The NHL Playoffs are just days away and after struggling for most of the season the New York Rangers are one of the last teams in the league to clinch a postseason berth, as they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night to make it into the playoffs for the third straight season.
Last year the Rangers were the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and ended up playing multiple seven-game series during the postseason before being defeated by the New Jersey Devils in the conference finals and now will have to fight from the bottom up. The Rangers were desperate for a win to ensure themselves a playoff spot before their final game on Saturday against the Devils, who they eliminated from postseason contention earlier in the week. The team has been scoring much more since the trading deadline and Ryan Callahan had the winning score in overtime of the 4-3 victory.
The Rangers appeared headed for a final game showdown against the Devils to make the playoffs after blowing a 2-0 lead on Thursday, but Brad Richards bailed the team out with the equalizer with under three minutes left in the game, which led to the overtime period. Henrik Lundqvist had 18 saves and the victory put the Rangers in seventh place in the playoff standings since the Islanders lost to the Flyers. Carolina had trouble generating scoring chances all game, with just four shots in the second and one in the first half of the third period, but they made the most of those chances, with Jiri Tluty scoring twice.
The Rangers tied the game after Richards' shot deflected from the back boards and into the Carolina goal off of goalie Dan Ellis to send the game to overtime. Ellis finished with 34 saves but could not stop Callahan as he scored the game winner. The game was a must win for the Rangers, as they could have ended up on the outside of the postseason with only one game remaining on the year. The East is set now with the Rangers clinching and the final seeds will be set after the weekend, as three teams are tied at 54 points, including the Rangers, Islanders and Senators.
The West has Chicago in first place and the final two spots are still up for grabs with Detroit and Minnesota currently in postseason position. Columbus is the only team that hasn't been eliminated and they have the same amount of points as Minnesota, while the Red Wings are one point ahead in the seventh spot.