Let’s leave the negativity aside for a night. Let’s just ignore, however briefly, how a 1-1-1 trip has somehow produced a move up the standings to put the New York Rangers into the final wild-card spot in the East for a night. They did their job against the San Jose Sharks, putting down the NHL’s worst team in succinct fashion Saturday night.
The Rangers shook off the hideous loss at the Anaheim Ducks a night earlier to grab a 2-0 lead on a pair of Artemi Panarin goals in the first and head to the finish line with a 6-1 win. Jonathan Quick came within 2:15 of his fourth shutout in 18 starts and grabbed win No. 403, tying him with Grant Fuhr for 13th all time.
Advertisement I can’t make it make sense anymore, so let’s just accept the reality: The Rangers are in the playoffs for now, 2 points up on the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets, who each have two games in hand. However, it’s really 3 points since the Rangers are lapping the field in regulation wins, with 32 to the 25 and 24 of Montreal and Columbus. No one has wanted to win games and put a hold on that eighth playoff spot, so the Rangers have it now and, for the four teams chasing, are the worst team to have it due to that lock on the first tiebreaker.
So, let’s get to the positive takeaways, shall we? Panarin, Fox keep producing Panarin’s impact this season has been, like everyone else on the team, somewhat more muted than in previous seasons. But it’s still the biggest impact of anyone out.
