The New York Rangers now have sole possession of last place in the Metropolitan Division after their recent 6-2 loss against Tampa Bay. They now turn their attention to take on the Florida Panthers, whose leading scorer is almost at 50 points.
The Rangers are currently 16-18-1 on the season compared to Florida being tied for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers have a record of 22-13-2 for 46 points.
The reigning Stanley Cup Champions's most recent game was a 4-0 shutout loss against the Montreal Canadiens.
For Montreal's losses to continue, some mojo is going to have to be stolen from their best player. And Sam Reinhart is obviously the opposing team's player to watch ahead of the Dec. 30th matchup.
Sam Reinhart
The British Columbia, Canada native is the team-leader for the Florida Panthers. He boasts 45 points on the 2024-25 season so far off of 22 goals and 23 assists. Reinhart has also appeared in all 37 of the Canadiens games.
He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft after he had 105 points (36 goals, 69 assists) in 60 games for Kootenay and won the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player in the Western Hockey League. Though, he was traded to Florida by Buffalo for Devon Levi and a 1st-round pick in 2022 or 2023 NHL Draft, July 24, 2021.
In fact, Reinhart was the fourth player in NHL history with 50 goals in the regular season and the Stanley Cup-clinching goal. He was also the second player in league history with at least 25 goals on the man-advantage and five short-handed goals in the same season.
Reinhart signed an eight-year contract with the Panthers on July 1, 2024.
How to Tune In
Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST at Amerant Bank Arena. The game will be available for livestreaming via Sling TV.