New York Rangers will host the Vegas Golden Knights after returning from the West Coast
A 1-2-1 trip through California and Vegas has left the New York Rangers organization in a precarious situation. Two points is now the gap between the Blueshirts and the chasing Carolina Hurricanes at the top of the Metropolitan Division. It means the Rangers need to see their point totals increase before the end of the season if they are going to maintain their lead at the top of the Metropolitan Division.
Tonight's opponent is the Vegas Golden Knights. A week ago, this team kicked the Rangers up and down the ice at T-Mobile Arena. Now, the two teams shift to Madison Square Garden as the team that call Sin City home will be trying to complete the sweep of the season series in MSG. It's the reigning Stanley Cup Champions at the most prestigious building in all of the hockey world.
With Nick Bonino placed on waivers yesterday, it is expected that he will not be in the lineup tonight. His place was taken by Jonny Brodzinski. As we get closer to the return of Filip Chytil too, the Rangers are etching closer to getting back to full strength. Tonight, they will be a little more depleted than usual due to their roster management decisions, but that is what we have to live with right now.
Projected Lineups
Vegas Golden Knights
Pavel Dorofeyev - Chandler Steohenson - Mark Stone
Ivan Barbashev - Nicholas Roy - Jonathan Marchessault
Sheldon Rempal - Brett Howden - Paul Cotter
Jonas Rondbjerg - Byron Froese - Keegan Kolesar
Alec Martinez - Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb - Kaedan Korczak
Nicolas Hague - Zach Whitecloud
Adin Hill
Logan Thompson
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Blake Wheeler
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Jonny Brodzinski - Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey - Barclay Goodrow - Tyler Pitlick
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson - Adam Fox
Ryan Lindgren - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Puck Drop
This is a 7 puck drop from MSG. As the Rangers look to maintain a lead at the top of the Metropolitan Division, the Vegas Golden Knights will be looking to turn the screws again after inflicting defeat upon the Blueshirts last time these two teams met. It'll be a fun game, and the Rangers will jump the Golden Knights in the standings with two points.