Monday offered a rare reprieve from scoreboard watching for the New York Rangers and their fans. (Instead, they were able to focus on the excitement surrounding the signing of top prospect Gabe Perreault.)
They've watched their playoff odds fluctuate for weeks, with the race for the Eastern Conference's second and final wild-card spot devolving into a jumble of flawed contenders.
With just over two weeks remaining in the regular season, five teams remain firmly in the hunt: Rangers, Blue Jackets, Canadiens, Islanders and Red Wings. None of them played Monday − and none are playing particularly well, with all five registering sub-.500 winning percentages across their last 10 games.
The floundering Rangers are among the primary culprits, having lost five of their previous six before Saturday's 6-1 win over the NHL-worst San Jose Sharks.
One creative reader deemed it the "Hot Potato Race" − an appropriate moniker given the inability of any team to tighten its grip on the East's No. 8 position.
The ever-changing odds for each of the jockeying clubs can be found on various sites, but here I've laid out my own analysis. The inexact calculations are based on a variety of factors, including remaining strength of schedule as determined by tankathon.com. And they're listed in order of how I view their chances of getting in.
Montreal Canadiens (34-30-9)
Total points: 77
Points percentage: .527
Remaining games: 9
Regulation wins: 25
Last 10 games: 4-3-3
Strength of remaining schedule: .520 (28th hardest)
Analysis: The Habs had been sinking fast with five straight losses (0-3-2), but their surprising 4-2 win over the defending champion Panthers on Sunday was a major swing in their favor. That pushed them back into the lead based on points percentage, and with the easiest remaining schedule among the five competing teams, they're in the most advantageous ...
