Pregame Notes: Panthers at Rangers, 3/22/11

ATThe New York Rangers are on a season-high four-game winning streak right now, which has enabled them to maintain their seventh place spot in the Eastern Conference standings for the time being. These wins have come against top notch teams also, such as the San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins. In my mind, that makes matches like tonight's against the weak Florida Panthers lower than them in the standings must wins for the Blueshirts at this point. These are points that sit on a silver platter and the Rangers need to take full advantage of that opportunity at such a crucial time of the year, especially with the Buffalo Sabres right on their tail.Eighty-two points is where the Rangers are at right now and the 90-mark is still looking pretty good as the cutoff in the East. That means New York would need to collect a total of eight points over the course of nine games. Depending on what Buffalo and Carolina do, that number could increase or decrease over the...

Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/nhl/article_external/pregame_notes_panthers_at_rangers_32211/4428479

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