Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images

Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images

It seems like the New York Rangers have only played two teams over the past two weeks: the Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tonight those Lightning are in town, and are 2-0 against the good guys. The second effort was much better than the tire fire that was the first game, and this will be the first time the Rangers have Ryan McDonagh back in the lineup (of course, Victor Hedman is back for the Lightning as well).

It would be nice if the Rangers started putting bodies on their old comrades, especially Ryan Callahan. I’m a Cally fan and all, but enough is enough. He’s been treated like royalty. Put a shoulder to his chest and knock him on his butt a few times please.

Jon Cooper has the Lightning playing a pretty similar system as the Rangers. They run an overload 1-2-2 forecheck, but will mix in a 2-1-2 as well. In the defensive zone, they mix zone and overload coverage depending on puck location. On special teams, they run a 1-3-1 power play and rotate between a diamond and box penalty kill depending on opposition setup.

Rangers lineup:

Rick Nash-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Martin St. Louis
Carl Hagelin-Kevin Hayes-Lee Stempniak
J.T. Miller-Dominic Moore-Jesper Fast

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-John Moore
Matt Hunwick-Kevin Klein

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Scratches/Injuries: Tanner Glass (mumps), Dan Boyle (flu). Anthony Duclair (healthy)

As always, be sure to check out our ticket link if you’re looking for tickets to a game.

Game time is 7:00pm on MSG.

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