Yes, they are the new look New York Rangers. With Jacob Trouba, Brett Howden, Chris Kreider and Ryan Lindgren all sidelined, there could be seven rookies in the lineup tonight. That means Morgan Barron will make his NHL debut and Tarmo Reunanen will be playing in his second game.
The new look includes goal where Alexandar Georgiev will be tasked with beating the Islanders who have outscored the Blueshirts 10-1 in two all-important games. It’s a tall order.
Georgie in 🥅. pic.twitter.com/mRcd0Yu9St
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) May 1, 2021
It’s any guess what the starting lines and defense combinations will be and you can be sure that it will change during the game. Here’s what the projected starting lineup looks like:
Projected lineup
13 Lafrenière – 93 Zibanejad – 89 Buchnevich
10 Panarin – 16 Strome – 74 Kravtsov
43 Blackwell – 72 Chytil – 24 Kakko
47 Barron – 17 Rooney – 12 Gauthier
25 Hajek – 23 Fox
79 Miller – 12 Jones
51 Reunanen – 42 Smith
40 Georgiev
31 Shesterkin
Other than the additions of Barron and Reunanen, the other headlines are Vitali Kravtsov’s promotion to the top six, playing on the right side of Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome, and the return of Julien Gauthier to the starting lineup. Gauthier hasn’t played since April 3 and he may be replacing Phil Di Giuseppe in the lineup.
The Rangers tragic number has dropped to three, meaning any combination of three points gained by the Bruins or lost by the Rangers and their playoffs hopes are officially done. Face it, their playoff hopes are done.