The Rangers lost in a shootout last night to the Flyers, and now are back at MSG to take on the Calgary Flames. Calgary made headlines this summer with their high profile acquisition of Dougie Hamilton to compliment Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie on the blue line. But their strong blue line means diddly if their goalies can’t stop the puck. Only Boston and Columbus have worse save percentages right now. That’s just bad.
As for the Rangers, they are without Viktor Stalberg tonight. Stalberg took a hit from Radko Gudas last night and is still shaken up. Emerson Etem will take his spot in the lineup. Stalberg’s injury is a concern, but a bigger concern is the blue line continuing to hemorrhage shot attempts. Philly launched 80 shot attempts, 46 on net, last night. It’s been a consistent theme this month, and it has to stop.
What have they done lately?
Calgary is not a good possession team. They weren’t last year, but rode a high PDO (SV% + SH%) to the playoffs. Regression is hitting them hard this year, and their depth is being exploited and their goaltending just isn’t good. Before their overtime win against Detroit, the Flames lost four in a row, some in pretty convincing fashion.
Flames Systems
Bob Hartley has the Flames running a 1-2-2 forecheck that can be used aggressively or conservatively depending on the game situation (time left in period, score, puck location, etc.). In the DZ, Calgary uses a low zone collapse, taking out shooting lanes and keeping things in tight. On special teams, they run a 1-3-1 and a diamond penalty kill.
Flames Lines
Johnny Gaudreau-Sean Monahan-Jiri Hudler
Joe Colborne-Mikael Backlund-Michael Frolik
Derek Grant-Sam Bennett-Josh Jooris
Brandon Bollig-Matt Stajan-David Jones
Mark Giordano-Dennis Wideman
Kris Russell-Deryk Engelland
Ladislav Smid-Dougie Hamilton
PP1: Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler-Giordano-Wideman
PP2: Frolik-Colborne-Backlund-Russell-Hamilton
PK: Stajan, Frolik, Backlund, Jooris, Colborne, Monahan, Russell, Wideman, Giordano, Brodie, Hamilton
Jonas Hiller gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Rick Nash–Derek Stepan–Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider–Derick Brassard–Jesper Fast
Oscar Lindberg–Kevin Hayes–J.T. Miller
Viktor Stalberg–Dominic Moore–Jarret Stoll
Ryan McDonagh–Kevin Klein
Keith Yandle–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Dan Boyle
PP1: Yandle, Boyle, Nash, Stepan, Zuccarello
PP2: McDonagh, Miller, Kreider, Brassard, Hayes
PK: Stepan, Nash, Moore, Lindberg, Girardi, McDonagh, Staal, Klein
Antti Raanta is in net.
Scratches/Injuries: Viktor Stalberg (upper body), Dylan McIlrath (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: Fast scores twice.
Be sure to check out our ticket link if you’re looking for tickets to the game. Game time is 7pm on MSG. All gifs will be on nyrgifs.com.
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