The Rangers are one step away.
One step away from their first Presidents’ Trophy since 2014-15, and fourth in franchise history.
One step away from securing home-ice advantage throughout the entirety of the postseason.
The fate of both is squarely in their hands.
After their 3-2 shootout win over the Islanders on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, a franchise-best 54th win of the season, the Rangers sit at an NHL-best 112 points entering their final game of the season Monday, a home clash against the Senators.
“We’ve got one game left,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after Saturday’s game. “We’re gonna work really hard to make sure we play that game properly and do the right things. When that’s over, the regular season is there and we’ll address the playoffs.”
The Rangers had seen a firm grasp on both begin to loosen, losing two straight and three of six entering Saturday.
But another comeback win — their franchise-best 28th of the season — steadied the ship and put them within touching distance of both.
If they hadn’t been able to come back, a Rangers regulation loss coupled with the Stars’ 3-1 win over the Kraken, would have meant they’d have fallen into the second-best record in the league and given Dallas control of its own destiny.
Instead, the Stars sit at 111 points, and don’t play until Tuesday — meaning they’ll know entering their final game if they have a chance to supplant the Rangers.
Even if they lose on Monday, if the Rangers get to overtime and pick up a point, they’d clinch.
It would bring them to 113 points, which is the most the Stars can reach, and the Rangers would win the tiebreaker with more regulation wins.
“The only thing we could do [right now] is play regular-season games,” Laviolette said about possibly looking ahead to the postseason. “There’s still one more regular-season game left. You wanna make sure you’re doing your best to make sure you’re getting the two points, getting the wins. And if you do that well enough, then you get a chance to play for the Stanley Cup.”
Securing home ice would be a major boon for the Rangers, who have made Madison Square Garden a fortress this season.
Entering Monday, their 29 wins at home are second-most in the league, with only the Avalanche (30) possessing a better record.
But winning the Presidents’ Trophy, of course, has provided ample bad luck in recent years.
None of the last eight winners has even been able to make it out of the second round, and it’s been a decade since the best regular-season team has taken home the Stanley Cup.
In fact, only two Presidents’ Trophy winners in the last 20 years have won the Stanley Cup.
Last year, the Bruins set an NHL record with 135 points in the regular season.
But it didn’t matter, as they were bounced in the first round by the Panthers.
The Rangers are certainly no strangers to playoff disappointments after stellar regular seasons, particularly last year’s gut-wrenching first-round elimination by the rival Devils.
When asked if this year’s team was better-equipped for the playoffs than last year’s team, which was coached by Gerard Gallant, Laviolette preferred to take things one step at a time.
First, Game 82.
Then, they’ll worry about the postseason.
“We got a lot of work to do,” Laviolette said. “The playoffs are what we’re here for. We gotta get through this next game, make sure we do a good job playing that game. And then we’ll attack [the playoffs].”
