LOS ANGELES — Last year’s Capitals established the Eastern Conference’s 82-game low-bar standard since 2005-06, when the guaranteed victory and losers’ point were introduced to the NHL, by qualifying for the final playoff spot with 91 points
But guess what? The bar might even be lower this season. And that is why, despite the Rangers’ ongoing penchant for self-sabotage, they still believe-it-or-not have a shot at the final wild card.
There is still a chance they are going to reach into your pockets for playoff tickets.
Well, probably not all that much of a chance.
The Blueshirts’ 3-1 empty-net abetted defeat to the Kings on Tuesday left them a point behind the second wild card Canadiens, who were hammered 6-1 in St. Louis.
Montreal, which has 12 games to play to the Rangers’ 10, is operating at a .536 percentage that would equate to a full-season 88 points.
The Islanders, tied in points with the Blueshirts but also with 12 games to go, are playing at a .529 percentage that would equate to a full-season 87 points.
So if the target now is 89 points, the Blueshirts, resting at 74 points after going 1-4 in their past five and 3-6-2 in their past 11 would need 15 points over their final 10 contests, something like 7-2-1.
They did go 7-0-3 in January, correct?
The Blueshirts went with the top-nine lines with which they ended Saturday’s victory over Canucks, with J.T. Miller between Alexis Lafrenière and Jonny Brodzinski; Vincent Trocheck between Artemi Panarin and Brennan Othmann; and Mika Zibanejad between Chris Kreider and Will Cuylle.
But it did not ignite any immediate type of offense.
The Rangers turned over the puck way too often but seemed to be reasonably responsible on defense despite not having meaningful possession after the first or second shift. As has been their recent wont, the Blueshirts went a large swatch without a shot, in fact finishing the scoreless first period with a sum of two, neither threatening.
Indeed, the two shots were from the outside, one from the right wall off Will Borgen’s stick at 2:24 and the next a Othmann try from 55 feet at 3:46. So that meant the Rangers went the final 16:14 without throwing one on Darcy Kuemper.
Saturday, the Rangers went the final 14:44 of the first period without a shot on Vancouver in finishing with the sum of one.
This one ended with L.A. up 8-2 on shots and 24-7 in overall attempts with the Kings holding a 12-1 edge in scoring chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.
Igor Shesterkin, tying his career high with his eighth consecutive start, was pristine and in complete command of his crease, with admirable rebound control against a team that was coming off consecutive 7-2 victories at home over the Hurricanes and Bruins on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
But the Blueshirts opened the second period on the attack, indeed doubling their shot total when Panarin put a pair on net within the opening two minutes. And indeed, they took the lead on Miller’s score from in front at 2:10 on a goal that needed review after a stop of play 30 seconds later.
The video review provided evidence that Miller’s swipe from the left doorstep ricocheted off defenseman Brandt Clarke before bouncing just over the goal line off Kuemper’s pad.
But by the time the period had ended, the Kings were up 2-1 on a pair of power play goals after the Blueshirts had squandered their pair of man-advantages that stretched New York’s futility streak to 0-for-12 and 1-for-27.
Kevin Fiala tied it at 9:42 off a back door feed through Braden Schneider before Philip Danault gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at 16:24 when he buried a rebound off Trevor Moore’s right wing drive after Shesterkin had made a pair of fancy stops.
The arithmetic on the scoreboard brokers no interpretation. There’s a wiggle room, though, with the overall scenario.
If the Rangers have done the math, they’ve done it in their heads and not out loud in a group meeting, according to Kreider, who said that the team has not gathered to target the number of points they’d need to accumulate to qualify.
That’s likely the wise way to go.
“We’re obviously aware of where we are in this situation and obviously guys check the standings,” No. 20 said. “But I have not done the math because I am not good at math.
“I think it’s more useful to just look at the next game and focus our attention on that.”
The Rangers were here for a hockey game against the Kings, not a math test. On this night, they needed two points, not 15.
The problem is, they did not even get one.
