Returning to Madison Square Garden could prove to be the perfect tonic for the New York Rangers as they look to rebound from a gruelling and ultimately, fruitless road trip.
The New York Rangers went 0-3-1 on the four-game stretch that started with yet another overtime defeat in Edmonton and ended with a 5-2 spanking at the Minnesota Wild.
Positives were few and far between during the trip with this season rapidly fading away without so much as a whimper.
One thing you can credit the Rangers with this season has been their spirit and never-say-die attitude with which they have attacked games, although both qualities were visibly missing in Minnesota on Saturday and during the 5-1 humbling at the hands of the Calgary Flames the previous night.
Maybe, just maybe, the toll of losing more veteran leaders and quality pieces at the trade deadline has finally taken its toll on this young roster, which has now lost 11 of their last 13.
With just ten games of 2018-19 remaining, much of the focus will now be on where the New York Rangers will fall in the Entry Draft standings – they are currently sixth – with the final order set to be revealed by lottery in Toronto on Tuesday, April 9.
For now, all eyes will be on tonight’s tilt with the Detroit Red Wings at MSG with the season now truly entering the home stretch.
The Red Wings have hardly been world beaters themselves this year, although they did defeat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Saturday afternoon to snap a four-game losing streak and improve their overall record to 25-37-10.
Check out our three keys to tonight’s Original Six matchup at The Garden…