Alex Ovechkin's arrival in the Big Apple has pushed Leon Draisaitl and the Blueshirts into the BEARD Hockey playoff conversation, and perhaps beyond.
Since the blockbuster trade that brought Alex Ovechkin to the Rangers, the team has gone 4-1-1 with Ovie adding seven points as a Ranger, six of which have been goals.
Ovechkin has been clicking with star linemate Leon Draisaitl who has been on fire since Ovie’s arrival, averaging 2 points per game for 12 points in the last six. With the hot streak, Draisaitl now has 68 points in 63 games, and is now 8 goals behind the goal leader Aleksander Barkov.
The Rangers now sit 4th in a very tight Metro Division, one point back of the Islanders and one point in front of the Capitals. A Rangers win and Islanders would move the Rangers from a Wildcard spot to a Divisional playoff spot.
Challenging the Rangers for a Wild Card spot are the Habs and Lightning, both five points behind and 4-5-1 and 4-4-2 respectively in their last 10.
With about 20 games to come, a lot can happen, so it will be on head coach Mike Babcock and captain Drew Doughty to keep the team rolling towards the next milestone for the team: playoff hockey.