The Rangers are in a rut. They’ve lost two in a row and three of their last four. More concerning is their process has gone out the window, mostly due to inept offense at even strength. There is a clear need for a scoring winger on this team. But there is also an issue with defensive depth, as Nils Lundkvist’s absence has been felt on the bottom pair.
The good news is that the Rangers get a bit of a soft landing spot in Arizona tonight. The Yotes haven’t been locked out of their building yet, which means they can still play hockey there. The Rangers are a far better team, and this is a game they should dominate. This is where I’d say it’s a trap game, but that would mean the Rangers are winning. Right now, they aren’t.
Coyotes Lines
Clayton Keller-Travis Boyd-Phil Kessel
Lawson Crouse-Barrett Hayton-Nick Schmaltz
Antoine Roussell-Jay Beagle-Loui Eriksson
Andrew Ladd-Alex Galchenyuk-Christian Fischer
Shayne Gostisbehere-Dysin Mayo
Kyle Capobianco-Anton Stralman
Cam Dineen-Ilya Lyubushkin
Scott Wedgewood gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Kaapo Kakko
Artemiy Panarin-Ryan Strome–Dryden Hunt
Alexis Lafreniere-Barclay Goodrow-Julien Gauthier
Barclay Goodrow–Greg McKegg–Ryan Reaves
Ryan Lindgren–Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller-Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth–Libor Hajek
PP1: Strome-Zibanejad-Panarin-Kreider-Fox
PP2: Lafreniere-Chytil-Blais-Kakko-Trouba
Keith Kinkaid gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Sammy Blais (knee – done for season), Igor Shesterkin (lower body – IR), Nils Lundkvist (illness), Filip Chytil (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: Shutout for Kinkaid.
Game time is 9pm.
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