LOS ANGELES — Last year’s Capitals established the Eastern Conference’s 82-game low-bar standard since 2005-06, when the guaranteed victory and losers’ point were introduced to the NHL, by qualifying for the final playoff spot with 91 points.
But guess what? Entering Tuesday’s schedule, the current second wild-card Canadiens were playing at a .543 percentage that equates to an 89-point season.
And that is why, despite the Rangers’ penchant for self-sabotage, the math wasn’t quite as bad as it was cracked up to be entering Tuesday night’s game against the Kings.
The Blueshirts entered Tuesday down one point (75-74) to Montreal with the Habs having 13 games remaining in the season to New York’s 11. The Islanders are right there in the mix, too, of course, but their current point projection falls below the Canadiens, who have gone 3-1-4 in their previous eight games.