NHL Push for the Playoff: Hurricanes, Rangers and the Metro title race

Push for the Playoffs will run every morning through the end of the 2021-22 NHL season. We’ll highlight the current playoff picture in both conferences, take a look at what the first-round matchups might look like, see who’s leading the race for the best odds in the draft lottery and more.

The Hurricanes’ 5-3 win over the Coyotes Monday night put them ahead of the Rangers by two points in the race for the Metropolitan Division title. New York does have a game in-hand, however, and could be back in a tie with Carolina if they beat the Jets tonight.

For most of the season, the Hurricanes had been in control of the division, owning the top spot. But since March 1 the Rangers have gained ground and moved from a likely First Round matchup with the Penguins as the No. 2 or 3 seed to having a shot at the Metro crown. In their last 25 games, Carolina is 12-9-4, earning 28 points. New York is 15-6-1 in their last 22 games, picking up 31 points. Strength of schedule is in play here in the Rangers’ recent surge, but you can only play the teams the NHL tells you to play, right? Points earned are points earned.

Both teams have three games to go before they meet next Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, which could tip the scales in the race to grab the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed. But if you’re the Rangers, you probably need to win the division outright with more points as the tiebreakers are currently not in your favor.

The first two standings tiebreakers are Regulation Wins and Regulation/Overtime Wins, which the Hurricanes lead both. Carolina has 43 regulation wins to to New York’s 41, and 48 regulation and overtime wins to 45. Even head-to-head it’s the Hurricanes with a 2-1-0 series lead.

Every team wants home ice in the