Gameday for the New York Rangers is here again as the games come thick and fast. Moving into the bulk of the schedule now counting down the days until the NHL trade deadline, the Rangers are playing very well. With a thumping of the Washington Capitals two days ago marking the return of the Blueshirts from the Christmas break, they will be trying their luck today against the Florida Panther at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
This is a very dangerous Panthers team. A team that ventured to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, they are very skilled and very heavy with a strong blueline behind them and a two-time Vezina Trophy winner in Sergi Bobrovsky backing them up. It'll be up to Jonathan Quick to prove that he is the superior netminder in this one. Both goalies are capable of stealing games, and that could very well be the difference in a game like this.
For the Rangers defensive units, they will be tasked with some speedy, heavy forechecking from the Panthers. Paul Maurice likes to have his team playing in the grey areas and working hard to play the right way. How this young Rangers blueline responds to the challenge will be a telltale sign on the backend and whether or not the Blueshirts should be looking for reinforcements in the coming months.
We will get to see two of the best wingers in hockey duel tonight as the Rangers ice Artemi Panarin, and the Florida Panthers bring Matthew Tkachuk into the building. While the breadman has started the season extremely well, Tkachuk has struggled with his goal scoring. However, this is still a player that is capable of taking games away from his opponents, so the Rangers cannot take him lightly tonight.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Blake Wheeler
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Nick Bonino - Jonny Brodzinski
Jimmy Vesey - Barclay Goodrow - Tyler Pitlick
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson - Braden Schneider
Jonathan Quick
Igor Shesterkin
Florida Panthers
Evan Rodrigues -Aleksander Barkov - Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Loustarinen - Anton Lundell - Nick Cousins
Ryan Lomberg - Kevin Stenlund - Will Lockwood
Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Dmitry Kulikov
Sergi Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Puck Drop
This will be a 7 p.m Eastern puck drop from Sunrise. The Rangers will be looking to improve on their 24-8-1 record against the reigning Eastern Conference Champions. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best and the Rangers will be attempting to do that tonight. Can the red hot Mika Zibanejad and company find a way to get the two points out of Florida?