New York Rangers fans appeared to be questioning head coach Peter Laviolette's latest decision after rookie Brett Berard remains out of the lineup after the Rangers with Nicolas Aube Kubel called up.![New York Rangers rookie Brett Berard #nhl #rangers]()
The 22-year-old left winger who was drafted by the Rangers in 2020, fifth round, 134th overall has not played a game for the Rangers since March 20th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Lack of playing time hurting Berard's development
Many fans feel that Berard would be better suited to be sent back to the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League so that he can play solid minutes that will
help continue his development and not waste his time.
help continue his development and not waste his time.
Over the past five games, his ice time has been noticeably lower as his best time was 12 minutes against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 15th and he only played 6 minutes and 35 seconds against the Maple Leafs on March 20th.
With the Rangers trying to secure a playoff spot through the wild card, it's safe to say that if the Rangers feel that Berard is not a key contributor that he should be sent down and another player should be set back up who will be more effective.
Eastern Conference playoff race continues to heat up
The Rangers are in the middle of an intensifying playoff race as several teams in the Eastern Conference are within a few points of one another for the final two wild card spots.
The Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, the Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets along with the Detroit Red Wings are all within striking distance of a playoff spot and it remains to be seen on which teams will continue to intensify and other teams that will fade.
It's safe to say that if the Rangers could find a way to get their game underway and string their final 11 games together and go on a run, the Rangers would secure a wild card.
The Rangers also hold the tiebreaker as they have the most regulation wins out of all the teams that are in the fight.
The team is now out on the West Coast Road trip and loss to the Los Angeles Kings yesterday evening 3-1 The Rangers still must face the Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks before returning home to play against the Minnesota Wild.
It will be a photo finish for the Rangers and fans will need to wait and see if they can sneak into the playoffs.
