Blue Line Station
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New York Rangers: A game with the playoffs in the balance

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 27: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes takes the shot against Brady Skjei #76 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 27, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 27: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes takes the shot against Brady Skjei #76 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 27, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 09: Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers tends net against the New Jersey Devils during the first period at Madison Square Garden on January 09, 2020 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Devils 6-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 09: Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers tends net against the New Jersey Devils during the first period at Madison Square Garden on January 09, 2020 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Devils 6-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

About the Rangers

It will be Igor Shesterkin in net and the same lineup as Wednesday in tonights match with the Hurricanes.

With the lineup intact, it means that Julien Gauthier will get a chance to show up the team that traded him to the Rangers on Tuesday.  Joey Keane was assigned to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL so this will not be a head to head match up.

This will be the last time the two teams meet this season.  The Rangers have taken all three games from Carolina, winning 3-2 and 5-3 at Madison Square Garden and 4-2 in Raleigh behind Henrik Lundqvist’s best game of the season, a 45 save effort.   In fact, Lundqvist has started all three games against Carolina and they have had over 40 shots in each of the games. That’s a troublesome statistic.


Those numbers raise the question of whether Coach David Quinn even considered giving Henrik Lundqvist the start tonight.   The King has won 33 of 46 games in his career against the Hurricanes, allowing an average of only two goals per game. It’s his second best goals against average against any teams and that is his best winning percentage.

Of course, Lundqvist has not had a start since February 3 and this may not have been  the time to test his battle readiness.  Quinn will ride Shesterkin until the Rangers are not a playoff contender.  That said, Shesterkin has not had back-to-back starts in the NHL and usually split them with Adam Huska while he was in Hartford.  Shesterkin did start two games in two nights during the NHL All-Star break and won both games, allowing only three goals.

Artemi Panarin will be looking for career point number 400.  It’s a number achieved by only 24 Russian players before him.

This is a game of streaks for the Rangers. They have gone seven games without allowing a power play goal, going 16 for 16 in the process.   They have also won six games in a row on the road, the second longest road winning streak in team history.  A victory tonight will tie the Ranger record of seven, set in 1934-35 and tied in 1978-79.

Although the Ranger defense has improved, they have continue to allow a lot of shots. They have allowed the opposition over ten shots in every period in five  of the last 10 games.

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