The New York Rangers, winners of their last three, 7-1-2 in their last ten, and 26-6-2 in their last 34, take on a pretty terrible Arizona Coyotes team that is entering full scale fire sale mode. The Yotes haven’t made any trades yet, but they will. GM Don Maloney said no one on the team is untouchable, except for Shane Doan of course. The Yotes have lost seven in a row. They are not a good team. Their goaltending stinks, the team can’t score, and they don’t drive puck possession. That’s the trifecta right there.
As for the Rangers, a win tonight puts them in a virtual tie for first with the Isles, but the Rangers have a few games in hand on their rival. Of course, since today’s game is against a bad team that has significant playoff implications, this is another one of those quintessential trap games. The Rangers have done well in these kinds of games before though.
What have they done lately?
The ‘Yotes stink.
I think I’m going to get a lot of use out of “(INSERT TEAM NAME HERE) stinks.”
‘Yotes Systems
On the ice, Dave Tippett runs a very conservative style of play. The Coyotes run a 1-2-2 hybrid trap, which is something they’ve been running for some time down in the desert. They aren’t anything out of they ordinary when it comes to defensive zone schemes (zone defense), power play strategies (umbrella), or penalty kill formations (hybrid, depends on puck location/situation). This is a very passive hockey club that will capitalize on mistakes in the neutral zone.
‘Yotes Lines
Tobias Rieder-Antoine Vermette–Shane Doan
Lucas Lessio-Mark Arcobello-Sam Gagner
Lauri Korpikoski-Brendan Shinnimin-Martin Erat
Jordan Martinook-Kyle Chipchura-David Moss
*-Henrik Samuelsson, son of Rangers assistant coach Ulf, will make his NHL debut tonight for Arizona.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Zbynek Michalek
Keith Yandle-Michael Stone
Andrew Campbell-Connor Murphy
PP1: Korpo-Gagner-Erat-Yandle-OEL
PP2: Doan-Rieder-Vermette-Yandle-OEL
PK: Reider, Vermette, Moss, Korpo, Doan, Chipchura, Martinook, Michalek, Campbell, OEL, Murphy, Yandle, Stone
Mike Smith gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Rick Nash–Derek Stepan–Martin St. Louis
Chris Kreider–Derick Brassard–Mats Zuccarello
Carl Hagelin–Kevin Hayes–J.T. Miller
Tanner Glass–Dominic Moore–Lee Stempniak
Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Kevin Klein
John Moore-Dan Boyle
PP1: McDonagh, Stepan, Nash, Brassard, Zuccarello
PP2: Boyle, Girardi, Kreider, Hayes, MSL
PK: Stepan, Nash, Girardi, Staal, Moore, Fast, Hunwick, Boyle, Hagelin, Klein, McDonagh, MSL
Cam Talbot is in net.
Scratches/Injuries: Henrik Lundqvist (throat), Jesper Fast (leg), Matt Hunwick (healthy)
Be sure to check out our ticket link if you’re looking for tickets to the game. Game time is 7pm on MSG.
Share:
More About:Game Thread