New York Rangers visit the Columbus Blue Jackets looking to set a franchise record
Ten straight wins for the New York Rangers have left the team comfortably at the top of the Metropolitan Division. They will be looking for an eleventh straight win tonight when they visit Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It's the second half of a back-to-back which means this is going to be a tired Rangers roster that travelled from Philadelphia to Columbus. But, that doesn't mean that tonight is a game the Rangers are bound to lose.
Jonathan Quick will get the nod tonight after Igor Shesterkin was given the go ahead last night against the Philadelphia Flyers. He's had an exceptional season serving as the Rangers second choice. He's more than capable of beating a bottom-feeder like the Columbus Blue Jackets. It's not going to be an easy game by any means, but this is a team no one should doubt Quick being able to shut down.
Look for Matt Rempe to start the game the same way he has done everything to start his NHL career. There's going to be someone wanting to fight him as he's shown to be a willing combatant. After his first career NHL point was the game winning goal last night, this is a man who will be looking to continue building momentum after his great start to an NHL career.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Jimmy Vesey
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Jonny Brodzinski - Kaapo Kakko
Adam Edstrom - Barclay Goodrow - Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson - Braden Schneider
Jonathan Quick
Igor Shesterkin
Columbus Blue Jackets
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Jack Roslovic
Yegor Chinakhov - Dmitri Voronkov - Kirill Marchenko
Kent Johnson - Cole Sillinger - Justin Danforth
Alexandre Texier - Sean Kuraly - Alex Nylander
Zach Werenski - Adan Boqvist
Ivan Provorov - Damon Severson
Jake Bean - Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Puck Drop
This is a 6 p.m. puck drop from the Buckeye State. Trying to break the franchise for consecutive wins, the Rangers will have the chance to do that against the bottom-placed team in the Eastern Conference standings. This is the sort of game that the Rangers need to find a way to win regardless of what the opponent does. A win tonight would move the Rangers top of the NHL standings too, so there's some added pressure for those that want it.