Uh - Thank You Martin Brodeur?

This is awkward. With the Rangers desperately chasing a playoff spot - and with us starting Monday in 9th place - one point behind the 8th place Boston Bruins - and with the Bruins playing New Jersey last night - a very odd thought came into our heads:

Go Devils?

Root for our most hated rivals? Really? Well, yes - but just for one night. Besides the one point lead - Boss-town had two games at hand over the Rangers - and to catch them we need whatever help we can get from the Bruins' opponents. Including - last night - the New Jersey Devils.

And those Devils scored three times in the first period - and somehow, fatso Brodeur managed to not give the entire lead away and they won 3-2.

So it was a Bruins' loss (yay) in regulation (yay again) to keep the Rangers one point out of 8th place - and squandering half of Boston’s extra games at hand.

Tonight we are home to 7th place Montreal - Scotty Gomez's team. The Canadiens are 5 points up on the Rangers - but have played one additional game.

At the same time - the Bruins are in action again - this time traveling to Carolina - a team just 8 points out of 8th place - who have been climbing their way back into the playoff race week by week.

Now we don't want to commit our classic pre-hatched poultry assumption error - but

IF - the Rangers win.

And IF - the Bruins lose

Then when the ice chips clear we will be in 8th place - just 3 points out of 7th with a game at hand on Montreal.

But - if those two games go the other way - we'll be buried in a non-playoff pit we will have trouble ever digging out of.

And while we're at it - we could use a 10th place Tampa Bay Lightning loss to Phoenix and an 11th place Atlanta loss to Buffalo (go Ryan Miller).

And of course - it would be peachy keen if the 6th place Flyers could stumble against Nashville

So to review - we want 6 different hockey games to result in regulation losses for our rivals and opponents.

Is that too much to ask? I guess we'll see.

We will invoke our lucky talisman - the Magic Rat himself - to petition the hockey gods for help. Laugh if you want - but my lucky Jean Ratelle card worked just great last year.

Let's go Rangers.

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In other news: Alex Ovechkin was suspended for two games. He pushed the Blackhawks’ Brian Campbell into the boards in a nationally televised game on Sunday – reportedly breaking Campbell’s clavicle and at least one of his ribs.