Playoffs/No Playoffs

[Twowingcantfly]

It is a tall order to overtake any of the top 4. Can this team do it? If so: Who is the odd man{team}out?

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[FireGerardGallant]

God I really hope so. They basically need to win out for the rest of the season, but the problem is noone in the metro is dropping points at the moment. Currently the worst of the top 4 has been the Islanders and we have the most games against them to play, with 3, but even then they are 8 points ahead of us in the stadings atm with more nonshootout wins. We'd basically need to sweep the remaning series against them, all in regulation, and pick up 2 more points then them for the other remaking games. Possible but I doubt it, they also play the devils and sabres 4 times after playing us so its not ideal.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

It's going to really hurt when the team f***ing around early in the season will cost them a playoff spot when they're playing this well. Or because of Nazarov. Whichever you want to blame.

 

[eco's bones]

The team we’d have to beat out to get there is the Bruins.

I’m not sure if I’d call what happened at the beginning of the year f***ing around though it’s more like a coaching staff figuring out what they had and a lot of players finding their games. No question we blew too many points then that we’re a lot less likely to blow now. If this were an 82 game I’m pretty sure we’d find a way.

But anyway both goalies struggled early. Post covid Mika not producing. We had Jack Johnson playing—the DeAngelo blow up. Chytil getting hurt. Lafreniere not scoring at all for a while and then the Panarin thing and all the above cost us points in the standings. Most all of this now has been rectified one way or the other. Trying to find a coach or a single player to blame this on is not right.

Sometimes something terrible leads to good things. Losing DeAngelo hurt our power play but helped our defense and put more onus on Fox to produce and now there’s talk of him as a Norris candidate. Additionally as much as some don’t like one or both of Smith/Hajek when we settled on our 6 as every game players we stabilized defensively.

We’re a young team and spent much of the first half bringing guys up to speed and now that a lot are we’re seeing more consistency even if maybe it’s too late for this year. There have been a lot of games where the team has been awesome and at times the offense has been explosive and not just against weak teams.


I see a team really on the verge of breaking out and there will be no excuses next year. The coaching staff has brought them to the point of that but a shitty start next year to me will mean time for a change. They have to take the next step next year. Another issue for us will be the cap but of the young right now the only guys that need locking up are Fox and Sheshterkin.

 

[mas0764]

Have to get Kakko and Laf going next year. Or the rebuild will be in trouble.

 

[TheGortonConspiracy]

Remaining schedule:


We need the Bruins to be pretty bad against some already pretty bad teams. And the Rangers have to be virtually unbeatable with a tougher schedule.

Most have NYR odds of making the playoffs at around 10% right now so don’t get too invested. I am hoping for the best

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

if we beat Islanders 3 more times and they keep struggling they could be out. We don't play Penguins so they are most likely in.

Bruins have 2 games at hand, so I think Islanders realistically the only team we can overtake.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

The answer is no, but they're gonna give it a try anyway.

 

[Fitzy]

The answer depends on the head to head games.

NYR pretty much need to pull out all the points out of the head to heads versus either the Bruins or the Islanders to have even around a 25% chance at either.

So it's early to say. Just keep winning games and hope for the best. If we go wild down the stretch and still miss it will be a valuable lesson to a young team that making the playoffs is hard, and early season games are as valuable as late season games, which hopefully will give future Rangers teams more spunk in the early season.

 

[Twowingcantfly]

Going into this season, I really liked this team's chances. Lots went wrong early, contributing to the slow start. The team is young, especially on the back end. Nothing wrong really with the back end, as it seems to have corrected itself. And it will only get better going forward.
This will certainly be a rush for Rangers fans as this season winds down. Best of Luck...

 

[Savant]

No playoffs but the Rangers are probably the fifth best team in the division so this is about right. The old guard at the top isn’t done yet and the top four teams have much better coaching. Not to pile on Quinn, but (in no particular order) Cassidy, Laviolette, Sullivan and Trotz are four of the top ten coaches in the league. Quinn isn’t close to that.

 

[Black Tank]

I don't really care about this year's POs at all. It's an abomination of a season and with the one time divisions, any win definitely gets you a f***ing asterisk next to it. What I want is to close out the trash Devils today and then stomp the Islanders. Follow that with an off season without illness and without travel and training restrictions to get properly ready for Sep 2021. What I want is a packed MSG for the home opener and for the kids to have made that mental and conditioning jump to start contributing on the score sheet every night. That's where the real prize lies for me.

 

[Salzig]

It's obviously a long shot and seems unlikely at this point, but I can't stress enough how glad I am that we're playing meaningful games right to the end. I think a huge part of a player's development is to internalize a high level of competitiveness.

In addition, I really don't like players or teams who just give up. Just remember the 2014/15 Ottawa Senators, who at some point in mid-Februrary pretty much said to themselves something like: 'If we win every game from now on, we'll make the playoffs' and eventually succeeded.

 

[eco's bones]

It’s pretty obvious at this point that Kakko and Lafreniere (and even Jack Hughes for that matter) are not McDavid or Matthews. In the Rangers case though they didn’t have to be—not when you have the likes of Panarin and Zibanejad. Hughes doesn’t have that luxury and though he’s producing more his team isn’t reaping much benefit from it. I’ve had this theory for a while and maybe it’s ridiculous but since the Gretzky Oilers days teams only have so many goals in them. The league overall just checks harder and as the superfluous goons started to disappear bottom lines got better, faster, harder checking players to defend and goaltenders have gotten better as well. Even elite players need to have an overall game and it seems to me that Kakko and Lafreniere are getting lessons in that right off the bat. Someone like Laine can put up points but his overall game might drive him out of the league in the next few years if it doesn’t improve.

 

[Crease]

4 points back of the Bruins, and the Bruins have 2 games in hand and the easier schedule. Tall order. But if you want a laugh, compare the goal differential of the Rangers (+31) to some of the teams who will be making the playoffs. Frustrating stuff.

 

[Taluss]

I’d say it’s too tall of an order. Unfortunate because if Panarin played the whole season it would be a completely different story now

 

[RangersFan1994]

Say the Rangers make the playoffs which I believe the Rangers will make it on he last game of the season. Is anyone concerned that the Rangers don’t have the grit muscle and physicality to handle the playoffs kinda like when the Canes embarrassed us last playoffs. Why can’t the Rangers get these types of players, every team has these types, not talking about the Tanner Glass of the world, guys with grit in the top 9 big concern.

 

[aufheben]

It’s possible, but, just like last year, they’re probably going to miss because of a shortened season.

 

[haveandare]

It’s not impossible but it’s very unlikely imo. Bruins are very solid veteran team. The best odds were to catch up when they were badly injured but that didn’t play out

 

[Machinehead]

To be, or not to be.

I think, therefore I playoffs.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Nope. Next year yes.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

not sure which has a lower chance of happening: making the playoffs or DQ playing the kids. Both gotta be <10%

 

[Savant]

Nope. Next year yes.

It really depends on how the rules change next year. Do we go back to the old format? Do the divisions go back to normal? Going to be hard to make playoffs next season too. Even if Boston goes back to the Atlantic, Carolina comes back to Metro and they are another team that are better talented and better coached than the Rangers. Can say the same about Tampa, Toronto and Florida too

 

[Baby Duck Homme]

I will still be disappointed if we miss the playoffs but it will be easier to absorb knowing that we are a team on the rise and not struggling to keep a window open that is shutting.

 

[Calad]

The islanders will be our best chance. We have 3 games vs them to gain ground. No games left vs pitts and i thinkn 2 each vs wash/boston