Blue Line Station
Fansided

Battle of the west coast veterans versus the city kids

By Rachel Nones

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 12: Logan Couture #39 of the San Jose Sharks tries to get the puck from Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers at SAP Center on December 12, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 12: Logan Couture #39 of the San Jose Sharks tries to get the puck from Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers at SAP Center on December 12, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 04: Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers skates against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on November 04, 2019 in New York City. The Senators defeated the Rangers 6-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 04: Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers skates against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on November 04, 2019 in New York City. The Senators defeated the Rangers 6-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

About the Rangers

The Rangers are currently working with a three goalie rotation consisting of veteran Henrik Lundqvist, Alexandar Georgiev, and rookie Shesterkin. Just two days away from the trade deadline the Rangers, the team has not made any major moves yet but there could be an alteration to the roster before the game.

Newly acquired Julien Gautheir is expected to play in his third NHL game with New York and he is still looking to get his first big league goal. The big bodied forward had dazzled Rangers fans in his debut game and continued to impress against the Hurricanes. Head Coach David Quinn has kept the lineup the same the past two games, with a very good chance it will remain the same tonight.

In last night’s game, Panarin tied his career high with goals (31) and the Russian-born winger has been a thrill to watch over the course of this Rangers season. The Rangers draft pick prior to this season, Kaapo Kakko has fallen a little short of Rangers’ fan’ expectations for his debut season, but has more than enough time to develop as he is still adjusting.

He has racked up 20 points, but fighting to be a top contributor on a Rangers team like this is no easy task to accomplish, especially your first year. Kakko is a large equation in the rebuild, but was also thrown in with a lot of other talent entering this year. Again, there is plenty of time to Kakko and watching him transform over the next few seasons is something all Blueshirts fans can look forward to.

Also commanding the attention of fans is the Kreider-Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich line. Together, the three forwards have collected 48 points in the last 13 games with half of those points goals. Zibanejad has also been named the First Star for the last two games and rides a six-game point streak. Clearly, the harmony between the veteran players and the younger guys has not been an issue with both groups of players pulling weight.

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