The Rangers are one of the three teams outside of the playoff picture that the Islanders need to leapfrog – in addition to Columbus (62 points) and Boston (61 points). The Detroit Red Wings (64 points) and Ottawa Senators (62 points) currently occupy the two wild card spots in the east.

The New York Rangers have called up one of their top prospects just in case veteran Chris Kreider is unable to play Tuesday against the Islanders because of injury.

The New York Rangers called up Brennan Othmann, one of the top prospects in the organization, to have an extra forward available Tuesday night.

Surely, if Igor Shesterkin plays the rest of the season the way he did on Sunday, when he made 36 saves – many of them spectacular – to steal a 5-3 win for the Rangers over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Rangers will get into the playoffs. His next test is Tuesday night against the Islanders at UBS Arena.

When the 2024-25 season began, only the hopelessly optimistic believed the Pittsburgh Penguins could contend for anything more than a lower-level slot in the Eastern Conference playoff field.

It was extremely ugly, but the New York Rangers found a way to come away with a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.