It's a new day—we're past Thanksgiving—and the New York Rangers are looking to get back to winning after four straight defeats. Calgary, Edmonton, St. Louis, and now Carolina have all given the Rangers a reason to feel down on themselves, and trade rumors are now swirling around this organization. While that goes on, the Rangers must focus on the task as they prepare to visit the Philadelphia Flyers.
This is one of the worst matchups for the Rangers right now, given their struggles. Ranger fans around the world know how a John Tortorella team is going to play. They will fight for every loose puck, be physically and defensively responsible, and make life miserable for the ailing Ranger forwards. Knowing what is coming, the Rangers must ensure they start on time and don't have another sluggish start. They let Carolina dominate early and built momentum that got them an early goal.
Brett Berard scored his first NHL goal in the loss in Carolina and two points in his two games with the Rangers this season. He'll be looking to continue his success in the top six in Chris Kreider's absence. Berard's trying to make the case that he is undroppable when the Boxford, Massachusetts native returns from his upper-body injury. He's been extremely impressive, but he needs to keep showing that if he wants to retain his roster spot.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Mika Zibanejad - Brett Berard
Adam Edstrom - Kaapo Kakko - Reilly Smith
Jimmy Vesey - Sam Carrick - Jonny Brodzinski
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Zac Jones - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Philadelphia Flyers
Joel Farabee - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink
Scott Laughton - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae - Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - Helge Grans
Ivan Fedotov
Aleksei Kolosov
Puck Drop
It will be a Black Friday matinee for the New York Rangers as it's a 1 p.m. puck drop from the Wells Fargo Center in the City of Brotherly Love. New York must stop the rot and beat the Rangers to get back in the win column. Four straight defeats and winless since the game in Vancouver have the Rangers at a low point of the season. Can the Blueshirts start to turn the tide tonight against a Metropolitan Division rival?