New York Rangers host the red-hot Calgary Flames at Madison Square Garden
Since the all-star break, the Rangers have won three straight. It's been a good time for the Rangers have a sub .500 performance in January. This is going to be another tough game for the Blueshirts tonight as they look to continue to build momentum. The Carolina Hurricanes shut the gap to four points in the division and will be looking to close the gap on the Blueshirts in the coming weeks.
Igor Shesterkin gave up three goals to the Chicago Blackhawks, which raises red flags on its own, but he will get the nod tonight ahead of Jonathan Quick. The Rangers know that they need to find a way to get the Russian shot-stopper back to his best because he is the only way the Rangers are going to go far in the postseason. He needs to pick up his stats if he is going to lead this team to glory when the games get meaningful.
Adam Edstrom is expected to replace Tyler Pitlick on the fourth line so the Rangers can address their internal depth options before the deadline. It could be Matt Rempe who was also recalled, but Peter Laviolette was very open about wanting to get looks at what is already available for the Blueshirts before burning the future of the club to try and bolster the chances of winning the Stanley Cup this season.
Projected Lineups
Calgary Flames
Jonathan Huberdeau - Yegor Sharangovich - Andrei Kuzmenko
Connor Zary - Nazem Kadri - Martin Pospisil
Andrew Mangiapane - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman
Jakob Pelletier - Kevin Rooney - Walker Duehr
Mackenzie Weegar - Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin - Chris Tanev
Oliver Kylington - Bradyen Pachal
Jacob Markstrom
Dustin Wolf
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Blake Wheeler
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Jonny Brodzinski - Kappo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey - Barclay Goodrow - Adam Edstrom
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Puck Drop
This will be a 7 p.m Eastern puck drop from Madison Square Garden as the Rangers will look to make it four wins in a row coming out of the all-star break. It's not an easy opposition, but it is a game that the Blueshirts will need to win to perserve their lead at four points in the division. Carolina will come hard at this Rangers roster, so winning against teams like Calgary is going to be important from here to the end of the season.