A Very Scary Situation.

In about 3 Hours, The Rangers will be playing one of the most important games of the season. Last Night, Philadelphia secured a win in Overtime, which ties them with us. If we lose this game today, they will have a very good chance of leapfrogging over us and pushing us out.

We have to win this game, in regulation. Let me say that again. We have to win this game, in regulation.

The odds are stacked against us. We’re playing in Pittsburgh, which means that the not only do we not have our home ice and fans, but considering that on the East Coast, the Rangers are somewhat hated by the league (we have the resources to buy big name players, so it’s essentially believed that we “buy” our way into getting into the Playoffs) expect to see our players get a lot of time in the penalty box for the strangest of calls. Add to this the coverage on NBC and that they once again get to showcase Sidney Crosby, it would all make sense if it played out into their favor.

Then again, it’s up to the Blueshirts to just get it done. Play a crisp penalty free game. Drive to the net and pepper it with shots. Don’t waste time on the power play but have your defensemen ready to drop back down to the defensive zone if there’s a bad turnover. Don’t let Malik play! ☺

Here’s the setup:

We are in 6th place.

A win in regulation gives us 93 points and vaults us into 5th Place, over Ottawa, who lost yesterday. While this would tie us with the Devils by points, they have more wins than we do right now. They keep 4th, we hold fifth.

An Overtime win gives the same result, save that we would also be giving Pittsburgh a point, pushing them further away from us.

An Overtime Loss keeps us where we currently are gives the Flyers, Bruins a chance to leapfrog over us, pushing us down to 7th or even 8th place.

Now, Washington isn’t a factor in this just yet. If the Capitals manage to win their next two games in regulation, they will advance to the head of their Division. This will also automatically have them switch places with the Carolina Hurricanes, and taking the 3rd place spot. That would be a fantastic stroke of luck for them. Perhaps not for us.

On the West, the Sharks (the only team I pay attention to out there) are already in, so there’s little to do but to wait for the Playoffs to start for them.

Either way, we gotta get this win! Let’s go Rangers!!!!