The New York Rangers return to the ice today against the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota is involved in its hunt for a wild-card spot out west as the surging St Louis Blues have passed the team from the Twin Cities for possession of the top wild card, leaving the Wild at risk to the chasing pack. They will want these two points just as severely as the Rangers need them to stay in the wild-card hunt in the Eastern Conference.
We expect Gabe Perreault to make his NHL debut tonight for the Rangers. He's freshly signed out of Boston College, and the son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault will attempt to have a more significant impact than his father did. He's wearing his dad's old number, making his debut at the most famous arena in all sports. The lights will be bright, the noise will be loud, and all eyes will watch Perreault tonight.
Elsewhere, Matt Rempe recently returned to skating in a non-contact jersey, so while he is getting closer to returning from his upper-body injury, he will not play against the Wild tonight. It means the Ranger's fourth line, which looked so good earlier in the year, is missing two of the three members who made it successful. The recruits and young kids must take the reins and ensure the Rangers' depth can help them throughout the lineup.
Projected Lineups
Minnesota Wild
Marcus Foligno - Marco Rossi - Matt Boldy
Marcus Johansson - Frederick Gaudreau - Matz Zuccarello
Gustav Nyquist - Ryan Hartman - Vinnie Hinostroza
Yakov Trenin - Devin Shore - Justin Bazeau
Jacob Middleton - Brock Faber
Jonas Brodin - Jared Spurgeon
Jon Merrill - Zach Bogosian
Filip Gustavsson
Marc-Andre Fleury
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Brennan Othmann
Gabriel Perreault - J.T. Miller - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Will Cuylle
Brett Berard - Sam Carrick - Jonny Brodzinski
K'Andre Miller - Will Borgen
Carson Soucy - Adam Fox
Urho Vaakanainen - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Puck Drop
It'll be a 7 p.m. puck drop from Madison Square Garden as the Rangers watch Perreault make his long-awaited Rangers debut. Mats Zuccarello and the Wild need the points from the Garden in their playoff race out East, but the Ranger's season could be over if they do not defeat the Wild. Two desperate teams clash at the most iconic building in the sporting world, and it is a must-watch.