Following... whatever that was against the Buffalo Sabres, the New York Rangers will return to action tonight against the Detroit Red Wings—knowing that they must make amends for that dismal performance against Buffalo. New York will complete its season series with the Red Wings after two wins due to individual brilliance earlier in the season. Both goaltenders have a win against Detroit on the year, and whichever one goes tonight is expected to make it two wins.
The Rangers need to improve in every facet of the game. That humiliation at home against Buffalo must be a one-off, or fans will call for change. That was unacceptable. A 6-1 defeat at the hands of the forgotten New York team is brutal. You cannot let that fester in the minds of the fanbase. It will not be good enough if the Blueshirts do not come out swinging and put the Red Wings to the sword early.
Detroit has matured since the meetings of these two organizations earlier in the season. With the Rangers still naive enough to underestimate an opponent, this is a game the Blueshirts can struggle in. They got rightfully thumped last time out, and Detoir will be looking to pour salt into those Sabre wounds. New York has to turn up from the opening puck drop or this could get ugly quickly.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Mika Zibanejad - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - Vincent Trocheck - Reilly Smith
Will Cuylle - Filip Chytil - Kaapo Kakko
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Zac Jones - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Detroit Red Wings
Alex DeBrincat - Dylan Larkin - Patrick Kane
Andrew Copp - J.T Compher - Lucas Raymond
Jonathan Berggren - Marco Kasper - Vladimir Tarasenko
Michael Rasmussen - Joe Veleno - Christian Fischer
Simon Edvinsson - Mortiz Seider
Ben Chiarot - Justin Holl
Albert Johansson - Erik Gustafsson
Alex Lyon
Cam Talbot
Puck Drop
It's a 7 p.m. puck drop from Little Caesars Arena as the Rangers look to get back to winning ways. Detroit will be eager to make amends for their defeats earlier in the season by continuing to inflict pain on the Blueshirts. Can the Rangers complete the season sweep of the Wings, or will Motown get a win in this Original Six clash?