from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

The Sabres gave the Rangers the puck, and the Blueshirts took it. The Sabres gave the Rangers time and space, and the Blueshirts took that, too. If you want to deduce that the Sabres gave the Rangers the game at the Garden on Sunday night, well, the Rangers took that, as well.

And so, after the 6-3 victory achieved against a team that allowed the Blueshirts to flaunt their skill without a heck of a lot of opposition, the Rangers have returned to the fringes of the playoff race, back to within four points of the Bruins for the final divisional invite after gaining four points on Boston within 48 hours.

The B’s, beaten by the Sabres on Friday and by the Penguins on Sunday afternoon, still hold two games in hand. They have nine to go, as opposed to seven for the Rangers, whose final two games are set to be played in Boston on May 6 and 8. The Bruins will still have two to play following that set, one at home against the Islanders before their finale in Washington.

So the Rangers in essence need to pick up at least four points on the Bruins over the next five games and then sweep Boston in regulation time. Owning the regulation wins tiebreak, that would clinch a playoff spot.

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