The Rangers may have beaten the Penguins the other night, but it was not a good game by the Blueshirts. They were outskated and outplayed in every facet of the game, with specific focus in the neutral zone. The Rangers got lucky, and if they want to win tonight, they need to shore up their play in the neutral zone. Better angling, better coverage, and less backing up to the top of the circle.
This is another big game for the Rangers, as they all are from now through the end of the season. By my math, the Rangers can only afford four more losses before they are out of the playoff race. With 17 games left, that means a few big winning streaks are needed. The .500 hockey has to stop.
Penguins Lines
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby–Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker-Jared McCann-Evan Rodrigues
Zach Aston-Reese-Frederick Gaudreau-Sam Lafferty
Radim Zohorna-Mark Jankowski-Colton Sceviour
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
PP1: Crosby-McCann-Rust-Guentzel-Letang
PP2: Zucker-Rodrigues-Zohorna-Marino-Matheson
Tristan Jarry gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin–Ryan Strome–Colin Blackwell
Alexis Lafreniere–Filip Chytil–Kaapo Kakko
Brett Howden-Kevin Rooney–Vitali Kravtsov
Ryan Lindgren–Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller-Jacob Trouba
Libor Hajek–Brendan Smith
PP1: Strome-Zibanejad-Panarin-Kreider-Fox
PP2: Kakko-Buchnevich-Chytil-Lafreniere-Miller
Igor Shesterkin gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Jack Johnson (sports hernia), Phil Di Giuseppe (healthy), Julien Gauthier (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: A defensive struggle, instead of the track meet we saw the other day.
Game time is 7pm.
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