As the Rangers prepare to take the ice against the Devils and what appears to be a newly rejuvenated Cory Schneider, the attention is not on the game. No, it is on David Quinn and what will be his decision to dress or not dress Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes, and Adam McQuaid. DQ was adamant last game, saying that as long as they are here, they will play. Then McQuaid got hurt on his first shift and was held out for the rest of the game. Suffice it to say, the decision to play them was concerning to say the least.
With Matt Duchene off the roster, things are hot and heavy for the pair of forwards, and DQ had a conversation with both yesterday after practice. Neither wanted to address the media. Reading between the lines, it looks like Thursday was their last game on Broadway.
For the actual game, there are draft implications here, and major ones at that. The Devils are four points back of the Rangers, but have won three of their past four. The Rangers have played .500 hockey for some time, but haven’t looked particularly good in a week or so. Watching the Devils lose is always fun, but as with every other game this year, I’m not going to be overly upset if the Rangers lose. Emotion free hockey is kind of nice for a change. I could go for another Mika hatty, though.
Devils Lines
Jesper Bratt-Nico Hischier-Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood-Travis Zajac-Blake Coleman
Drew Stafford-Kevin Rooney-Joey Anderson
Kenny Agostino-Brett Seney-Kurtis Gabriel
Andy Greene-Damon Severson
Mirco Mueller-Eric Gryba
Will Butcher-Steven Santini
PP1: Zacha-Zajac-Palmieri-Coleman-Butcher
PP2: Johanssen-Hischier-Bratt-Severson-Greene
Cory Schneidergets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Jimmy Vesey
Filip Chytil-Lias Andersson-Pavel Buchnevich
Vlad Namestnikov–Ryan Strome–Jesper Fast
Brendan Smith-Boo Nieves–Connor Brickley
Brady Skjei–Neal Pionk
Marc Staal–Tony DeAngelo
Fredrik Claesson-Kevin Shattenkirk
PP1: Zibanejad-Kreider-Buchnevich-Strome-Namestnikov
PP2: ??-Chytil-??-Pionk-Shattenkirk
Alex Georgiev gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Brett Howden (knee), Mats Zuccarello (healthy), Adam McQuaid (healthy), Kevin Hayes (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: A trade!
Game time is 1pm.
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