NEW YORK — The Rangers and Lightning are likely to finish third in the NHL’s Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions, respectively, in which case they could not meet in the playoffs until the conference finals.
But how delicious that would be — a rematch from last season’s final four and the fourth consecutive year a New York team drew Tampa Bay for that round. (The Islanders and Rangers have lost three such series in a row to the Lightning.)
For now, though, we will have to make do with what we got on Wednesday, which was a surprisingly spirited evening at Madison Square Garden for a not particularly meaningful regular-season contest.
