The Rangers, after failing to show up against Toronto, are now in Nashville to take on my Cup pick. It should be a teary reunion in Nashville, as noted enforcer Cody McLeod returns for the first time since the Rangers grabbed him off waivers. I kid, of course. Mostly making fun of Thursday night’s broadcast where McLeod was seen as a savior by Sam and Joe.
As for the actual game, I don’t expect much anymore. Pavel Buchnevich got added to the walking wounded with a concussion. So now the Rangers look more like the Wolf Pack than the Rangers. But hey, if it helps drive them towards the proper decision to sell, then I’ll take that silver lining. I will never root for them to lose, but I really do dislike how they play right now. Show some emotion every now and then.
Preds Systems
Peter Laviolette likes to have his team throw two different forechecking looks at the opposition. The first look is the 2-1-2 forecheck, and once the they get a lead, they tend to switch to a more conservative 2-3 left wing lock. Both systems send two forecheckers into the zone, but the 2-3 leaves one forward high in the zone, while the 2-1-2 sends an additional forechecker in deep. The 2-12 also allows defensemen to join the forecheck.
In the defensive zone, the Laviolette play a low zone collapse. This creates a logjam in the high-priced real estate, but gives some leeway at the point for puck movement. On special teams, the Preds play an umbrella powerplay and a hybrid penalty kill.
Preds Lines (expected – I wrote this Friday)
Filip Forsberg-Ryan Johansen-Victor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala-Kyle Turris-Craig Smith
Scott Hartnell-Nick Bonnino-Calle Jarnkrok
Miikka Salomaki-Colton Scissions-Austin Watson
Roman Josi-Ryan Ellis
PK Subban-Mattias Ekholm
Alexei Emelin-Yannick Weber
PP1: Smith-Johanssen-Forsberg-Arvidsson-Subban
PP2: Fiala-Turris-Sissions-Ekholm-Josi
Pekka Rinne is in net.
Rangers Lines (expected – I wrote this Friday)
Rick Nash–Mika Zibanejad–Mats Zuccarello
JT Miller–Kevin Hayes-Jesper Fast
Michael Grabner–Peter Holland–Paul Carey
Jimmy Vesey–David Desharnais–Cody McLeod
Ryan McDonagh–Nick Holden
Brady Skjei–Marc Staal
Brendan Smith–Tony DeAngelo
PP1: Nash-Zuccarello-Buchnevich-Zibanejad-McDonagh
PP2: Vesey-Miller-Desharnais-Skjei-DeAngelo
Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Chris Kreider (blood clot), Kevin Shattenkirk (knee), Pavel Buchnevich (concussion) Steven Kampfer (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: The New York Rangers get rebranded to the New York Wolf Pack.
Game time is 8pm. Be sure to follow on our Snapchat for in-game shenanigans.
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