season in three years. Zetterberg and Datsyuk look years younger, and the emergence of young stars in the making Danny DeKeyser, Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist have provided Detroit new life. Mike Babcock’s squads are always well coached and this year’s is no different. Detroit’s No. 1 ranked power play is lethal, and as always, the Wings will do everything legally possible to impede opponents. #Fancystats shine brightly on Detroit – the Red Wings have been among the league leaders in CF% and FF% all year.

Boston – The Bruins were having a season much like Detroit a year ago, and it was beginning to seem like age had finally caught up with the B’s. However, the Bruins have rallied in the second half and have been winning so consistently that they’ve made the wild card theirs to lose. Boston doesn’t have the depth it’s had in recent years, but the Bruins have found some young help in guys like David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner. Boston still struggles to handle speed, so the Rangers could have a huge advantage in that regard. However, facing Tuukka Rask is never appealing. After an especially rough December, Rask has been lights out in 2015 and his improved play along with a renewed commitment to team defense are to credit for Boston’s turnaround.

Ottawa – The Senators also started the year slowly but have picked up momentum thanks to the quick development of some youngsters and their Cinderella story in goal. The added goal scoring from Mike Hoffman,and Mark Stone has provided a welcome shot in the arm for Ottawa, which now has six players with at least 17 goals (also Erik Karlsson, Bobby Ryan, Mika Zibanejad and Kyle Turris). But it has been the incredible goaltending the Senators have received from Hammond (10-0-1) that has rocketed the team up the standings. Ottawa measures out as a very middle of the road team, which of course makes sense for a current No. 9 seed, but the Senators have really picked up the pace and their possession numbers since the start of 2015 are improved.

Florida – It’s doubtful the Rangers would have been too worried about a playoff date with the Panthers – that is, until Florida put up 98 shot attempts on the Blueshirts during Sunday evening’s tilt. Trade deadline acquisition Jaromir Jagr has quickly settled in as a leader of the team and is really pushing the young Panthers forwards. Florida boasts some big boys up front – Nick Bjugstad and Sasha Barkov to go with 2011 No. 3 pick Jonathan Huberdeau. And of course there’s the Rookie of the Year, Aaron Ekblad, who has had an absolutely incredible freshman season. The Panthers are being held together in goal with Scotch tape and matchsticks (how much longer until Dan Ellis implodes?) but Roberto Luongo should be back soon. Florida’s key players are very inexperienced, but they’re still a handful. The Panthers don’t measure well, but they’re a solid team when they’re at their best, as the Blueshirts saw on Sunday.

Coming next week: potential Metro Division playoff opponents

Share: 

More About: