"NOOT" so much

As our 9th Place Rangers rested and Lundvist battled his flu-like symptoms, your Blueshirt Brothers were on the job – eyes glued to that out-of-town scoreboard, looking for signs of (A) enlightenment, (B) salvation, and (C) redemption.

What we got instead was: (D) none of the above.

As we noted yesterday - Our first goal for the evening was: NOOT (which means NO OverTimes - when 2 division opponents play each other). It's bad enough that 2 points are awarded to somebody every time our division rivals clash. But when there's OT an additional 3rd point is awarded as well (to the loser!) – a point that could make the difference between the Rangers making the Playoffs or just watching them on TV.

So, did the Hockey Gods smile on our NOOT prayer last night? Well, “noot” so much:

Pittsburgh 4, Florida 3 OT (shoot out)
This is as bad as it gets. Both teams started the day tied with the Rangers at 76 points. But with the OT, not only do the Penguins jump 2 points up on us with the win, Florida jumps a point past us to 77 - gaining a point for losing the Shoot Out.

Montreal 4, Edmonton 3, OT
The OT is not the problem here - Edmonton is in that obscure conference out West. But the Canadians, celebrating their 100th season and brand new coach, respond with 2 big points that move them 3 ahead of our heroes.

Toronto 3, Islanders 2, OT
Not really a problem as both teams trail us by large margins, but the Leafs are closer and came away with the win.

Philadelphia 5, Buffalo 2.
I guess this is the best news of the night. A regulation win - so only the required minimum 2 points are disbursed. And the Sabre's are only 3 back of us - so the loss keeps them there. But the Cheese Steaks jump a full 6 points ahead of us now.

So here’s how things are looking:

Place and POINTS
1 Boston 95
2 New Jersey 89
3 Washington 88
4 Philadelphia 82
5 Montreal 79
6 Pittsburgh 78
7 Florida 77
8 Carolina 77

-----Line of Death-----------------------------

9 NY Rangers 76
10 Buffalo 73
11 Toronto 67
12 Ottawa 62
13 Atlanta 58
14 Tampa Bay 55
15 NY Islanders 52

And what was yesterday’s “tied for 6th” becomes this morning’s undisputed 9th place. That’s all I’ve got to say for now – I plan to spend the rest of the day squinting at our 76 points – trying to make the “6” look like an “8”.