The New York Rangers are fighting for their playoff lives with seven games remaining.
As it stands right now, the Rangers are two points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
It’s been a season filled with highs and lows, but the disappointments have been felt far greater than some of the achievements.
However, through all of the gut-wrenching moments, the Rangers still have a belief inside the room that they can make the playoffs and be a formidable threat.
“I think we have a lot of belief in here,” Braden Schneider said. “I think we know how good we can be and I feel like in these past couple of games, we have really elevated. I think that we have a belief in here that we can keep playing into May. We are confident in what we bring. We just have to make sure that we execute out there.”
The Rangers put themselves in this hole early on in the season when the playoffs almost seemed like a pipe dream.
They’ve managed to climb their way back into the playoff race. Now, the Rangers are forced to chase the Montreal Canadiens for that highly coveted second wild-card spot while the Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders don’t trail that far behind.
It already feels like the Blueshirts have been playing playoff-caliber games given that their season is on life support.
“I feel like they’ve been going on for a while for us,” Schneider said about the playoff-type feeling. “We’ve been right there for the majority of the year and the last 10, 12 games have felt like must-win games. We are definitely building that playoff feel. Everything matters, we have it all on the line. To get in we are going to make sure we are playing like it’s the playoffs.”
There’s a feeling of desperation within the Rangers’ locker room that the public doesn't get to see.
We are entering the homestretch as every game and every point is critical.
“We are always trying to stay focused,” Sam Carrick said. “Obviously you can feel that the end is near. We don’t have a ton of time to collect points. Only have seven games left here… We are close to the end here and every game is huge.”
