Fans need to worry less about who the New York Rangers will face in the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and more about how the Rangers play heading into round one.
With one calendar month remaining in the NHL's regular season, the standings watch has gone into full effect.
It is now less of a question of whether the New York Rangers will qualify for the postseason and more of where they finish and who their opponent is.
The discussions on social media have revolved heavily on the matchup dynamics and who the Rangers' opponent would be dependent on where they finish in the standings.
Currently, the Rangers hold the top spot in the Metropolitan Division with 94 points, with just one point separating them from the Boston Bruins atop the entire NHL standings (the Blueshirts have one game in hand).
Should the season end today, the Rangers would face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round.
This potential opponent has many fans taking to social media to discuss potential matchups and whether Peter Laviolette's club is better suited with a different first-round opponent.
There are three likely scenarios for the Blueshirts right now:
1. They finish first in the Eastern Conference overall, hosting the second wild-card team (currently the Detroit Red Wings).
2. They win their division but have fewer points than the Atlantic Division winner and host the first wild card (currently Tampa).
3. They drop to second in the Metro and take on the division's three seed (currently the Philadelphia Flyers).
Each outlined scenario is another example of how the opponents can change.
It is tiresome to worry about the unpredictable, and the beauty of sports is you cannot handpick your postseason foes.
Instead of playing matchmaker with possible opponents and weighing the pros and cons of each potential matchup, the main focus point should be on the Rangers themselves and how they play the game.
This Rangers team will control their destiny, and should they play within their structure, they will surely get past their first-round series, no matter who their competition is.
Situationally, the Rangers are very hard to beat when they are positionally sound and committed to defending while clogging up the neutral zone. They have offensive talent and great goaltending, and their special teams rank in the top six in both power play and penalty kill.
That style is indicated by their records in key situations this season. When the Rangers are tied after the first period, their record is 17-3-0, and when they lead after one, they are 20-4-3.
When the Blueshirts score more than four goals in a contest, they are 27-0-1, and when they give up three or fewer goals in a game, they are 40-2-3.
Evidently, they are virtually impenetrable when the Rangers score, defend, and play their game from the jump. This is why it should not be a worry about who they face off against in the opening round but more so a realization that they hold the cards.
The biggest worry that should be on everyone's mind is how consistent they play down the stretch. Since the NHL All-Star break, the Rangers are 15-3-1. They have exemplified consistency in the net and have seemingly tightened up defensively since the trade deadline.
Over the season's final month, the Blueshirts play every other day until the campaign's conclusion. They face numerous playoff teams and divisional foes and will face a litmus test for their health and structure heading into the postseason.
We saw last week's stretch of five games in seven days end with a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders, which was tainted by Ryan Lindgren's injury.
Health cannot be controlled but is paramount to a postseason run.
The grueling schedule over the season's final six weeks will put that to the test, but it will also allow the Rangers an opportunity to continue clicking and stay hot heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While the discussion about the opposition will be prevalent throughout this season, it is not the most important thing to me. That is reserved for the how, not the who.
How the Rangers play, how they control all three zones, and how they can click in all facets and situations are significantly more critical than who they face.