NEW YORK RANGERS NOTES
2023-24 NHL Report: March Roundup
- Rangers beat Senators, close in on playoff berth
- Panthers lose bite, fade from playoff picture
- Arizona Coyotes are on the comeback
New York Rangers
(Thru Apr. 1, 2024)
1 / 1 Toronto (102)
2 / 2 Tampa Bay
3 / 3 NY Rangers
4 / 5 Ottawa
5 / 4 Detroit
6 / 6 Buffalo
7 / 7 Boston (79)
8 / 9 Columbus (79)
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9 / 15 Philadelphia (78)
10 / 11 Pittsburgh (77)
11 / 10 Montreal (76)
12 / 12 Washington (76)
13 / 16 New Jersey
14 / 13 NY Islanders
15 / 8 Florida
16 / 14 Carolina
1 / 1 Calgary (99)
2 / 2 Vancouver (94)
3 / 5 Vegas
4 / 6 Colorado
5 / 3 Chicago
6 / 11 Edmonton (85)
7 / 10 Arizona (85)
8 / 4 Winnipeg (84)
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9 / 8 Minnesota (83)
10 / 12 Nashville (81)
11 / 14 Seattle (81)
12 / 9 Dallas
13 / 7 Anaheim
14 / 15 St. Louis
15 / 13 LA Kings
16 / 16 San Jose
NEW YORK RANGERS NOTES
OTTAWA, CA — Mika Zibanejad scored his 27th goal of the season to help carry the Rangers to a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. Zibanejad’s score occurred 10:23 into the second period and broke a 1-1 tie. Later in the frame, Vitali Kravtsov lit the lamp to give New York a 3-1 cushion.
The Rangers’ win was their fifth in the last six played (the one loss was on the road at Winnipeg). The streak of success capped a month in which New York went 7-6-2 and maintained their status as the 3rd-place team in the East, twelve points behind 1st-place Toronto, and six points behind 2nd-place Tampa Bay.
Zibanejad remained the Rangers' scoring leader with 55 points as the team prepares ro clinch a playoff berth
AROUND THE EASTERN CONFERENCE
Florida’s planning for a trip to the playoffs might be put on hold after a poor performance in March led to a drop out of the playoff picture. The Panthers had ended each month of the regular season in a position to make the postseason but went 3-9-1 in March and fell seven spots to 15th-place.
While winger Matthew Tkachuk is having a good season (74 GP, 25 G, 38 A, 83 PTS, +1), weakness at goaltending has held the team back. Sergei Bobvrosky (3.25 GAA) is having one of the worst seasons of his 14-year career, with 2 more years remaining on his contract.
AROUND THE WESTERN CONFERENCE
The Arizona Coyotes (40-31-5, 85 pts) burst out of the gate at the start of the season, winning their first 10 games. Since then, they have faded and dropped as low as 12th-place. Now, it seems that things are turning around and Arizona has positioned themselves for a playoff berth after a strong March performance in which they went 9-4-1. Both of their top offseason signings are leading the charge: C Patrice Bergeron (39g/39a/78pts), and LW Tyler Bertuzzi (26g/48a/74pts).
The Anaheim Ducks (34-33-9, 77 pts) suffered a setback in March after a poor performance resulted in a drop in the standings, falling from 7th to 13th-place. The team struggled on both ends of the ice, scoring 29 goals in 14 games, while surrendering 53 goals.
At the Trade Deadline, Anaheim sent their assists leader, C/RW Ryan Strome (7g/37a/44pts in 64 games with ANA), to the Chicago Blackhawks for 22-year old defenseman Alex Vlasic and a 2024 2nd round pick.
