As it stands

The Rangers (38-21-3, 79 points) begin the last two months of the regular season in 3rd place in the East. The are 7 points safe from 9th place Pittsburgh. With 20 games to play, no lead is safe, so New York needs to play above .500 in March to ensure they’ll be standing with the dust clears.

What to watch for

Chris Kreider remained in a Rangers uniform after the front office failed to find a trade partner. But, the Rangers did trade D Jacob Trouba to Seattle for D Will Butcher. They also acquired C Jay Beagle and the 2nd round pick they’ve wanted. Morale was negatively impacted with all the action, but a winning record and a playoff berth can remedy that.

Week of March 5 (2-2)

The Rangers notched key win over the conference leader as the Rangers prevailed 3-1 against the Lightning. Center Jay Beagle scored his first goal in a Rangers uniform since being acquired in a trade with the Coyotes. Chris Kreider, who the Rangers failed to trade, scored an empty-netter to seal the victory. On the negative side, the Rangers lost both matchups against Jack Eichel and the Sabres.

Week of March 12 (0-4)

Tue. – The Devils routed the Rangers 6-2. Makenzie Blackwood won his 35th game and earned the 2nd star after making 28 saves and center Yegor Sharangovich won the 1st star with a goal and assist. The loss was the 3rd straight for New York.

Thur. – Yegor Sharangovich struck again, scoring twice to lead the Devils to a 5-4 win to keep the Rangers losing steak intact. The one bright spot was New York’s special teams (NJ 1/6 on power play)…. a brutal week was capped by the Flyers defeating the Rangers 3-1. New York’s losing streak extended to 5 games.

As it stands: After an 0-4 week, the Rangers are in trouble. They dropped into 6th-place with 81 points — 3 points safe from 9th-place Toronto.

Special Teams: PP 1/10, PK 2/15
Panarin: 3 PTS, 1 G / Radulov 4 PTS, 1 G
Shesterkin: 0-3-0 / Pickard 0-1-0

Week of March 19 (3-1)

Sun. – Artemi Panarin earned 3 points as the Rangers routed their cross-town rival Islander 6-1. The win snaps a 5-game losing streak. Unfortunately, the team lost Kappo Kakko to a hip injury and he’s expected to miss the rest of the month. Alexander Radulov remained out and under evaluation for a concussion..

Fri. – The Rangers bounced back from a loss the Minnesota by destroying the Blue Jackets 6-3 on the road. Jeff Beagle notched 2 goals and Artemi Panarin collected 3 points. Alexis Lafraniere was added to the growing list on injuries with a pulled groin and could miss a week.

Sat. – Defenseman Will Butcher tapped in a loose puck in OT to give the Rangers a 3-2 win over Winnipeg. New York was relentless, out-shooting the Jets 46-19 while going on the power play 7 times and converting 2. New York (42-28-3)  moved back into 5th-place, 2 points ahead of Buffalo.

Friday – Edmonton fired head coach Harry Verdino. The Oilers were in 13th-place15 points from a playoff spot.

Special Teams: PK: 0/9, PP: 8/28
Panarin: 8 PTS, 5 AST, 3 G / Strome: 2 G, 2 AST, 6 PTS
Shesterkin (2-1-0) / Pickard (1-0-0)

Week of March 26 (2-0)

Thu. – The Rangers survived a Capitals rally to win 4-3 at home. Washington undermined their comeback with 2 late penalties. Alexander Ovechkin scored his 45th of the season. Kappo Kakko returned from injury to net his 21st.

Fri. –Ryan Strome’s 25th broke a 2-2 tie and Chris Kreider sealed it with an empty-netter to give the Rangers a 4-2 win over Ottawa, capping a 2-0 week for New York who did themselves a favor over the last 2 weeks of March by winning 5 of their last 6 games. Entering the final stretch, they’ll feel somewhat secure in 5th-place, 9 points ahead of 9th-place Toronto.

Special Teams: PK: 0/4, PP: 1/10
Panarin: 3 PTS, 3 AST, 1 G
Shesterkin (2-0-0)