Fresh off blowing a 3-1 lead to the Devils, the Rangers have the Minnesota Wild and the return of Ryan Reaves. Reaves may not have been a net-positive on the ice, but he was brought in for a specific purpose last season, and he filled that role well. The Rangers don’t have the locker room chemistry and vibes without Reaves. He was an integral part of uniting a fractured locker room, and for that, he was an important cog in the Rangers run last season.
On the ice, the Wild and Rangers are in similar spots. They are rather inconsistent, but still likely to be in the playoffs. Minnesota is a good team, but can’t generate much sustained offense outside of their top line. The Rangers can’t seem to buy a goal for stretches at a time. This has the potential to be a 13-9 game, or a 2-1 game, and everything in between.
Wild Lines
Kirill Kaprizov-Sam Steel-Mats Zuccarello
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson-Ek-Marcus Foligno
Matt Boldy-Frederick Gaudreau-Ryan Hartman
Brandon Duhaime-Connor Dewer-Ryan Reaves
Jacob Middleton-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin–Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill-Calen Addison
Marc-Andre Fleury gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Kaapo Kakko
Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Vitali Kravtsov
Alexis Lafreniere-Filip Chytil-Jimmy Vesey
Barclay Goodrow-Johnny Brodzinski-Julien Gauthier
Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller-Braden Schneider
Ben Harpur-Jacob Trouba
Igor Shesterkin gets the start.
Injuries: None
Crazy Prediction: Reaves fights Goodrow
Game time is 7pm.
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