Last night, the Islanders took care of business against the Flyers, the Panthers shut out the Bruins, and the Thrashers couldn’t get it done against the Caps. Those are three teams that are all fighting for the playoffs, and none were able to get it done. The Rangers now sit just four points back of both the Flyers and the Bruins, with a game in hand against both. They also sit just two points back of Atlanta, with two games in hand there. Although the Thrashers are still in ninth place, the Rangers need them to lose as well.

Tonight, the Rangers start a back to back trip in Florida against the Lightning and the Panthers, both below the Rangers in the standings. Suffice it to say, coming away without a point in any of these games would be the nail in the coffin to the Rangers. They need at least three points in this trip to remain in contention. It would leave them within striking distance of the Flyers, whom they have a much publicized home and home against to wrap up the season. For those games to mean something, the Rangers need to take care of business this weekend.

Of course, the Rangers are going to need a lot of help to get to that point as well. They will need a struggling Montreal team to beat the Flyers in regulation tonight. That game means more in the sense that the Canadiens would be preventing Philly from getting points, which is also very crucial. Looking ahead to Saturday, the surging Maple Leafs will need to beat those pesky Bruins to give the Rangers even more playoffs hope.

The Rangers have been surging since that critically damaging loss to the Bruins (which by the way, a win there would have the Rangers in the 8 seed of the playoff race, holding the tiebreaker on both Atlanta and Boston). They have taken seven out of a possible eight points in their past four games, including impressive wins over the Devils and Islanders. According to Sports Club Stats, the Rangers can finish at 87 points and have an 80% chance of making the playoffs. That means finishing at 4-1-1 (80% chance of postseason play) or 3-0-3 (75% chance of postseason play). They can really just make it easy on themselves and bring a solid 60 minute effort for the remaining six games and just winning out. But these are the Rangers, we are in for one bumpy ride. Have your defibrillators ready.

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