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Rangers vs Maple Leafs: Join the live conversation

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 10: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on February 10, 2019 in New York City . The Rangers defeated the Maple Leafs 4-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 10: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on February 10, 2019 in New York City . The Rangers defeated the Maple Leafs 4-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The New York Rangers go for their second win in a row in the second of a four game road trip.  They will be without Ryan Strome (COVID-19 Protocol) and Kaapo Kakko (Upper Body) and recalled Morgan Barron from Hartford.  Barron scored in Hartford’s first two games, but won’t be in the lineup as Julien Gauthier gets  chance to play.

There was a feeling that Gauthier was going to be in the lineup when the Ranger made available for press interviews after practice on Sunday.  It wouldn’t make sense for them to let him speak to reporters if he was going to get scratched again.  He is slotting into the third line with Sammy Blais and Kevin Rooney.  Greg McKegg will get Rooney’s slot centering the fourth line while Barclay Goodrow replaces Kakko on the right wing on the second line.

Auston Matthews returns to the Toronto lineup after recovering from wrist surgery and that is significant.  He led the league in goals last season with 41 in 52 games and always plays well in his first game of the season.  He established that reputation when he scored four goals in his NHL debut in 2016. He is looking for career goal number 200 and odds are he will get it tonight.

In an unusual note, the the Rangers will be the first non-Canadian team facing the Maple Leafs since they played the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 10, 2000.  Their first three games this season were against Montreal and Ottawa.

The Rangers have a three game winning streak at the Scotiabank Arena.

There’s no word on who will be in net for the Rangers, but it is likely to be Igor Shesterkin.

Projected lineups

NEW YORK RANGERS

13 Lafrenière – 93 Zibanejad – 20 Kreider
10  Panarin – 72 Chytil – 21 Goodrow
91 Blais -17 Rooney – 12 Gauthier
29 Hunt – 14 McKegg –  75 Reaves

55 Lindgren – 23 Fox
79 Miller – 8 Trouba
12 Nemeth – 27 Lundkvist

31 Shesterkin
40 Georgiev

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

20 Nick Ritchie -34 Auston Matthews -16  Mitchell Marner
58 Michael Bunting – 91 John Tavares – 88 William Nylander|
15 Alexander Kerfoot – 64 David Kampf -25  Ondrej Kase
19 Jason Spezza – 47 Pierre Engvall – 24- Wayne Simmonds

44 Morgan Rielly – 78 TJ Brodie
8 Jake Muzzin – 3 Justin Holl
38 Rasmus Sandin – 23 Travis Dermott

36 Jack Campbell
30 Michael Hutchinson

About the game and the live conversation

The game is set to start at 7pm and it will be televised on the MSG Network with the radiocast on ESPN 98.7 FM. The game will be available nationally on the NHL Network.

Once again, Blue Line Station will be hosting a live in-game conversation using the comments feature below. The comments have not been refreshing  and one workaround is to change how the comments sort from “newest” to “oldest” and back to “newest” again. Sorry about that, we’re working on the problem.

It promises to be an exciting game so feel free to join in a talk about it with your fellow Blueshirts faithful.

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