Photo: Reuters/Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY SPORTS
After playing in Winnipeg last night, the Rangers are in Chicago tonight to take on the Blackhawks. That’s a lot of travel for an injury riddled team. But on the bright side, the Hawks are just as injured (no Jonathan Toews), and are playing Scott Darling over Corey Crawford. That gives the Rangers a good chance at winning the second of back-to-backs, as the Hawks are not that deep.
However, while the Hawks are not deep, they have an incredible top end of the lineup. Their top line can basically score at will, and any line with Marian Hossa is a danger to score as well. The defense is going to have to contain those top-six, and Henrik Lundqvist is going to have to be stronger than he has been to start the season. But this is a very winnable game.
Hawks Systems
Joel Quenneville is one of the best coaches in the game. His Hawks play an aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck, keeping the back forward and defensemen ready to jump on turnovers. In the defensive zone, the Hawks play a standard zone defense looking to defend you in layers based on puck location. On special teams, they run a 1-3-1 power play, and a wedge+1 penalty kill.
Hawks Lines
Artemi Panirin-Artem Anisimov-Patrick Kane
Ryan Hartman-Marcus Kruger-Marian Hossa
Tyler Motte-Dennis Rasmussen-Richard Panik
Andrew Desjardins-Vincent Hinostroza-Jordin Tootoo
Duncan Keith-Niklas Hjalmarsson
Brian Campbell-Brent Seabrook
Gustav Forsling-Trevor van Riemsdyk
PP1: Kane-Anisimov-Panarin-Keith-Seabrook
PP2: Hossa-Hinostroza-Panik-Forsling-Campbell
Scott Darling gets the start.
Rangers Lines:
Chris Kreider–Derek Stepan–Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner–Kevin Hayes–J.T. Miller
Marek Hrivik–Oscar Lindberg–Jesper Fast
Nicklas Jensen–Josh Jooris-Brandon Pirri
Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Nick Holden
Brady Skjei–Kevin Klein
PP1: Kreider-Stepan-Pirri-Zucc-McDonagh
PP2: Miller-Vesey-Hayes-Skjei-Klein
Antti Raanta gets the start.
Injuries/Scratches: Mika Zibanejad (broken leg), Pavel Buchnevich (back spasms), Rick Nash (groin), Matt Puempel (concussion), Jimmy Vesey (wrist), Adam Clendening (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: A game without an injury for the Rangers.
Game time is 8:30pm. Gifs are on @blueseatblogs. Be sure to follow our snapchat (blueseatblogs) too!
Share:
More About:Game Thread