Look. The schedule ahead is brutal.
Still four games remaining against the Flyers, the first of which comes Sunday at the Garden in maybe the first match this year that’s deserving of some hype. Still four more against the Islanders, with the first of those coming Tuesday at the Coliseum. Three more against the Devils. Three yet to play against the Senators. And there’s an 11-day, six-game, three-time zone trip that begins the middle of next month.
Still, though, that the schedule is even a topic of conversation represents a major victory for the Rangers, who lately have been stringing together one after another. And, off the strength of a three-game winning streak that enlarges to 5-2-1 beginning on New Year’s Eve, the Blue Collars have given themselves the chance to be a factor in the playoff race.
“Wins. We need wins and nothing less,” Eric Lindros, leader, said. “We put ourselves in the position where we can’t afford another slide. We can’t afford a slump. It’s on us. That’s OK, though. We’re going to keep working on it.”
The East has evolved into a three-tier conference. Ottawa, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Toronto at the top, Buffalo and Atlanta at the bottom, everybody else in the middle. Because the Southeast champ automatically qualifies for the playoffs – let’s prematurely assign that status to Washington, unbeaten in regulation in its last 14 – that leaves eight teams competing for the final three tournament berths.
Eight into three … and the Rangers not only no longer are eighth in the pack, they no longer need absurd arithmetic to make their quest realistic.
The teams in the East’s middle just aren’t that good. They’re all flawed, every one of them: the Islanders, Bruins, Penguins, Canadiens, Lightning, Panthers, Hurricanes – and Rangers. And of all those teams, our heroes are the only ones who stand to add a great goal-scorer (Pavel Bure) and defenseman (Brian Leetch) to the lineup within the next few weeks.
Again. There’s no point in getting carried away. The Rangers are, after all, still three games under .500. But beginning with that 2-0 win in Carolina on Dec. 31, the Rangers have the best record among the East’s middle class.
And as such, the rest of the season means something. That’s more than most of us imagined two weeks ago.