I haven’t been to many games. For once, I’ll be at MSG to see the Rangers when they host the Senators tonight. With four games left, they have 91 points and only need one more point to clinch the playoffs. Not only are they ready to wrap up the eighth postseason in nine years, but a win would inch them closer to guaranteeing home ice in the first round.

The Flyers already played and lost again. They were beat by the Bruins 5-2. With Philly wasting opportunities, the Rangers are in great position to finish second in the Metropolitan Division. Boosted by a 2-1-1 Northwestern road swing that included a tough 3-2 shootout loss to the Avalanche, they’re 43-30-5 and lead Philadelphia by four. They also hold the first tiebreaker with 39 combined regulation and overtime wins. The Flyers have 36.

Two points would give them 93 with three games remaining. The Flyers have played 77 and will again have two extras left after today. However, they’d almost have to run the table to overtake the Rangers. If they take care of business against three non-playoff teams at home in succession, it’ll be enough to host the Conference Quarterfinals. The Hurricanes and Sabres visit next week. The Rangers conclude the season at Montreal next Saturday.

Right now, the focus is on getting wins. The Rangers are playing good hockey. They’ll again be without top defenseman Ryan McDonaugh. He’ll miss his second consecutive game. Given how John Moore returned and scored, there’s no reason to rush McDonaugh back. With underrated Slats pickup Raphael Diaz continuing to perform and Kevin Klein quietly getting better, the blueline is in good shape.

Offensively speaking, they’re scoring enough. Derek Stepan notched his 16th Thursday. I’d love to see him finish more. That would give the newly formed line with Carl Hagelin and Rick Nash more balance. Stepan’s primary job is to set up teammates which he’s done fairly well tying with Mats Zuccarello for first on the club in assists (38). Stepan’s 38 helpers and 54 points are career bests. He ranks second in team scoring trailing Zuccarello by a point. Martin St. Louis has a combined 65 but only four have come as a Blueshirt.

One player they need to get going is Brad Richards. After a strong first half, he’s been inconsistent. He has three points over his last 10 and is pointless over the last three. Alain Vigneault is going to try Brian Boyle with him and St. Louis. An odd combo to say the least. Boyle has played well lately in on some goals while playing fourth line and doing his usual strong penalty killing. With our coach opting to send J.T. Miller down, it means they have four fourth line checking forwards in the lineup. Dominic Moore will go back to center Derek Dorsett and Daniel Carcillo.

All this could be avoided if Chris Kreider didn’t go down. He’s a really important player who brings a combination of size, speed and strength. Let’s face it. This team isn’t overly physical and misses his presence. If they face the Flyers in the first round, there’s no way to replace that. Especially with Vigneault souring on Miller and making a mystifying comment referring to him as basically “a good minor league player.” That probably flew by a lot of our fans who were critical of John Tortorella for similar handling of Kreider. As much as I respect the job AV has done, I disagree with him on Miller. JT is a guy who can bring needed size and skill to the third line.

It looks like we’ll have to hope Dorsett and Carcillo can avoid undisciplined penalties in the postseason. I’m all for trying Benoit Pouliot with Richards and St. Louis but he has such good chemistry with Derick Brassard and Zuccarello that it doesn’t make sense to break them up. That trio has been the Rangers’ most effective at even strength and on the power play. They are excellent forecheckers and get the dirty jersey. The same for the fourth line which always brings it.

The Stephen McDonald Extra Effort Award is coming up soon. I’d like to see Boyle win it. He’s always worked extremely hard and is overlooked. Sure. It’s much easier to vote for Zuccarello, who probably will win. Or McDonaugh. But I feel the award should be about the gritty guy who doesn’t always shine on the game sheet. It would be fitting if Boyle won.

We’re leaving now. Can’t wait to be back at my second home.