The Rangers have played three overtime games in a row, winning two and getting a possible five of six points. Today they take on Columbus in an attempt to possibly avoid the extra period. That said, the Rangers are now on the second of a back-to-back, and the third in four nights. They also have a game Tuesday night against Washington. That’s a lot of hockey.
As for the Blue Jackets, they are also on the second of a back-to-back, having completely dismantled the Islanders last night. Maybe they got all of their scoring out of the way in that game. This is a potential playoff matchup, so while many want the Rangers to ensure they get that top wild card seed, don’t expect the Rangers to just roll over.
Jackets Systems
John Tortorella is a notorious aggressive forechecking coach, deploying a 2-1-2 forecheck with most of his teams. In the defensive zone, he’s also notorious for clogging the slot in a low zone collapse, keeping shots to the outside. On special teams, he usually runs an umbrella powerplay, but there’s enough skill on the top-six in Columbus to run a 1-3-1 as well. On the kill, it’s a standard box/diamond hybrid.
For more on hockey systems, check here.
Jackets Lines
Boone Jenner-Brandon Dubinsky–Cam Atkinson
Alex Wennberg-Nick Foligno- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Markus Hannikainen-William Karlsson-Josh Anderson
Brandon Saad-Sam Gagner-Scott Hartnell
Zach Werenski-Seth Jones
Jack Johnson-David Savard
Ryan Murray-Markus Nutivaara
PP1:Atkinson-Wennberg-Gagner-Foligno-Werenski
PP2: Saad-Dubinsky-Hartnell-Murray-Jones
Sergei Bobrovsky gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey–Derek Stepan–Rick Nash
Michael Grabner–Kevin Hayes–JT Miller
Brandon Pirri–Oscar Lindberg–Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Nick Holden
Brady Skjei–Adam Clendening
PP1: Zibanejad-Buchnevich-Nash-Miller-McDonagh
PP2: Stepan-Miller-Kreider-Zuccarello-Holden
Henrik Lundvist gets the start.
Injuries/Scratches: Pavel Buchnevich (healthy), Matt Puempel (healthy), Kevin Klein(upper body)
Crazy Prediction: We have sen the final game of Kevin Klein’s New York Rangers career.
Game time is 5pm. Gifs are on @blueseatblogs. Be sure to follow our snapchat (blueseatblogs) too!
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