A wise man once said we don’t do regular season hockey around here. But we’ll make an exception.
The playoff-bound Rangers have five games left, starting with Thursday night’s matchup with the Islanders at UBS Arena. They enter the night tied with the Hurricanes atop the Metropolitan Division with 106 points, so this is a big one aside from the rivalry. Carolina currently holds the tiebreaker, which is regulation victories.
The Rangers host the Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday. But Carolina has two games left with the Devils and one game against the Isles (both eliminated from postseason contention) and one against the Jets, who are fighting for a spot in the Western Conference.