It's gameday for the New York Rangers. A set of poor results in the eight weeks before Christmas left the fanbase unsatisfied with their recent performances, but the Rangers are back on the ice tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's a challenging game in Amalie Arena down in the Sunshine State, but two points can change the mood of anything, and the Rangers faithful will be hoping the Blueshirts can start to stem the tide and turn the season around.
Good news awaits the Blueshirts on the injury front: Defenseman K'Andre Miller is set to return to the ice ahead of tonight's game. With the Rangers' current defensive struggles, the Blueshirts can add the big Minnesotan back into the top four, who has been a big part of the blueline during the success. It'll be the first time Miller has played with Will Borgen and Urho Vaakanainen, so the Rangers can finally ice their strongest roster.
Conversely, Tampa Bay is still a dangerous opponent for the Blueshirts. While their long-time captain, Steven Stamkos, is absent, the replacement, Jake Guentzel, has done incredibly well filling in, and the red-hot winger will be looking to continue the success he had with the Penguins and Hurricanes against the Rangers with his new team from the Atlantic. With Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, the Lightning has a dangerous line.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Reilly smith
Will Cuylle - Filip Chytil - Brett Berard
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Jimmy Vesey
K'Andre Miller - Adam Fox
Ryan Lindgren - Braden Schneider
Zac Jones - Will Borgen
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Tampa Bay Lightning
Jake Guentzel - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel - Anthony Cirelli - Conor Geekie
Gage Goncalves - Nick Paul - Mitchell Chaffee
Zemgus Girgensons - Luke Glendening - Cam Atkinson
Victor Hedman - Darren Raddysh
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg - Nick Perbix
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Puck Drop
Tonight's 7 p.m. puck drop is a return to the ice for the New York Rangers. The festive season break is a chance for the Rangers to reset and return to where they need to be. It's a long season, and the Rangers can still salvage this year, but they must soon turn the tide and stem the bleeding. That can start tonight with a win in Tampa Bay against a robust Lightning team.