It's gameday for the New York Rangers. After an unconvincing win against the Anaheim Ducks, Peter Laviolette threw the lines in a blender and decided to change the appearance of the forward core. New York responded with a big win over their cross-state rival, New York Islanders. Now we see if the remodeled lines can continue to succeed as the Blueshirts prepare for game number twelve of the season against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden.
Buffalo is still Buffalo. Although they are sub-NHL .500 and struggling out of the gate, they are 5-4-1 in their last 10. However, the New York Rangers should still comfortably win this game. Buffalo's struggles continue to stem from their top-heavy scoring. They have a good powerplay, a solid top line, and a solid top defensive pairing, but the rest of the roster doesn't threaten much offense.
The New York Rangers will test their new look lines again as we look at the rosters. Can Mika Zibanejad continue to build on his three-point night against the Islanders? He's playing with Artemi Panarin now, so there are expectations for the Swedish centerman to continue to perform. He's been on a steady decline in the last few seasons, and with six more seasons on that deal, New York has to get the best out of him. Zibanejad can be dominant, but he hasn't done that recently.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Mika Zibanejad - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Vincent Trocheck - Reilly Smith
Chris Kreider - Filip Chytil - Kaapo Kakko
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Zac Jones - Braden Schneider
Jonathan Quick
Igor Shesterkin
Buffalo Sabres
JJ Peterka - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch
Zach Benson - Dylan Cozens - Jack Quinn
Jordan Greenway - Ryan McLeod - Jason Zucker
Beck Malenstyn - Peyton Krebs - Sam Lafferty
Rasmus Dahlin - Bowen Byram
Owen Power - Jacob Bryson
Dennis Gilbert - Connor Clifton
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Devon Levi
Puck Drop
Tonight's game starts at 7 p.m. in the Garden. New York will be looking for its third straight win and a chance to jump back up the Metropolitan Standings and out of the wild card positions. New York has been highly unconvincing at the start of the season, and we know that the Blueshirts have to build upon their start if they want to be taken seriously. They've gotten good results with poor performances.