New York Rangers looking to start fresh against Detroit

After a nine day layoff, the season resumes for the New York Rangers as they take on the Detroit Red Wings, the worst team in the NHL

The New York Rangers face the Detroit Red Wings for the second and last time at Madison Square Garden this season. This is the first of a home and home series, with Saturday night’s game in Detroit.

It’s the first game back after the All-Star break and mandatory bye week that resulted in a nine-day layoff for the New York Rangers.  Detroit has been off for eight days and both teams should be ready to go for the final two months of the season.

The Blueshirts won their first meeting of the season 5-1, at the Garden in November.  Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves and picked up his third win of the season.

The Rangers will be looking to break a two game losing streak, dropping their final two games before the break to the Blue Jackets and Islanders.

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With the long layoff, this game may have a tendency to be very sloppy from both sides. Remember the third game of the season against the Edmonton Oilers? The Rangers were given a week off between their second and third games of the season, and Edmonton completely outplayed them in a 4-1 loss.

Since Detroit will be on the same playing field as the Rangers in terms of days off, but this game might be a matter of who can stick to the fundamentals.

The Red Wings come into this game with 28 points in 51 games, by far the worst point total in the NHL.

The next worst team? Los Angeles has 41 points through 51 games.

Although it should be a simple game for the Rangers to pick up two points, they should not underestimate the Red Wings because of their record.

About the Red Wings

Andreas Athanasiou traveled with the Red Wings to New York, but will sit out on Friday after missing the last 11 games with an upper-body injury.. Jonathan Bernier, who has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, will also be out for Friday night’s matchup. Frans Nielsen and Mike Green both remain day-to-day.

Jimmy Howard is expected to be in net for the Red Wings and is looking for a much better second half of the season after an abysmal 2-19-2 record.

Detroit has many scoring threats including Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin, who both have 36 points each. It is not a lot through 51 games, but that shows how badly the Red Wings are struggling.

About the Rangers

Igor Shesterkin will start in goal for the Rangers and will be going for his third win this season.

The Rangers will get Artemi Panarin back into the lineup after missing the January 21 game against the Islanders. New York’s leader in points missed his first game of the season after missing two straight practices due to an upper-body injury. Getting Panarin back will mean that the Rangers will have a completely healthy lineup.

After the first game against Detroit the Rangers will begin a tedious month of February, which will see them play 15 games in 29 days. This includes three sets of back-to-back games.

However the Rangers should not focus on February, but focus on getting back into the groove of things tonight.

About the game

The game is scheduled to start at 7pm.  The telecast will be on the MSG Network.  The radiocast will be on ESPN Radio 98.7 FM.