Standings: Wild (31-34-10), Rangers (47-21-7)
NYR Leading Scorer: Marian Gaborik (35-31-66)
MIN Leading Scorer: Dany Heatley (21-26-47)
NYR Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist (56 GS, 1.93 GAA, .932 SV%)
MIN Goaltender: Josh Harding (27 GS, 2.63 GAA, .918 SV%)
Rangers Lines (probable):
Carl Hagelin-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Artem Anisimov-Brian Boyle-Ruslan Fedotenko
Mike Rupp- John Mitchell-Brandon Prust
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto-Anton Stralman
Marc Staal-Stu Bickel
Probable Scratches/Injuries: Mike Sauer (concussion), Mats Zuccarello (wrist), Steve Eminger (healthy), Jeff Woywitka (healthy), John Scott (healthy), Tim Erixon (healthy)
Preview: My, my how the mighty have fallen. The Wild were eliminated from post-season contention this weekend after being in first place back in December. The stat people called it regression; I call it bad defense and an inability to compensate for injuries.
Over the summer, I nominated GM Chuck Fletcher for The Worst GM in Hockey Award for building his team around San Jose castoffs. Looks like I wasn’t too far off.
The Rangers have a chance to gain two easy points if they kick this team while they are down. The Wild aren’t a team committed to back pressure and I will be surprised if they make the extra effort tonight, since most of their core is locked up beyond this season.
Crazy Thought: Erik Christensen gets his revenge!
Opposition Blog: http://www.stateofhockeynews.com/
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