First Original Six Clash of the Season Sees Red Wings Visit the Rangers
A disappointing result in Minnesota has dampened the mood on an excellent start early in the season for the New York Rangers. However, the Blueshirts have returned to Madison Square Garden and are preparing to face an opponent this organization has seen many times. It’s the Detroit Red Wings who come to town.
This Detroit team has had almost as good a start to the season as the Rangers. With a 7-4-1 record, they’ve been winning a lot more than they were expected to by some and currently sit second in the Atlantic division. For a Rangers team that is still banged up and missing several essential parts, this will be a challenging game. But two points tonight could solidify the confidence of the roster in the future.
Igor Shesterkin will not dress tonight, meaning backup netminder Jonathan Quick will get another shot after an overtime loss in Minnesota, where the Rangers hung him out to dry. Shesterkin is still slightly banged up after the Carolina game, where everyone got hurt. He’s day-to-day, which is a good sign, but the Blueshirts will be without their star netminder tonight.
As for former players on both sides, Andrew Copp will return to the Garden. He was a deadline addition in 2022, helping the Rangers advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. He’s been back a few times, but it is always interesting to see former Rangers score against the Blueshirts. Be sure to watch him tonight.
Projected lineups
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Blake Wheeler
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle – Nick Bonino – Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey – Barclay Goodrow – Tyler Pitlick
K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Ryan Lindgren – Erik Gustafsson
Zac Jones – Braden Schneider
Jonathan Quick
Louis Domingue
Detroit Red Wings
Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
David Perron – J.T. Compher – Andrew Copp
Robby Fabbri – Joe Veleno – Daniel Sprong
Klim Kostin – Michael Rasmussen – Christian Fischer
Jake Walman – Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot – Justin Holl
Olli Maatta – Shayne Gostisbehere
Ville Husso
James Reimer
Puck Drop Time
This will be a 7:30 p.m. Eastern puck drop from the Garden. Still no Fox or Chytil for the Rangers against an opponent with the firepower the Red Wings have on that top line. This could make for an exciting game. Bally Sports Detroit will have the Red Wings feed for those who are wrong, or you can watch Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti on the MSG network tonight if you are correct.