New York Rangers looking to break out of their slump against red hot Sabres
Will tonight be the night the New York Rangers emerge from their slump? Some line shuffling could be the spark this team needs, but they face a stern test in the red hot Buffalo Sabres.
Following the 3-2 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, the New York Rangers have now dropped five straight and are 2-4-1 on the year.
The Rangers are currently in the early stages of a five-game homestand so there is hope that some wins could be on the way, although the task doesn’t get much easier with the impressive Buffalo Sabres in town tonight.
It will be a good litmus test for these young Blueshirts who will roll out some new-look lines tonight, including promoting Kaapo Kakko to the top line, in order to spark their offense into life.
Although growing pains and losses are to be expected this year, you don’t want this roster to be drained of confidence this early in the season so tonight’s game is a big one in terms of ensuring they don’t lose six straight.
About The Sabres
Although there is some scrutiny given that they went on a 10-game winning streak in November of last year before completely collapsing, this year’s edition of the Buffalo Sabres are showing signs that they could be the real deal.
Under new Head Coach Ralph Krueger, the Sabres are 8-1-1 on the year and that is good enough for the best record in the entire NHL, which is ridiculous no matter how early into the season we are.
But the Sabres are here on merit and they are getting significant contributions from up and down the lineup, including huge production from captain Jack Eichel who leads the way with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) including a four-point night in his last outing against the San Jose Sharks.
Rasmus Dahlin, playing in his sophomore year, looks to have really found his groove in the NHL and he has tallied one goal and nine assists for 10 points already, while 13 players have recorded four or more points through 10 games this year.
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A lot of Buffalo’s success this year has come on the power play which is currently ranked No. 4 in the NHL with a success rate of 30.8%.
And the Sabres have found the perfect mix of lethal ingredients on their top power play unit with seven of rookie Victor Olofsson‘s nine points coming on the man advantage, while all six of his goals have come on the PP.
The Sabres rank 20th on the penalty kill, however, so whoever wins the battle of the special teams tonight will have the edge when it comes to getting the win and securing the two points.
Buffalo is also getting elite goaltending early from veteran Carter Hutton who has a 1.65 Goals Against Average and a .943 Save Percentage through six starts, while he has history against the Rangers having pulled off a stunning 43-save win in October last year.
Blue Line Station did an extensive preview of the Buffalo Sabres heading into 2019-20 and you can check that out here.
About The Rangers
If you need a reminder that life can come at you hard then just cover or support the New York Rangers.
Only five minutes ago there was a tangible sense of excitement in the air following a blockbuster off-season that saw big name additions in Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba arrive in The Big Apple, but that seems a lifetime ago now.
Just like that, there is a cloud of doom hovering above Madison Square Garden and Head Coach David Quinn is already attracting heat from fans on social media, which seems crazy to me.
Granted, some of his lineup decisions have been questionable but he’s trying to make the most of what he’s got and he’s also attempting to spread the balance of power through the entire lineup.
And the lineup will again be the biggest storyline heading into tonight’s contest against the best team in the NHL, with rookie phenom Kaapo Kakko finally promoted to the top line.
However, the deadly combination of Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin has been broken up with Panarin dropping down to the second line alongside Ryan Strome and Pavel Buchnevich, while Zibanejad will center a top line featuring Chris Kreider and Kakko.
Henrik Lundqvist will start his fifth game of the year and the goalie currently has a 3.57 Goals Against Average and a .906 Save Percentage, but the eye test tells a different story in terms of the fact that the Rangers would have been blown out a lot earlier in certain games were it not for their veteran goalie.
Bottom nine grinder Micheal Haley is set to be a healthy scratch for the second straight game, with the fourth line of Brendan Smith, Lias Andersson and Greg McKegg getting another look.
That means Brendan Lemieux, who endured a tough night against the Arizona Coyotes, Brett Howden and Jesper Fast will make up the third line.
Three Keys to the game for the Rangers
- Get off to a fast start – After being outshot 20-13 in a woeful first period against the Vancouver Canucks, Rangers Head Coach David Quinn made his displeasure with that showing abundantly clear. However, his team didn’t learn their lesson and allowed 21 shots on goal against the Arizona Coyotes in the opening period, and that cannot happen tonight. Buffalo have the firepower to have the game locked up within the first period if given the opportunity, so the Blueshirts are going to need to be fast out of the traps in order to set the tone and give the MSG crowd some much-needed energy.
- Keep Buffalo off the power play – As mentioned already, the Sabres have been red hot on the man advantage through the first three weeks of the season, and they rank fourth on the PP with a percentage of 30.8. Jack Eichel is the Sabres’ playmaker on the power play and his favorite go-to is Victor Olofsson, who has scored all six of his goals on the man advantage. The Rangers are going to have to be disciplined and stay out of the box if they are going to have any chance of getting the W tonight.
- Get traffic to the net – Rangers Coach David Quinn’s biggest pet peeve is his team’s inability to shoot and get traffic to the net at times. That can’t be the case tonight. Buffalo goalie Carter Hutton has been absolutely insane with a 6-0 record and a 1.65 GAA and a .943 SV% this year. He’s playing at the peak of his powers right now so the Rangers are going to have to throw the puck on net as much as they can in order to generate rebounds and second looks.
Next. Rangers splitting up Panarin & Zibanejad. dark
About The Game
This could be the New York Rangers’ toughest test of the year so far, but Head Coach David Quinn has made it clear at his pregame press conference that his team needs to show up ready to play regardless of who they go up against.
“I don’t care who we’re playing, I am hoping that we show up night in night out and have the same approach. I hate to think we are looking at our opponent and are thinking ‘oh boy we’re playing Buffalo – We have to try hard because we’re playing Buffalo.’ If that’s the case we’re in for a long season. I don’t think that’s the case.”
Faceoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on the MSG Network. Radio will be ESPN 98.7 FM. After tonight the homestand continues with two extremely mouth-watering but daunting matchups against the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning.