Jean Ratelle is possibly the greatest scorer in Rangers history. A critical part of the goal-a-game line with Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield, Ratelle played 16 seasons with the Rangers before the gut wrenching trade that sent him and Brad Park to Boston. But tonight isn’t about that trade. It’s about Ratelle’s #19 getting its proper spot in the rafters where it has long belonged.

Ratelle is second in franchise history with 336 goals, third in franchise history with 817 assists, and sixth in franchise history with 862 games played. For someone with his pedigree and contributions to the club, it is truly a shame that it took the Rangers so long to retire his number. Better late than never, and this is an honor well deserved.

Red Wings Systems

For those that don’t follow Prashanth Iyer, you should. He does a great job breaking down everything Detroit.

The Wings run a 1-2-2 forecheck, which is fairly standard. But Blashill is very aggressive, and encourages the first defenseman to get involved at the blue line, instead of the red line. That means more pressure on the Rangers blue liners to make proper decisions with the puck. The Rangers deploy a similar forecheck, but are less aggressive with their defensemen, preferring to pressure at the red line, instead of the blue line. The risk of Blashill’s scheme is that quick passing can lead to odd-man rushes with that aggressive defenseman.

In the defensive zone, the Wings play a hybrid overload/low zone collapse. They overload the strong side, much like the Rangers. When the puck gets below the goal line, the forwards collapse into low zone coverage. That’s where the Rangers differ, as they switch to man coverage when the puck gets below the goal line. Although it was admittedly hard to see what kind of scheme the Rangers ran early in the year, they’ve been significantly better at their switches lately.

The Wings run a variety of breakouts, all detailed here. This is common for a lot of teams, and the way Prashanth breaks it down is very relevant, as the Rangers play a 1-2-2 forecheck. The Rangers have had a strong forecheck the last few games, so expect them to pressure those first two passes on the breakouts. For more breakout plays, see this post from Suit.

On special teams, the Wings run a 1-3-1 powerplay. This has been standard for multiple teams since the Bolts started using it a few years ago. The Wings don’t have that one sniper they try to feed, so they rely on quick passes to breakdown the penalty kill. Considering how amazing the Rangers’ PK has been, the best bet is to stay out of the box.

On the PK, the Wings are one of the few teams that don’t run some form of hybrid system.They run a straight wedge+1, which is similar to the diamond force the Rangers use. Both have a “roamer” designed to force the play, while the remaining three defenders take out the high percentage shots. The difference is that the Wings will only use their forwards as the “+1” whereas the Rangers will rotate out based on puck location, including defensemen. The wedge is simpler to execute and more conservative, but the diamond force creates more turnovers.

For more on these systems, check out our Hockey Systems page.

Red Wings Lines

Gustav Nyquist-Henrik Zetterberg-Anthony Mantha
Tomas Tatar-Dylan Larkin-Andreas Athanasiou
Darren Helm-Frans Nielsen-Justin Abdelkader
Tyler Bertuzzi-Luke Glendening-David Booth

Jonathan Ericsson-Trevor Daley
Dany Dekeyser-Nick Jensen
Nicklas Kronwall-Xavier Ouellet

PP1: Tatar-Zetterberg-Nyquist-Abdelkader-Kronwall
PP2: Athanasiou-Larkin-Nielsen-Mantha-Ouellet

Jared Coreau gets the start.

Rangers Lines 

Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Vesey–Kevin Hayes-Mats Zuccarello
JT Miller-David Desharnais–Jesper Fast
Cody McLeod-Ryan Spooner-Vinny Lettieri

Brady Skjei–Neal Pionk
Marc Staal–Tony DeAngelo
Rob O’Gara-John Gilmour

PP1: Nash-Zuccarello-Zibanejad-Miller-Skjei
PP2: Hayes-Desharnais-Lettieri-Gilmour-DeAngelo

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Scratches/Injuries: Kevin Shattenkirk (knee), Ryan McDonagh (lingering something or other), Ondrej Pavelec (knee), Steven Kampfer (hand), Paul Carey (healthy)

Crazy Prediction: Spooner scores in his Rangers debut..

Game time is 7pm. Be sure to follow on our Snapchat for in-game shenanigans.

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