The Rangers are at it again tonight in Calgary, and the story of the post-deadline Blueshirt world has been Ryan Spooner. Since his acquisition, Spooner has five assists in two games. Add that to Vladislav Namestnikov’s two point effort the other night, and the pair of new Rangers –who went from playoff teams to rebuilders– are doing just fine.
The defensive structure, though, is a tire fire. We expected this, though. The old adage of “Score a bunch and hope Hank makes the save” holds true. That won’t change unless the system changes. Since it won’t, we get to watch track meets. But it’s Hank’s birthday today, so maybe don’t hang him out to dry?
Flames Systems
Glen Gulutzan is fairly standard with his systems. It’s a 1-2-2 forecheck, but it sometimes looks like a 1-1-1-2, could just be the tv angle. The defensive zone system is an overload, sometimes collapsing depending on puck location. The PP is a 1-3-1/umbrella hybrid. The PK is a hybrid box/diamond.
Flames Lines
Johnny Gaudreau-Sean Monahan-Sam Bennett
Matt Tkachuk-Mikael Backlund-Michael Frolik
Troy Brouwer-Mark Jankowski-Chris Stewart
Tanner Glass-Matt Stajan-Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano-Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie-Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak-Michael Stone
PP1: Tkachuk-Gaudeau-Monahan-Brouwer-Giordano
PP2: Ferlund-Backlund-Bennett-Brodie-Hamilton
Jon Gillies gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Pavel Buchnevich
Ryan Spooner-Kevin Hayes–Jesper Fast
Jimmy Vesey-Vladislav Namestnikov-Mats Zuccarello
Paul Carey–David Desharnais-Cody McLeod
Brady Skjei–John Gilmour
Marc Staal–Neal Pionk
Rob O’Gara-Tony DeAngelo
PP1: Kreider-Zuccarello-Zibanejad-Namestnikov (probably)-Skjei
PP2: Hayes-2 more forwards-Gilmour-DeAngelo
Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Kevin Shattenkirk (knee), Ondrej Pavelec (knee), Steven Kampfer (hand), Peter Holland (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: A shutout for Hank on his birthday.
Game time is 9:30pm. Be sure to follow on our Snapchat for in-game shenanigans.
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