The New York Rangers picked up
two huge points in what could be described as a momentum building win. The performance was one of those wins that
could define a season and catapult the team on a hot streak. Nod if you have heard that before this
season. The Rangers have had a series of
those kinds of games this year and instead of building on them they have had a
tendency to fall flat on their face the next time out. They cannot afford for that to happen
now. Instead the momentum from that game
has to be transferred into that hot stretch as the number of games dwindles and
the number of teams sniffing around the playoffs is rising. That must begin tonight against the Islanders
who have been playing very hard and have not been an easy team to beat lately,
so the same effort must be there tonight.
The odds for New York are
significantly better this week as Sports
Club Stats shows their probability of making the playoffs at 85.1% today as opposed to 77.27% last Monday.
According to the probability break down the key mark for the Rangers is
as I have said for some time 90 points.
If they get to 90 points the probability they make the playoffs this
year is 94.8%.
Assuming 90 is the magic number
here is a look at what each team would have to do in order to reach 90 points.
|
Team
|
Current
Points
|
Games
Remaining
|
Record
Necessary to Reach 90 pts
|
|
Buffalo
|
76
|
13
|
7-6
|
|
New
York
|
76
|
12
|
7-5
|
|
Carolina
|
72
|
13
|
9-4
|
|
Atlanta
|
70
|
13
|
10-3
|
|
Toronto
|
70
|
12
|
10-2
|
|
New
Jersey
|
68
|
14
|
11-3
|
The time for scoreboard watching
and hoping for help is over as they control their destiny right now and they
have to do it on the ice. Tonight is the
start of that as they can either increase their odds of a playoff spot to as
high as 91.3% or as low as 72.9% depending on how the action plays out. The biggest determinant of that is the
Rangers own game as a win raises their chances by 4% while a loss drops it by a
whopping 8.7%. Handle your business
Rangers because the numbers are on your side if you play each game to your
capabilities.
