It's time for the New York Rangers to return to the ice. It's been a difficult return for the Blueshirts, who got throttled by Buffalo and had the goaltender steal a win in Pittsburgh before besting the Islanders in their best performance since the Four Nations break. Now, the Rangers play their first home game in that time frame, and they begin with an Original Six matchup against one of the contenders in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto currently sits second in the Atlantic division, just a point behind the Florida Panthers with two games in hand. With a 36-20-2 record, the Leafs are a scary group, but they are the opponent for the Rangers, who will have it all on the line tonight. New York currently sits in first place outside the wild card spots, so the Rangers need the two points to close the gap to Detroit and Columbus, who currently reside there.
It's going to be a very makeshift defense for the Rangers tonight. Adam Fox, K'Andre Miller, and Braden Schneider all suffered injuries in the win over the Islanders. Of those three, only Schneider returned to the game and is expected to play. J.T. Miller missed practice yesterday due to illness, while Chris Kreider continues to work his way back from an injury. Fox went on the injured reserve while the Rangers recalled Matthew Robertson from the Wolf Pack to help in the interim.
Projected Lineups
Toronto Maple Leafs
Bobby McMann - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg - John Tavares - William Nylander
Matthew Knies - Max Domi - Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz - David Kampf - Alex Steeves
Morgan Rielly - Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe - Philippe Myers
Simon Benoit - Conor Timmins
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Will Cuylle
Jimmy Vesey - Sam Carrick - Reilly Smith
Brennan Othmann - Johhny Brodzinski - Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren - Will Borgen
Zac Jones - Urho Vaakanainen
Matthew Robertson - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Puck Drop
Tonight's game will have chaos starting at midnight as the most significant Canadian market and the most significant American market clash in the most iconic arena in the world. New York needs the two points to remain in the hunt for the playoff places, while Toronto is looking to close the gap on the Florida Panthers. Two teams clash, and the Rangers must come out on top tonight if they want to contend for the Stanley Cup.