Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

The NHL playoff race is extremely tight in the East. While the Montreal Canadiens’ players and fans were really hoping for a New York Rangers loss last night, that’s not what happened.

It would’ve really helped the Habs’ cause, and things were looking good since the Minnesota Wild had the lead, but the Rangers came back and ultimately won 5-4 in overtime.

So they picked up a big two points in the playoff race, two points that really put pressure on the Canadiens to win tonight against the Boston Bruins.

The Rangers are dangerously closing in on the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern standings

Martin St-Louis’ squad absolutely needs to take advantage of their game in hand over the Rangers.

“An overtime goal by Vincent Trocheck gave the Rangers a 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night in New York.

Thanks to this victory, New York now has the same number of points as the Montreal Canadiens in the playoff race, but the Habs have a game in hand.”

TVA Sports

The race is incredibly intense!

A tightening playoff picture for the Montreal Canadiens

Here’s are the current standings:

Montreal Canadiens (IN THE PLAYOFFS) – 79 points in 74 games

New York Rangers (OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS) – 79 points in 75 games

Columbus Blue Jackets (OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS) – 77 points in 73 games

Detroit Red Wings (OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS) – 75 points in 74 games

There’s also the Ottawa Senators, who are in a playoff spot as a wild card team, but they’re not easy to catch, sitting at 84 points in 74 games played.

A few minutes ago, MoneyPuck released its latest playoff odds, and the Canadiens’ chances took a slight hit following the Rangers’ win last night.

The Habs’ odds of making the spring dance dropped to 45.4%, while the Rangers climbed to 32.5%, making tonight’s game against the Bruins a crucial one.