It’s back on the road for the New York Rangers as they travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks. This is a key game with both teams are on the verge of falling out of the playoff race.
The Blackhawks are closer to a wild card berth than the New York Rangers despite being in last place in the Central Division with four fewer points than the Blueshirts. Both teams desperately need a win if they expect to stay relevant in the playoff race.
The Blackhawks are the only team in the NHL that the Rangers have not played yet. It’s a good time to be playing them as they have won only one of their last nine games in regulation, going 2-5-2.
Like the Rangers, with only five days left until the trade deadline, the Blackhawks have to figure out how aggressively they will be sellers by Monday afternoon. Both of their goaltenders will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Their only skater who is a pending UFA is defenseman Erik Gustafsson.
The Blackhawks have been on the road practically the whole month of February, playing only one home game before tonight. They are one game above NHL .500 with a record of 26-25-8.
The lineups haven’t been released and there are some questions about the Rangers lineup. As the trade deadline gets near, it’s possible that there will be some healthy scratches if deals are imminent. Another question is whether newly acquired Julien Gauthier will play. The right winger was picked up yesterday in a swap with the Carolina Hurricanes for defense prospect Joey Keane.
The status of Igor Shesterkin and Anthony DeAngelo is also up in the air so there will be some questions answered as gametime nears.