Hockey is officially back and the New York Rangers will usher in a new era tonight when they take on the Winnipeg Jets in their 2019-20 season opener at Madison Square Garden.
It is an exciting time to be a New York Rangers fan right now and the next chapter in the long, rich history of this storied franchise will start to write its first paragraph once puck drops later.
There will almost certainly be an electric atmosphere in and around Madison Square Garden with Blueshirts fans flocking to see Artemi Panarin make his proper Rangers debut, as well as getting a longer glimpse of Kaapo Kakko, Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox of course.
It is an early opportunity for these new-look Rangers to put on a show and build on the excitement and momentum that has been gradually generating steam since the front office went out and made a string of aggressive moves in the off-season in order to radically improve this team and accelerate the rebuild.
Of course, a win on opening night would be like an early Christmas present although the Rangers will be coming up against a talented and loaded Winnipeg Jets team, who will be coming into the new season with a rather large chip on their shoulders after courting plenty of controversy throughout the summer.
It has all the makings to be a blockbuster of a game and there are a plethora of storylines to keep an eye on as they unfold, so we decided to highlight a few for you…
1. Panarin is ours
Are you really surprised we started with this one? Yes, Artemi Panarin pulled on a New York Rangers jersey a couple of times during the course of the preseason, but we all know exhibition games don’t count so his proper debut will come tonight.
And there will be goosebumps when Panarin is officially introduced to Madison Square Garden during the opening night ceremony, with the sight of the Breadman gliding towards that magnificent center ice logo a sight we will all soak in and cherish.
It will then be onto business on the ice and the first tantalizing opportunity to see the Panarin-Mika Zibanejad–Pavel Buchnevich top line in action for the very first time.
Panarin has that ability to create something special out of nothing and Blueshirts fans, both at MSG and at home, will no doubt be on the edge of their seats waiting for the Russian stud to pull something magical out of the bag and show us again why he is the most coveted prize in free agency.
Plus, given that he is one of the best players in the NHL today, it is expected that Panarin will help Zibanejad and Buchnevich to elevate their respective games and that could translate to a potent and dangerous top line for the Rangers.