New York Rangers are in the Mile High City to take on the Colorado Avalanche
By Conor Power
After mathematically punching their ticket to the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New York Rangers head out west. They're going to the Mile High City, where the Colorado Avalanche are waiting for the only team in the league with the X next to their name in the standings. Colorado has recently discovered it can dominate games and play at a high level. We've all been reminded of the strength of the 2022 Stanley Cup Champions.
The Rangers will need a better job of shutting it down defensively tonight. A back-and-forth game like the one against the Flyers will give the Avalanche a chance to run away with the game. These slow starts the Rangers have had recently need to stop. Giving the Avalanche a chance to get a foothold in this game will mean allowing the Avs to get ahead, but they will not relinquish that. New York has to start on time.
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Nathan MacKinnon is looking to continue his rampant season. The Avalanche star has tallied a point in every game the team has played in Denver so far this season. If the Rangers can snap that, they can inflict the seventh home defeat of the season on the Avs. Doing this is going to be much more complicated than just saying it. No one has done it this season for a reason. If the Blueshirts are going to take the two points, they'll need to be solid defensively.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Jack Roslovic
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Jonny Brodzinski - Alex Wennberg - Kaapo Kakko
Will Cuylle - Barclay Goodrow - Jimmy Vesey
Zac Jones - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Braden Schneider
Brandon Scanlin - Chad Ruhwedel
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Colorado Avalanche
Jonathan Drouin - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
Brandon Duhaime - Casey Mittelstadt - Artturi Lehkonen
Miles Wood - Ross Colton - Zach Parise
Andrew Cogliano - Yakov Trenin - Jean-Luc Foudy
Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Samuel Girard - Josh Manson
Jack Johnson - Sean Walker
Alexandar Georgiev
Justus Annunen
Puck Drop
Tonight's 8 p.m. puck drop from Ball Arena will see two of the best teams in the NHL clash again. With a playoff place already punched, can the Rangers continue their charge for the Presidents Trophy, or will the Avalanche swarm the Rangers up in the Mountains? Time has the answers. Tonight is another one of these games where we will have to enjoy the game and worry about the ramifications of the result after the game.