On Saturday, the New York Rangers finally snapped their five-game losing streak, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a matinee game at Madison Square Garden. Though, it was not pretty; New York squandered a 3-1 lead going into the third period, and it was a goal by Kaapo Kakko with 22 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
As Kakko put it in a postgame video released by the Rangers, it was New York's "first step out of the hole."
The Blueshirts look to continue this tonight against the New Jersey Devils.
Tonight's matchup is the biggest divisional battle of the season so far. New Jersey is 16-9-2 and under first-year head coach Sheldon Keefe, it has the look of a true playoff contender. The Devils most notably got an upgrade in the crease, trading for former Calgary Flame Jacob Markström - who is regarded as one of the top goalies in the NHL. Markström finished second in Vezina Trophy voting during the 2021-2022 season - only behind Igor Shesterkin.
The Devils are an improved team and tonight will be a test for the Rangers. Here's three things that need to work in order for New York to win.
1. Special Teams
It's become more apparent throughout New York's losing streak, but the power play is so key to the Rangers' success. Throughout the five games, New York did not get many power plays, and as a team that is average-at-best at 5v5, this is not the recipe for winning.
We saw this as New York broke its losing streak on Saturday - the Rangers went 3/3 on the power play en route to a victory. This is what the Rangers are, and have been for years; they have been able to defy average to below-average even-strength play by having elite special teams. It starts with the power play, who needs to score when given the chance.
Next is the penalty kill, which is second in the NHL at 87.7%. So far this season, the Devils have the No. 1 power play in the NHL at 33.7%. The Rangers kill vs the Devils power play is a matchup to watch tonight.
2. Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere
This morning, Panarin and Lafreniere were centered by Filip Chytil, who returned to the lineup on Saturday against Montreal. All three players showed signs of life on Saturday, and Panarin and Lafreniere each broke their scoreless droughts.
Panarin and Lafreniere are two of the best and most talented skaters on the Rangers, and against a Devils team that is built on speed, 10 and 13 need to show up. With Chytil centering them, they should be able to spend a lot of time in the offensive zone in what is sure to be a high-pace game.
3. Two of Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren and K'Andre Miller
In every game the Rangers play, defensive deficiencies can be brought back to these three defensemen. Trouba, Miller and Lindgren have all had tough seasons so far. Tonight against New Jersey, the Blueshirts cannot afford to have poor defensive play.
The Rangers' have given up a lot of high-danger opportunities recently, and a lot of this correlates to one of these defensemen being on the ice. It's hard to see all three of them playing incredibly well defensively - at least if recent trends indicate anything - so two of the bunch need to take a step forward tonight.