NEW YORK -- For now, it doesn't matter.
Not for the New York Rangers, anyway. Not unless the Ottawa Senators, who defeated the Rangers 3-0 Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, come back here and beat the Rangers when the first round of the NHL playoffs begins next week.
There's still no guarantee that the Senators will be in, even with Thursday's win. What is certain is that the Rangers will be the top seed, a spot they locked up with Tuesday night's win in New Jersey.
Clinching the Presidents' Trophy early allowed the Rangers to rest three regulars (although coach Alain Vigneault insisted all three had injuries that left them "day-to-day"). Clinching early also left the Rangers playing with a little less than their normal intensity.
Thursday's loss didn't matter to them. Not unless they wanted to keep the Senators out of the playoffs.
We may find out next week whether that mattered.
No help for Isles: A Rangers win Thursday would have allowed the idle New York Islanders to clinch a playoff spot. Instead, the Senators kept their playoff hopes alive, and could end up being the team the Rangers host when the first round begins next week.
The Senators entered play Thursday with 95 points, the same as Boston, one behind Pittsburgh, two behind Detroit and three behind the Islanders. The Senators don't hold the tiebreaker against any of the other teams.
Surviving a scare: There was really only one way Thursday's game could go bad for the Rangers, and it nearly happened in the first period. An Ottawa shot landed in the net, but the bigger issue was that Henrik Lundqvist landed on the ice and was rolling around in pain. The Senators' Mika Zibanejad fell onto Lundqvist's left knee, nullifying the goal but giving the Rangers a much bigger scare. After getting attention from the Rangers' athletic training staff, though, Lundqvist remained in the game.
Resting up: In part to avoid scares like that, the Rangers didn't dress forwards Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello, and defenseman Marc Staal. Though Vigneault insisted that the three were "day-to-day" with injuries, it's almost certain all three would have been playing had the Rangers needed a win. Defenseman Kevin Klein also remains out, but Vigneault said he expected Klein to be ready when the playoffs begin.
Ryan Bourque was called up from Hartford of the AHL and made his NHL debut Thursday. Chris Summers, who was acquired in the Keith Yandle trade and had already played one game for the Rangers, was also recalled to fill out the lineup.
Trophy time: The Rangers held a brief pregame ceremony, during which captain Ryan McDonagh posed with the Presidents' Trophy that the Rangers clinched with Tuesday's win in New Jersey. The Garden fans, not impressed, chanted, "We want the Cup."
What's next: The Rangers finish the regular season with a Saturday afternoon game in Washington. Then come the playoffs, which the Rangers will begin next week (likely on Thursday night), at home, against a still-to-be-determined opponent.
