The Rangers host the Leafs tonight, a team they lost 8-5 to in October. I’m not expecting the same outcome –Henrik Lundqvist is playing much better– but I wouldn’t be shocked if the Rangers get dominated again. They’ve played like poop over the past few games, with their goaltending and offense bailing out their horrendous defense.
But hey, just win, amirite? I’d love to see better process, since that is a better indicator of future (read: playoff) success. Toronto is a good team to get back into the swing of things. If anything, this game is going to be a ton of fun to watch. Both teams have high powered offenses. Should be a back and forth game.
Leafs Systems
Mike Babcock plays a 2-1-2 forecheck/LW lock depending on game situation. In their own zone, it was a straight up zone defense. On the PP, it was an umbrella and a 1-3-1 formation. On the penalty kill they changed up their strategy depending on the opposition’s setup. Pretty straight forward for a team lacking skill.
Leafs Lines
Zach Hyman-Auston Matthews-William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk-Tyler Bozak-Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau-Nazem Kadri-Leo Komarov
Matt Martin–Dominic Moore-Connor Brown
Morgan Reilly-Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner-Connor Carrick
Andreas Borgman-Roman Polak
Frederik Andersen gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Pavel Buchnevich
Rick Nash-David Desharnais-Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner–Kevin Hayes-Jimmy Vesey
Paul Carey–Boo Nieves-JT Miller
Ryan McDonagh–Nick Holden
Brady Skjei–Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal–Brendan Smith
PP1: Kreider-Zuccarello-Zibanejad-Buchnevich-Shattenkirk
PP2: Nash-Miller-Vesey-Hayes-McDonagh
Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Steven Kampfer (healthy), Jesper Fast (quad)
Crazy Prediction: Three Rangers defensemen score.
Game time is 7pm. Be sure to follow on Twitter for gifs, and on our Snapchat for in-game.
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