Rangers vs. Islanders

7:00pm, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Rangers Record: 33-32-10

Islanders Record: 31-34-10

Well here we are at another fork in the road for the good old Blueshirts. Win tonight and they could find themselves two-points behind the Bruins but even more interesting they would find themselves four-points from the Flyers.

For me Boston has seemed to elevate their game and will probably pass the reeling Flyers down the final stretch. However if Philadelphia can win just a few of those games it would force the Rangers to win-out the season; yikes!

So while one road leads to tiny window into the playoffs the other leads to a rather appealing draft position and some might argue an organizational “shake-up”. So with a few losses in these last seven games it is very possible Carolina, The Islanders, Florida, and Tampa Bay could conceivably catch the Rangers. Giving the Rangers a shot at getting into the draft lottery; a top-five prospect would sure be nice.

The on problem with the journey to a top pick is Henrik Lundqvist. Granted he had a rough game on Saturday, but look for him to shut the Islanders down tonight as his competitive nature will take hold of this game.

We will also not see they same Islander team as last week; a team that forgot they had to play a game that night. Yet they bounced back with two wins against Calgary and Columbus and you can guaranty they will look for some redemption on the Island tonight.