Rangers still in thick of playoff race even as play doesnt seem worthy of it

The Rangers’ uninspiring 1-1-1 showing in the Golden State this past week very well could’ve been the nail in the coffin on a season that is begging to be put out of its misery.That was if any of the surrounding teams vying for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot were doing any better.Instead, the Blueshirts woke up Sunday morning in the last playoff spot before the Canadiens snatched it back with a win over the Panthers later in the day.It is yet to be seen if the Rangers can salvage this season, sitting at 77 points with eight games remaining.Their inability to take control of this five-team potato sack race, however, is a damning reflection on a club that regarded itself as a Stanley Cup contender at the start.“The first period in LA wasn’t perfect, but the second and third, guys were pushing and [the Kings] scored a couple power-play goals [for a 3-1 win],” head coach Peter Laviolette said upon reflection of the three-game swing.“Somebody asked if [Friday night’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Ducks], did you feel the momentum shifting in the game, and it wasn’t really about that.

I think [Anaheim] had five or six shots through the third period and overtime.We needed to be better in those situations on those specific plays, but the game prior to that we were doing the right things.“[Saturday night’s 6-1 win over the Sharks] I thought there was a directness to our game with regard to just moving it north, putting pucks at the net, especially early.

We were able to find that ice.I thought we were playing fast and doing the right things and then we were pretty consistent with it for the entire game.”The Canadiens and Blue Jackets have been the Rangers’ biggest competition, with both teams aiming to end multi-season playoff droughts.Despite losing their past five games before beating the Panthers 4-2 Sunday afternoon, Montreal still had a chance to rip the second wild-card spot away from the Rangers because of their two games in hand.Over the 1...