Heading into the weekend, the Metropolitan Division crown was up for grabs between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes. Both teams sat at 108 points in 78 games, and tonight’s contest was looking like it would boil down to a division championship game. However, the Blueshirts’ Saturday afternoon loss in Boston combined with a pair of Hurricanes victories on Saturday have drastically shifted the equation.
Should the Hurricanes win tonight, they’ll wrap up their first Metropolitan Division title since realignment. That would lock the Rangers into second place and guarantee a first round meeting with either Washington or Pittsburgh.