The New York Rangers and Calgary Flames share related level totals of their bids to safe a wild-card playoff spot.
The distinction is that the Flames are competing with fewer opponents whereas the Rangers are coping with a massively crowded discipline heading into the groups’ Tuesday contest in New York.
The Rangers (33-29-6, 72 factors) have 14 video games remaining to keep away from lacking the postseason one 12 months after successful the Presidents’ Trophy. New York presently holds the second Japanese Convention wild-card spot, however it’s a precarious lead with 5 different groups inside 4 factors and yet one more membership six factors again.
New York is 5 factors behind the Ottawa Senators, who’ve gained separation within the wild-card race by successful six straight video games. The Rangers are one level forward of the Montreal Canadiens, who’ve two video games in hand on New York.
New York endured a 4-15-0 slide from Nov. 21-Dec. 30 after which went 8-1-3 from Jan. 2-23. Since then, the Rangers are 9-9-2 over their previous 20 on account of their incapacity to win greater than two video games in a row.
The most recent occasion was a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday after the Rangers ended a three-game highway journey with a 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets an evening earlier. New York’s protection continued to play effectively, a continuing since a 7-3 house loss to Columbus on March 9, however the Rangers may solely muster a purpose by Will Cuylle within the second interval vs. Edmonton.
“I assumed our power was good regardless of the back-to-back, however we’d like wins presently of 12 months, particularly, so there isn’t any ethical victories however we simply acquired to show the web page and prepare for the following one,” Cuylle mentioned.
New York’s energy play was scoreless on three possibilities even with defenseman Adam Fox enjoying his second sport following an eight-game absence attributable to an upper-body harm. The Rangers are 1-for-25 on the person benefit over their previous eight video games and 4-for-41 of their previous 16 video games since scoring twice in opposition to the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 2.
Calgary (30-25-11, 71 factors) has 16 video games left and sits two factors behind the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues, who’re tied for the Western Convention’s second and last wild-card place. The Flames additionally share the identical level complete as Utah Hockey Membership however are six factors away from the following closest group, the Anaheim Geese.
The Flames are 6-9-4 since successful three straight from Jan. 18-25, a stretch that gave them a three-point lead over Vancouver for the second wild card.
Calgary started a four-game journey with a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. The Flames allowed three power-play objectives, all within the second interval, two of them by Auston Matthews. It was the twelfth time this season that Calgary yielded at the least 5 objectives they usually third time the group surrendered three power-play tallies.
The Flames rank twenty seventh within the NHL on the penalty kill at 73.9 %.
“These are momentum-builders for us, too,” Calgary’s MacKenzie Weeger mentioned of the Maple Leafs’ power-play tallies. “We did not step as much as that problem there, and that is type of the place it acquired away from us.”
In the meantime, the Flames went 0-for-4 on the ability play at Toronto, leaving them 5-for-33 (15.2 %) with the person benefit over the previous 12 video games.
Calgary is 7-2-1 within the earlier 10 conferences with New York. The Flames peppered the Rangers with 49 pictures on purpose in a 3-2 house win on Nov. 21.
–Subject Stage Media
