The New York Rangers must put last night's drubbing in Buffalo behind them as they prepare for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. The team looked like it was still on the beaches against the Sabres, but they will get a chance to fix that tonight as the Rangers look for redemption against the Penguins. New York needs to bounce back tonight, or they can start looking at this season as a write-off. That humiliation in Buffalo must have lit a fire under every organization member.
Tonight, Jonathan Quick will likely be the starter. Igor Shesterkin got the nod against Buffalo and didn't see the end of the first period due to his performance. Quick came in for the benched Shesterkin and gave up three goals after the Sabres put the Rangers to the sword. Now, the Rangers will return to the winningest American-born netminder in NHL history, hoping he'll get the win tonight.
New York's issues against Buffalo will be headlines against Pittsburgh. If the Rangers cannot overcome the inability to defend and clear the slot in front of their netminder, a team with even more offensive power than the Sabres will put the Rangers in the ground. New York cannot be so poor in front of their goal, or Sidney Crosby will slaughter them. Pittsburgh beat the Rangers last time without him, so with him, it will just be worse.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - J.T. Miller - Reilly Smith
Will Cuylle - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Arthur Kaliyev
Jonny Brodzinski - Sam Carrick - Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen - Braden Schneider
Jonathan Quick
Igor Shesterkin
Pittsburgh Penguins
Anthony Beauvillier - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Michael Bunting - Evgeni Malkin - Cody Glass
Danton Heinen - Kevin Hayes - Philip Tomasino
Matt Nieto - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
Pierre-Olivier Joseph - Kris Letang
Matt Grzelcyk - Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves - Vincent Desharnais
Joel Blomqvist
Alex Nedeljkovic
Puck Drop
Tonight's game is a 3:30 puck drop as the Rangers look to stop the rot against Pittsburgh. New York needs the two points tonight to stay in the playoff hunt. It's been a rough patch going through the four nations, and with the bulk of the team playing for Team USA, there hasn't been much time off for the core. However, this game has to end in two points tonight to wipe away the bitter taste of the Buffalo defeat.