New York Rangers vs. Florida Panthers: Betting odds & live conversation
By Steve Paulus
The New York Rangers take on the Florida Panthers, looking to recover from a beatdown Thursday night by the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was their worst loss of the season. Join the live conversation by weighing in before, during and after the game!
The New York Rangers were thoroughly dismantled by the Lightning on Thursday. The competition doesn’t get any easier when they take on the Panthers tonight in Sunrise.
Kaapo Kakko will be a gametime decision, still suffering from the flu. Henrik Lundqvist will be in net. Jacob Trouba will definitely play after missing half of the Tampa game.
Florida is one of the best offensive teams in the league and coach Davis Quinn talked about the Panthers after the morning skate. Quinn said “I expect a team that plays at a high pace, they’ve got a lot of offense.Their forward group is a deep as group as there is in the league. They’ve got defensemen who contribute offensively too and they’ve got a good goalie. This is a team that’s built to win now, they’re well coached and we’re going to have our hands full.”
It’s Hockey Fights Cancer night at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The night has special meaning for ex-Ranger Brian Boyle who is in remission from chronic myeloid leukemia. He was honored with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2018 after playing a season for the Devils after being diagnosed and while undergoing treatment. He signed with the Panthers after the start of this season.
About Lias Andersson
Lias Andersson has seen his ice time dwindle and he is stapled to the fourth line. David Quinn spoke with him after practice this morning. When asked about the conversation, Quinn said “I just wanted to let him know that we all believe in him. We all know he’s a good player and young players go through highs and lows in a season. Our job is to help him get confidence, it’s not to give them confidence. That’s up to them…the player has to give the coach confidence in him and we have confidence in Lias. We know he’s a good player. We know he’s capable of being a good contributor for us . I just wanted him to know that and reiterate that to him and expect him to have a good night tonight.”
When asked if he could see any action off the fourth line, Quinn’s response was “If he earns it, he’ll get a different look…that’s something a player earns more than anything.”
Projected lineups
New York Rangers
10 Panarin – 16 Strome – 17 Fast
20 Kreider – 72 Chytil – 89 Buchnevich
48 Lemieux – 21 Howden – 24 Kakko
14 McKegg – 28 Andersson – 42 Smith
25 Hajek – 8 Trouba
76 Skjei – 77 DeAngelo
55 Lindgren – 23 Fox
40 Georgiev
30 Lundqvist
Florida Panthers
11 Huberdeau – 16 Barkov – 63 Dadonov
9 Brian Boyle – 21 Trocheck – 10 Connolly
77 Vatrano – 62 Malgin – 68 Hoffman
73 Hunt – 55 Acciari – 7 Sceviour
3 Yandle – 5 Ekblad
19 Matheson – 6 Stralman
13 Pysyk – 2 Brown
72 Bobrovsky
33 Montembeault
Betting odds and lines
If you are a gambler, the Rangers are +175 on the Moneyline courtesy of The Action Network. Florida has been playing well, but is coming off a tough loss to Winnipeg.
Join the live conversation
Feel free to post comments as the game goes along. We’ll be monitoring the conversation and will chime in as the game goes on. It’s always fun to share opinions and comment on a game as it is played or after. The ongoing commentary during the Tampa game was pretty interesting.
Gametime is 7pm and it will be televised on the MSG2 Network. LGR!