New York Rangers Vs. Winnipeg Jets- Gameday Preview
Time: 7:00 pm EST
Location: Madison Square Garden-New York, NY
After four long days in between games, New York Rangers hockey returns to Madison Square Garden. The team will play host to the Jets. No, not those Jets. The team from Winnipeg. This will be the first of two games this season between the two teams. Last season, the Rangers and Jets split their two-game, home and home series. Each team won in the other’s home building, by multiple goals.
The Jets come into tonight’s game with a record of 3-2 in their last five games. Their last game against the New Jersey Devils ended in a shootout loss 2-1. This will be the last game of their visit to the northeast, which included a win over the New York Islanders back on October 28. The team’s leading point scorer is Bryan Little with nine points. For the season, he has a team lead five goals and carries a +/- 3. Dustin Byfuglien leads the team in hits (35) and is ahead of Little in +/- (4). Expect to see plenty of defenseman Toby Enstrom who leads the team 24:23 of ice time per game. Ondrej Pavelec will get the nod tonight against the Rangers. In his last three, the goalie is 2-0-1 with a .930 save percentage, which includes a 27 save performance in their shootout loss to the Devils on Thursday.
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In their last five, the Rangers are 4-1. Their last game was way back on Monday, where they came from behind against the Minnesota Wild 5-4, after being down 3-0 heading into the third period. One of the players to spur the comeback, Rick Nash leads the team with 11 points. Also, he is still among the league’s leaders in goals with nine, one behind Anaheim Ducks Corey Perry. With his goal on Monday, Nash is nine for nine in games this season for the first time in his career. It appears he will be on the same line from Monday with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello. The threesome did the most damage last game, accounting for eight points in the third and scoring three goals including the game winner by Zuccarello. Other possible line combinations:
Chris Kreider– Martin St. Louis–Anthony Duclair
Kevin Hayes–Chris Mueller –Tanner Glass
Carl Hagelin– Dominic Moore– Lee Stempniak
On defense, the team will be without the services of John Moore , who was suspended five games by the NHL for throwing his elbow at the head of Wild’s player Erik Haula. As a result, Mike Kostka will get another start with Matt Hunwick. Most likely the defensive pairings will be as follows:
Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Kevin Klein
Mike Kostka–Matt Hunwick
Henrik Lundqvist is expected to get the go ahead for tonight against the jets. He will be making his eight straight start, carrying a record of 5-3 with a .891 save percentage. In Monday’s comeback, he was one of the vocal leaders in the lockeroom that spurred the Rangers.
Expect the game to be full of surprises. Despite the difference in conference standings, the Jets have given the Rangers a hard time. They have taken two of three games in Madison Square Garden, including a 5-2 victory last season. After winning four straight over the Jets since 2011-2012, the Rangers are 2-5 against Winnipeg.
So breakout your Heritage jerseys and get ready for Gametime!