from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

The concept floating around that the Rangers would be better off losing down the stretch in order to fall into the crossover wild-card spot and avoid a potential Pittsburgh-Washington divisional meat grinder in the first two rounds of the playoffs made its way into the room.

“I’ve heard people saying it; sure I have,” Rick Nash told The Post after the Rangers did indeed slip out of third place behind the Islanders and into that wild-card spot and a potential matchup with Florida by losing a 4-1 game to the Brooklyns at the Garden on Thursday. “It’s been out there.”

But the Rangers did not dump this one any more than they laid down and died on Tuesday after falling behind the Lightning 2-0 within the first 6:07 before storming back to win 3-2. No, disturbingly, the Blueshirts lost this one on merit, just as they lost all four they played to the Islanders this year (0-3-1) and just as they have lost seven of the last eight Battles of New York contested on Broadway.

“I can understand why the question [about preferring the wild card] would be asked, but anyone who has ever been in a locker-room environment would know that would never happen,” Nash said. “The answer to the question is ‘no.’ It is the furthest thing from our minds.

continued