The quest for 92 points

March 21, 2014, by
Photo: NJ Star-Ledger

Photo: NJ Star-Ledger

The playoffs are right around the corner, and the Rangers are in the thick of things, competing for not just a playoff spot, but competing to avoid the two wild card spots and dates with either the Penguins or Bruins. Over the past few seasons, 92 points has been the “guaranteed” position. Hit 92 points, and you get to the playoffs. Fall below, and you need help. That’s where the Rangers need to get to.

With 78 points and 12 games remaining, the Rangers would need 14 of the possible 24 points to hit that mark. Considering the schedule, with just four games against playoff teams remaining, they should be able to hit that mark. After all, that requires a measly 5-3-4 record. Certainly doable considering their toughest opponents will be Montreal, Columbus, and Philly: Three teams that I believe are no better –if not worse– than the Rangers.

The fact that 92 points is pretty much guaranteeing the Rangers a playoff spot –(90%-92%) based on the info available at SportsClubStats— means that the Rangers are pretty much jockeying for positioning at the moment. They don’t want to face the Bruins –winners of ten in a row– or the Penguins in the first round. That means 95 points is probably the goal here.

To get to 95 points, the Rangers would need to finish up 8-3-1 or 7-2-3, which again is very doable based on the schedule. They can certainly help themselves a lot with wins over Columbus tonight and Philly on Wednesday, the only two matchups against Metro playoff teams left. They don’t need to surpass Philly for second place, as the only thing that changes would be home-ice advantage (2 plays 3 in the first round).

There has been a lot of panic in the fan base, especially after this recent string of sub-par play from the Rangers. People see Washington one point back and panic, but the Rangers have a game in hand and the first tiebreaker. The Caps would need to pass the Rangers in points. Doable, but nothing to cause a panic at the moment. A win tonight moves the Rangers ahead of Toronto as well (80 points, but the Rangers have the ROW tiebreaker).

The Rangers simply need to get to 92 points to be assured a playoff spot. Getting to 95 points and avoiding the Pens/Bruins would be nice, but the Rangers are fully capable of competing with the Pens in a seven game series. There’s no need to panic, but getting points and avoiding those teams would be nice.

Categories : Musings


  1. Jeaner says:

    You forgot about the Avalanche. Easily the toughest team remaining on the schedule

  2. TxRanger says:

    What do you think the boys’ odds of getting 102 points is?

    • Chris F says:


      They would need 24 of 24 remaining possible points, winning all 12 games.

      • TxRanger says:

        you have no faith in the boys? let’s get 13 in a row boys!

        • TxRanger says:

          but seriously, this team needs to get it together. i think there is a real chance teams like philly and columbus beat us and that they miss the playoffs. the fact that this article gives a lot of attention to how we must avoid the pens and bruins at all costs worries me. sounds like a lot of ppl dont believe this team has what it takes at all.

  3. ranger7 says:

    They also play the Dbbies this Saturday,Plus a long rap game rWest Coast trip Edm ,Calg , Vanc , Colo . Never easy Thats 3 tight ,what happened rrap games remember the last Canes game , easy win right what happened there

  4. pavel_burrito says:

    I worry about the “easy” teams. This team tends to not show up for those games.

  5. Bort says:

    I would actually prefer pens or bruins in the first. We’re probably going to need to beat one of them down the line anyway, and it would take away some of the risk of making a deep push, losing anyway, and giving up that contingent 1st round pick we gave up for MSL for naught.