Laying Down with the Dogs

All three of last night's key games went the Rangers way. Here's the SportsClubStats.com breakdown off how the losses by the Bruins, Thrashers and Flyers helped the Blueshirts cause. The Rangers are laying down with the dogs in the East and everyone of them has fleas. The question is who is going to start scratching out some points?

The Rangers now have a 32.1% chance of making the playoffs. A jump of almost 10% in their playoff chances based on the choke job from above. Going 4-2 in the final six games now sets up as the most likely scenario for the Rangers to make it.

Anyone ready to bet the farm on this team?

More discussion:
Ranger Rants: The planets align
Rangers Report: And it just gets tighter
Slap Shot: Perfect Night for Rangers...
Blueshirt Brothers: Best Day Off Ever
Blue Seat Blogs: Opportunity Knocks Hard

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ICINGS:

Can the Coyotes stay in Phoenix? Attendance is up since they've put together their playoff run. But it's still dicey playing in the desert.

More Discussion:

From the Rink:
Analyzing 2010 Phoenix Coyotes Attendance -- A good playoff run can do wonders, as can the stabilization of ownership. Can this market sustain a team? There are some signs of life. And if you're wondering why the NHL and the Board of Governors are trying to give the market a fair shot, it all comes down to dollars -- potential dollars, that is...

FoxNews Spector blog:
Are the Coyotes in a Bad Market? -- In the wake of recent speculation suggesting the Phoenix Coyotes could be moving back to Winnipeg (back in February it was the Atlanta Thrashers, maybe in April it’ll be the Florida Panthers rumored moving there!) more than a few pundits, fans and bloggers have claimed the Coyotes were doomed to fail in Phoenix because it was a bad market for hockey...

Hot Wires:
Can magic season save Coyotes? -- While the late-season attendance surge is promising heading into the playoffs, it is unlikely to alter the Coyotes' future in Phoenix. The club has never turned a profit since moving from Winnipeg to Phoenix following the 1995-96 campaign, and it seems highly unlikely that they will end this season in the black, barring a lucrative run to the Stanley Cup finals...

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Missed this entertaining Glenn Allan "Chico" Resch and Mike Emrick call of the Jody Shelley vs. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond fight from early March. Resch called it An Artistic Scrap - that's a good one.