Rangers can tie franchise history with a win at home against the Montreal Canadiens
By Conor Power
The President's Trophy is seen as a blessing and a curse in the NHL. For the New York Rangers, it is there for the taking as they reside at the top of the NHL standings. Eight points from the final five games will see the Rangers lock up the iconic trophy, clinch home ice through the playoffs, win the division, and sit as the number-one seed in the Eastern Conference. Just four wins, as the Rangers have already done that so many times this season.
With a win tonight, the Rangers will tie the franchise record for wins in the season, joining the champions of the 1993-94 season that went on to hang a fourth banner from the rafters of Madison Square Garden. Doing so tonight against the franchise that has won more Stanley Cup banners than any other in the Montreal Canadiens would be a great way to cement a new historic season in Manhattan.
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As we close in on the season's conclusion, the Rangers will be looking to finetune a few things before the end of the season. Starting slowly has been a theme recently, outside of Fight Night against the New Jersey Devils. Sloppiness and inconsistency have crept into the Blueshirts game, which the Rangers will have to adjust for if they are going to clean up for the postseason.
Projected Lineups
Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher - Alex Newhook - Joel Armia
Tanner Pearson - Jake Evans - Josh Anderson
Michael Pezzetta - Colin White - Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Mike Matheson - David Savard
Jordan Harris - Jonathan Kovacevic
Jayden Struble - Justin Barron
Samuel Montembeault
Cayden Primeau
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Jack Roslovic
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Alex Wennberg - Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey - Barclay Goodrow - Jonny Brodzinski
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson - Braden Schneider
Jonathan Quick
Igor Shesterkin
Puck Drop
Madison Square Garden will have this traditional 7 p.m. puck drop as two of the Original Six Franchises clash. Montreal is a long way from the playoff picture as its rebuild continues, but the Rangers cannot afford to overlook the opponents tonight. Montreal can score, and it could trip the Blueshirts up as the Canadiens try to rebound from a harrowing 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs last night.