When New York Rangers Coach Gerard Gallant was asked if upcoming games against Toronto and Carolina were a test, he gave his stock answer. “They’re all a test. Those are good teams coming up, there’s no doubt they’re a top team. Two points against Carolina or two points against a team at the bottom, it doesn’t matter, every team can beat you in this league and if you’re not prepared you’re gonna lose.”
That said, the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the better teams in the NHL, sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division with the red hot Boston Bruins breathing down their necks. The Maple Leafs have been keeping pace, with only two losses in their last 10 games. They have been greatly affected by the pandemic, playing only six times in the last 32 days. They’re 2-1-1 in their last four games allowing 15 goals while scoring 14.
Still, the Maple Leafs are near the top of the league in goals per game 3.39 (8th) and are stingy on defense, allowing 2.56 goals per game (5th). Their power play is second best in the NHL and their penalty kill is seventh best in the league. These are two well matched teams.
Besides winning, the Rangers face a challenge in Auston Matthews who has scored in 10 straight road games. If he scores against the Rangers, he will tie the NHL record held by Pavel Bure and Steve Yzerman. Lifetime, Matthews has scored five goals and 13 points in 14 games against New York.
The Rangers are 100% healthy with Alexis Lafrenière off the COVID protocol list. He cleared the protocol today so the question is whether he will play tonight. Morgan Barron was returned to teh Taxi Squad to make room for him. If Lafreniere is in the lineup, he would replace Greg McKegg. We’ll know closer to game time.
Projected lineups
Ranger goalies seem to own the Maple Leafs. We all know that Alexandar Georgiev played two of the best games of his career against them including a 55 save performance in 2019. Igor Shesterkin has been just as good with 2-1 record with a .941 save percentage and a 1.98 goals against average.
NEW YORK RANGERS
20 Kreider – 93 Zibanejad – 24 Kakko
10 Panarin – 16 Strome – 72 Chytil
13 Lafrenière – 21 Goodrow – 12 Gauthier
29 Hunt – 17 Rooney – 75 Reaves
55 Lindgren – 23 Fox
79 Miller – 8 Trouba
15 Nemeth – 45 Schneider
31 Shesterkin
40 Georgiev
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
58 Michael Bunting – 34 Auston Matthews – 16 Mitchell Marner
15 Alexander Kerfoot – 91 John Tavares – 88 William Nylander
65 Ilya Mikheyev – 64 David Kampf – 47 Pierre Engvall
43 Kyle Clifford – 19 Jason Spezza – 24 Wayne Simmonds
44 Morgan Rielly – 78 TJ Brodie
38 Rasmus Sandin – 37 Timothy Liljegren
23 Travis Dermott – 33 Alex Biega
36 Jack Campbell
35 Petr Mrazek
Jack Muzzin is out with a concussion while Nick Ritchie won’t play having just come off the COVID list. Ondrej Kase and Justin Holl are both still on the list. Jack Campbell should be in net for Toronto. While his numbers are not as good as Shesterkin’s, they are comparable with a 2.13 GAA and .931 Sv%.
How to watch and the live conversation
Game time is 7:30pm and it will be a national telecast on TNT, the first time for the Rangers on TNT since opening night. If you can’t stand the TNT announcers, the game will be on the radio on ESPN 98.7FM. The Rangers are 1-2 on nationally televised games this season.
Blue Line Station will host its live conversation during the game. Feel free to join in and share your thoughts about the game in the comments section below. It’s been a while since we’ve had a home game to talk about. They won their last two against Edmonton and Tampa so let’s see if they can keep a good thing going.