You would think it would be a mathematical impossibility for the Rangers to clinch a spot in the playoffs by defeating the Flyers on the Orange’s first trip of the season to Madison Square Garden, but this is the National Hockey League and so you would be wrong.
It gets even crazier upon the realization that the Blueshirts might have been able to nail down their third straight playoff appearance before the Penguins even made it to MSG this year. There is a chance that by the time the Pens make it to New York on April 1 for their only tilt on Broadway, they will have already been eliminated from postseason contention.
The Rangers have been in a division with the Flyers since 1974-75 and with the Penguins since 1981-82 and neither one of the Pennsylvania clubs made it to Penn Station for the first 5 ¹/₂ months of the season.
Now try to tell me again that the reason the league doesn’t break down into 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5 conference-based first-round matchups is to foster divisional rivalries and I will tell you that is about the most idiotic explanation you could attempt to offer.
Ninth Avenue does not believe in rivalries.
Travis Sanheim looks to keep the puck away from the Rangers’ Matt Rempe. Getty ImagesThe schedule matrix is hopelessly broken. The Islanders were the designated home team for the Stadium Series match in New Jersey, so the Rangers haven’t even been to UBS this season. Indeed, the Blueshirts have not played a regular season game on the Island since Oct. 22, 2022.
Holy Dave Fortier!
It is the height of absurdity that clubs play only 26 games within their respective divisions — 32 percent of the schedule — while playing 32 games against teams in the other conference. The Rangers play the Penguins three times this season just as they played three times against the Islanders last year.
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins have yet to visit MSG this season. NHLI via Getty ImagesThat’s not all on the NHL office, either, because the NHLPA made it crystal long ago that players want to visit each league city every season. Somehow, I don’t think these guys had Winnipeg in mind, but nevertheless this is the schedule matrix adopted around a decade ago by the parties.
In addition, the schedule acts in concert with the loser point to conspire against heated playoff races. The lack of head-to-head divisional confrontations combined with the elimination of a guaranteed four-point game reduces drama down the stretch. The loser point creates the illusion of tight races that do not quite reflect reality.
There was some drama attached to this Tuesday night confrontation and that doesn’t include the interactions over the last week or so between Flyers captain Sean Couturier and coach John Tortorella. Making Couturier a healthy scratch for consecutive games was notice enough, but of course Tortorella intentionally made it into a whole other thing by refusing to address the decision.
Tortorella is a leading contender for the Adams Trophy as coach of the year by having guided Philadelphia into playoff contention a year or perhaps three ahead of the club’s estimated time of arrival. The Flyers entered this one in third place in the Metro, two points ahead of the fourth-place Caps while Washington holds two games in hand.
Should they be overtaken by the Caps, the Flyers also lead the Red Wings by three points for the final wild-card spot in the East with Detroit having 11 games to play as opposed to Philadelphia’s 10. The Flyers do not face the Red Wings the rest of the way though they do finish the season at home against the Caps … in their third meeting.
The Rangers entered this one coming off impressive victories over top-three opponents Boston and Florida that extended their latest spree to 18-4-1 dating back to Jan. 27 that essentially mirrors the club’s 18-4-3 getaway. That has given head coach Peter Laviolette a long runway on which to experiment with personnel and combinations even as the Blueshirts are in twin battles for home ice with Boston (in the East) and Carolina (in the Metro and East).
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) defends the net as Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Sean Walker (26) chases the puck. Kyle Ross-USA TODAY SportsIndeed, the Blueshirts held first overall in the NHL by percentage points over Vancouver, both teams with 98 points but with New York having 11 games to go as opposed to the Canucks’ 10 when play began. The Rangers were also one point ahead of the ’Canes with a game in hand for the Metro Division lead while also a point ahead of the Panthers in the East.
The Rangers have qualified for the playoffs 14 times over the 19-year history of the hard cap, missing in 2010, 2018, 2019 and 2021. A victory over the Flyers that would clinch a spot in Game 72 would equal the club’s earliest clinching over that span first achieved in 2011-12 by the Black-and-Blueshirts coached by … Tortorella.
