Battle of the west coast veterans versus the city kids

The New York Rangers head into a match up against the San Jose Sharks tonight at the Garden. Following a heartstopping win over the Carolina Hurricanes last night, the Rangers look to top the San Jose and establish a late season win streak.

Both the San Jose Sharks and the New York Rangers are outside of where they wanted to be in their divisions as they head into tonight’s game. Despite being a steady attendee in the postseason, the Sharks have dropped off this season and have found themselves in the bottom quarter of the league standings.

For the first time since 2015, the Sharks will most likely not make the playoffs. One determinant factor is that Sharks are stacked with veteran talent, but they need their younger players to take on more of a role.

The Rangers are pretty much polar opposites, with their average player age making them the second youngest team in the league. Meanwhile, the Sharks are currently the oldest team with an average age pushing 30. Aside from offensive threats Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider, the Rangers are carried by their kids. With goaltender Igor Shesterkin in his rookie year and going 8-1 thus far, the young team is commanding attention as they make a late season playoff push.

Last night’s big game against the Hurricanes ended in the Rangers’ favor as they record a 5-2 victory. Zibanejad, Jesper Fast, Brady Skjei, Panarin, and Ryan Strome all secured goals in the road match. The Rangers look to stay on a roll as they meet the Sharks for the final time this season.

When the Rangers met the Western Conference team the first time, they were able to overpower the Sharks in a 6-3 final. Fast scored, Zibanejad struck twice, and Panarin recorded his third career hat trick (ironically, his previous two were against the Rangers) all on Martin Jones. There is no indication if David Quinn will go with Shesterkin for the second straight day or if he will turn to Henrik Lundqvist or Alexandar Georgiev.