A night for the Rangers to gain ground by building on a win
By Steve Paulus
The New York Rangers are on center stage as they take on the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. It’s the big game of the night in the Eastern Conference playoff battle.
Breaking news: Late information is that MacKinnon is out 1- 2 weeks, but Makar will play tonight.
All eyes will be on the New York Rangers tonight. They hope to build on an impressive road win in Dallas and gain some ground in the Eastern Conference wild card race. A win tonight and the Rangers will be one point out of a playoff spot. The bad news is both the Hurricanes and Islanders will have two games in hand. The good news is the Rangers own the regulation wins tiebreaker.
The Rangers won last night due a total team effort. They played at a fast pace, backchecked conscientiously and matched the Stars in physical play. Although they sat on the lead in the third period and it cost them, they were dominant over the first two period.
The Rangers are taking on a Colorado team that is two points out of first place in the Central Division, just behind the St. Louis Blues. The Avalanche have been hammered by injuries, the latest to Cale Makar who didn’t play Monday and to Nathan MacKinnon who left Monday’s game with a lower body injury. It would be fortunate for the Rangers if both of those players are unable to see action tonight.
As for the Rangers, Filip Chytil left Tuesday’s game with a lower body injury late in the first period. Coach David Quinn called him “day to day” and the team recalled Steven Fogarty from Hartford on an emergency basis. Chytil will be a gametime decision.
One of the storylines in tonight’s game will be the battle of rookie goaltenders. Igor Shesterkin is expected to get the nod in goal for New York after notching his 10th win in 12 starts. He has a 2.52 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. It would be the second time that he has started back-to-back games. The first time he made 44 saves in defeating the San Jose Sharks on February 22.
Pavel Francouz has been one of the better stories for the Avalanche this season. The 29-year old Czech was signed as a free agent last season after spending three years in the KHL. After one year in the AHL, he has been pressed into service after an injury to top goalie Philipp Grubauer. All he has done is go 20-7-4 with a 2.43 goals against average and a .922 save percentage.
He has hit sort of a wall, losing three of his last four starts while allowing 15 goals. He has been playing a lot as the Avalanche acquired Michael Hutchinson from Toronto to back him up and he has been less than stellar.