The New York Rangers will be hoping to finish a mixed week on a high when they take on the St. Louis Blues tonight at Madison Square Garden.
After stunning the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime last Saturday, the New York Rangers were brought back to earth earlier this week thanks to losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins.
The schedule hasn’t been kind to the Blueshirts who will now take on yet another team set to be involved in the postseason for the fourth consecutive game.
Overcoming a disastrous start to the year, the St. Louis Blues have maneuvered a miraculous turnaround, transforming themselves from a down-and-out bottom feeder to a team that could spring a few surprises and embark on a deep Cup run.
The Blues rise from the dead is even more remarkable when you consider that they were propping up the rest of the NHL in last place only as far back as January 2nd with a less than flattering record of 15-18-4.
Fast forward to now and, following a coaching change which saw Craig Berube replace Mike Yeo as interim head coach in November, the Blues are 41-27-8 and in third place in the Central Division, breathing right down the necks of the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets respectively.
Berube is 34-18-5 since being asked to fill the hot seat at the Enterprise Center.
Only five franchises in NHL history have rocketed from the bottom spot to a playoff berth, but St. Louis looks set to become the sixth which would make them the first team in the last 20 years to achieve that remarkable feat.
And the Blues will be on a mission in Broadway tonight as they look to build on Monday’s 3-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights and attempt to clinch a playoff spot with a victory in the Big Apple.
As for the Rangers?
The final six games of the regular season won’t mean much for the Blueshirts in terms of points and standings, but head coach David Quinn will be undertaking a constant evaluation of his young roster with at least one eye sure to already be focused on next season.
Although fans of the Rangers will be hoping for more losses in order to improve their standings in the lottery standings – NYR are currently fifth – Quinn will be demanding plenty of fight and character from his team, as he does every game.
It is fan appreciation night at the Garden tonight and New York will be hoping to at least put on a show for their fans who have stuck by them during another trying season.
With no postseason hockey for the second consecutive year, there have been more lows than highs for the Rangers to digest.
However, one positive has been the play of Mika Zibanejad who has emerged as a true star this year, proving that he can be a cornerstone on which this Rangers roster can be built around.
The forward helped himself to two goals against the Bruins on Wednesday night, taking him to 30 goals and 70 points for the season.
He has now achieved career highs in goals, assists (40), points and power play points (23).
The Rangers will certainly look towards their sensational Swede to step up to the plate once again tonight in order to stop the Blues in their tracks.