After the heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the New York Rangers return to the ice tonight to try and restart the point streak that snapped in that defeat. Since the turn of the year, New York's play has them right back in the mix for the postseason and the playoff places. Tonight, they'll look for that to continue against the other team of that massive trade that was made on Friday night.
The Carolina Hurricanes made two significant additions. Former Hart Trophy winner as League MVP Taylor Hall is the afterthought, but he can also hurt the Rangers. The big name is superstar winger Mikko Rantanen. These two veterans are still embedding themselves in Carolina, making this a good time for the Rangers to play the Hurricanes before they get up to speed in their new home. Peter Laviolette's team has to make this game challenging, so Rod Brind'Amour's side has to adjust on the road.
For New York, there are two things to watch. Alexis Lafreniere went quiet before Christmas, but he's now riding a four-game point streak. As the right winger on the Rangers top line, there is some emphasis on him to produce for the Rangers to succeed. The second thing is the red-hot fourth line. Sam Carrick, Matt Rempe, and Adam Edstrom have begun putting up points along with their physical game, and they'll need to be strong tonight against Carolina.
Projected Lineups
Carolina Hurricanes
Mikko Rantanen - Sebastian Aho - Jackson Blake
Taylor Hall - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Andrei Svechnikov
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Seth Jarvis
Eric Robinson - Juho Jaaska - Jack Roslovic
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sean Walker
Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Mika Zibanejad - Reilly Smith
Chris Kreider - Filip Chytil - Arthur Kaliyev
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Puck Drop
Tonight's game from the Garden will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern as the Rangers get their first look at this new Hurricanes roster. Carolina won both prior meetings this season against the Rangers, so the Blueshirts will be looking to get revenge with the two points tonight and get back to winning ways. New York can also close the gap on New Jersey with a win tonight for that final divisional spoon.