AP Photo/Mike Strasinger

AP Photo/Mike Strasinger

After winning two games in a row in the central time zone, the Rangers are back in this time zone to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa is falling and falling fast without the injured Steven Stamkos, losing their last four games in a row. This is also a team that had good puck luck (over 100 PDO) early on while not driving puck possession, which is a recipe for losses and regression to the mean. While that doesn’t guarantee a win, it means the Rangers are catching the Lightning at a vulnerable time.

These aren’t your 1-3-1 neutral zone trapping Guy Boucher Lightning anymore. Jon Cooper has the Lightning playing a pretty similar system as the Rangers. They run an aggressive 1-2-2 forecheck with a lot of pinching from their defensemen. Once they get a 2 goal lead, they tend to sit back in the neutral zone with a more passive 1-2-2.

Jon Cooper has the Lightning playing a pretty similar system as the Rangers. They run an aggressive 1-2-2 forecheck with a lot of pinching from their defensemen. Once they get a two goal lead, they tend to sit back in the neutral zone with a more passive 1-2-2. In the defensive zone, they mix man-on-man and zone coverage. On special teams, they still run a 1-3-1 power play and a diamond/box hybrid penalty kill.

Rangers Lineup:

Chris KreiderDerek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Rick NashBrad RichardsRyan Callahan
Carl Hagelin-Derick Brassard-Benoit Pouliot
Derek Dorsett-Brian Boyle-Dominic Moore

Ryan McDonaghDan Girardi
Marc StaalAnton Stralman
John Moore-Michael Del Zotto

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Scratches: Taylor Pyatt (concussion), J.T. Miller (healthy), Justin Falk (healthy)

Game time is 7:30pm tonight. Don’t forget to check out our Rangers Tickets link for deals to attend games.

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