The New-York Rangers are amongst the best teams in the NHL with 57 points, yet, they're currently sitting on the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference! The Atlantic division being so competitive this year with the surprising Blue Jackets on top of the usual Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. It makes it a lot tougher for the Rangers to earn one of the 3 division seed, even with their red hot start of a season.
Tied with the Penguins at 57 points (Sidney Crosby's team has a game in hand) the Rangers are getting some reinforcement for tonight's game.
Rick Nash is set to make his return tonight against the Maple Leafs. The Rangers' forward missed the team last 8 games with a groin injury he suffered on Dec. 19 and is "100% & ready to go" according to Alain Vigneault.
Pavel Buchnevich will also be in the lineup against the Leafs but is already scheduled to be sidelined against the Canadiens saturday night. The Russian has been dealing with back spams for the last 2 months and is supposed to be a 100% also but the Rangers don't want to rush things up with back-to-back games.
