The New York Rangers are at a crux in the early NHL season. The Blueshirts have lost three straight games, which only happened once all of last year, and moreover, have not played good hockey for a few weeks. There are mistakes across the board - lack of production by core players, poor defensive zone play and lack of special teams success - that are major question marks for New York.
On Monday night against the St. Louis Blues, the Rangers failed to play after getting a wake up call from coaches and management. For the third straight game, they gave up over 40 shots en route to a 5-2 loss.
Next up for the Rangers is the team that leads the NHL in shots per game: the Carolina Hurricanes. Tonight is the first meeting between the two since New York knocked out Carolina in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, with Chris Kreider's natural hat trick in Game Six.
But, a few things will be different tonight. First off, Kreider will not be playing. Second, Carolina is surging and New York is reeling. The Hurricanes are 15-5-1, which is second in the Metropolitan DIvision, and it feels like two teams going in different directions. Moreover, Carolina has the NHL's leading scorer in Martin Necas, who is tied for first in the NHL in points.
It's going to be a tough one tonight as New York looks to rebound. Here's three Rangers to watch:
1. Igor Shesterkin
One thing is always certain with the Hurricanes: they are going to fire shots from all angles. We saw this in the early portion of this NHL season, in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season and as far as one can remember with Rod Brind'Amour as head coach.
This is where Shesterkin comes in. Just like last year's playoff series, he is going to be counted on to make saves, including a few big ones, to keep New York in the game.
2. Kaapo Kakko
The Rangers need production outside of their top six, and Kakko is someone that could provide this. He played his first game at center on Monday night, and his line - paired with Reilly Smith and Adam Edstrom - was the only one to have more chances than chances against.
After Monday night, Kakko now leads the Rangers in +/- at +13. He'll have to play a full 200-foot game tonight.
3. Mika Zibanejad
To quote legendary NFL wide receiver Michael Irvin:
"Nobody. Nobody believes in you. What are you prepared to do about it?"
That's it.