When play began on Feb. 27, just 17 days ago, the Montreal Canadiens were seeded seventh in the Eastern Conference, though with three contenders below them within three points. The New York Rangers were seven points out of the final playoff berth.

Eastern Conference Playoff Standings after Games of February 26

Seed. . . . Tm. . . . . . . . Pts
7. . . . . . . Mon. . . . . . . .72
8. . . . . . . Car. . . . . . . . 71
9. . . . . . . NYI. . . . . . . . 70
10. . . . . . Tor. . . . . . . . 69
11t. . . . . Bos. . . . . . . . .64
11t. . . . . NYR. . . . . . . . 64

The storylines of these two clubs have been running in opposite directions ever since. From Feb. 27 through March 8, the Canadiens lost four straight contests, three to playoff contenders Buffalo, Atlanta and the Rangers. In that same stretch, New York closed ground on its rivals by beating Montreal and going 4-0-1. The Rangers defeated the Islanders twice, and after beating them 2-1 on the Island on March 8, they had pulled into a tie with Carolina and Toronto for the final playoff spot.

Then momentum swung again. Montreal has won its two games this week while New York has lost two of three. The Rangers dropped critical matchups with Pittsburgh and Ottawa, though the losses were sandwiched around a key shootout win over Carolina on Sunday.

Today, Montreal and New York are tied in the Eastern Conference standings, each with 76 points. The bad news is, there are nine other teams ahead of them.

Current Eastern Conference Playoff Standings

Seed. . . .Tm. . . . . . . Pts
7t. . . . . NYI. . . . . . . 78
7t. . . . . Car. . . . . . . 78
9. . . . . .Tor. . . . . . . 77
10t. . . . NYR. . . . . . .76
10t. . . . Mon. . . . . . .76

Only two of these five teams will be left standing when the regular season ends. With 11 games remaining on the schedule, the Canadiens still play the Maple Leafs and Rangers twice each. They close the season with a road trip to New York (April 5) and Toronto (April 7).

The Rangers’ next chance to turn things around again is Friday night in Atlanta, where they will square off against the Southeast Division-leading Thrashers. New York hosts Pittsburgh on Monday before road matchups against the Islanders (March 25) and Canadiens (March 27). With a dozen games remaining, the Rangers still see the Penguins, Islanders and Canadiens twice each. Their final home game is against Montreal on April 5, followed by a season finale in Pittsburgh on April 7.

It’s getting late for these up-and-down teams. Montreal has put together back-to-back wins, however, and the Rangers were seven points from a playoff spot just 17 days ago. There’s still plenty of hockey, but both clubs must turn it on down the stretch to avoid elimination at the hands of their division rivals -- the Maple Leafs and Islanders.

With five teams battling for two playoff berths in the East, look for plenty of playoff-style hockey over the final three weeks of the season.