NY Rangers lines tonight: Patrick Kane expected to return

Per Mollie Walker, the NY Rangers lines tonight will likely have the return of Patrick Kane, who was taking normal line rushes with the Rangers in Columbus this morning. Kane missed the last two games for maintenance on his hip. The Rangers played with 11 forwards and 7 defenseman, with Ben Harpur rotating in during Kane’s absence. It’s expected Harpur will sit if Kane returns.

There is a delicate balance needed with Kane as the Rangers look to keep his hip healthy while also getting him playing time to build chemistry with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. The trio has been good, and it will need some consistency once the playoffs roll around.

Another key factor in getting Kane on the ice is the powerplay, which still hasn’t figured things out yet. Egos and powerplay time are tough to balance with winning, and Gerard Gallant is being put in both an enviable and unenviable position of balancing all this out.