Rangers-Hurricanes battle for first tied with 6 games left
Rangers center Andrew Copp controls the puck against Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo during the second period at Madison Square Garden on April 12. Credit: Brad Penner
While Rangers fans await word on the status of forward Kaapo Kakko, who left Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Detroit after suffering what appeared to be a right knee injury following an awkward fall in the first period, the regular season enters its final two weeks with first place in the Metropolitan Division very much in play for the Blueshirts.
When the Carolina Hurricanes lost, 7-4, to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, it left the Rangers (49-21-6) and Hurricanes (48-20-8) in a tie for the division lead with six games remaining.
The Hurricanes own the first tiebreaker — regulation wins (42-41) — but the teams have one game remaining against each other on April 26 at Madison Square Garden. That game could decide who finishes first in the division.
And while the Rangers have to worry about the health of Kakko, the Hurricanes have their own problems.
Their No. 1 goaltender, Frederik Andersen, left Saturday’s game in the third period with an apparent leg injury that required an MRI, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. Jordan Staal also left the game in the third after taking a heavy hit from Colorado defenseman Cale Makar.
The Rangers have said all along that while they are trying to win every game and finish as high as they can in the standings, their top priority in the remainder of the regular season is to get themselves prepared for the playoffs.
That includes getting players performing at the top of their games and making sure everyone gets the necessary rest down the stretch to be in optimal condition for Game 1 of the playoffs.
Presumably, Carolina will have a similar goal of prioritizing being ready for the playoffs over winning the division, so Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour and Rangers coach Gerard Gallant will be trying to balance resting their top players with getting them the playing time they need in the final two weeks to stay sharp.
Gallant has made the point several times that he won’t worry about positioning in the standings as far as trying to create a favorable matchup in the first round. Every team that makes the playoffs will be a good team, he has said, so whichever team the Rangers face in the first round will be a challenge.
The way the NHL playoffs are structured, the two division winners in each conference will face the two wild-card teams, with the division winner with the better record facing the wild-card team with the worse record. The Nos. 2 and 3 teams in each division will face each other.
At the moment, the Rangers are second in the Metropolitan Division and the Pittsburgh Penguins are third. But the Washington Capitals, who are fourth in the division, are three points behind the Penguins and have two games in hand. They could catch the Penguins for third and end up as the Rangers’ first-round opponent if the Blueshirts finish second.
The Rangers’ magic number to clinch second place is four points, meaning any combination of points gained by the Rangers or points lost by Washington adding up to four.
If the Rangers finish first, they likely won’t catch the Florida Panthers (114 points) for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, so that means they would play the wild-card team with the better record.
Boston (97 points), the top wild-card team, trails two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay by three points for third place in the Atlantic Division.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
