With the New York Rangers' playoff hopes taking a massive hits after the recent losses against the Ottawa Senators — 4-3, OT — and the Columbus Blue Jackets — 7-3 — all eyes will be on the Rangers as they travel to Manitoba to take on the Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets currently sit second in the NHL standings and are trying to compete for the Presidents Trophy. New York currently has a record of 31-27-6 and has now fallen just below a potential Eastern Division Wild Card spot with 68 points. The need for the Blueshirts to rise to the occasion and defeat Winnipeg (44-17-4) cannot be overstated.
In order to do so the Rangers will need to shut down team-leader and left wing Kyle Connor. He is obviously the opposing team's player to watch ahead of the March 11th matchup.
Kyle Connor
While Connor is the team leader for Winnipeg with 80 points combined from 33 goals and 47 assists, the Michigan native is tied for fifth with the most points in the NHL as of presstime.
The only skaters with more points than him are Mitch Marner (tied with 80), Nikita Kucherov (92), Leon Draisaitl (97) and Nathan MacKinoon (NHL leader, 102). Connor sets himself apart from the rest with his calling card being his advanced skill of picking up pucks at speed.
Connor stands at 6'1" and weighs 183 pounds. He's played his entire career with the Jets so far and was selected No. 17 in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft. Connor recently tied an NHL record by scoring in his sixth straight season opener, a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames on Oct. 11, 2023.
Prior to making his professional debut, Connor played one season at the NCAA skating powerhouse of the University of Michigan. While there he was named the Big Ten Player of the Year as a freshman after finishing with 71 points (35 goals, 36 assists) in 38 games and finished second to Jimmy Vesey (Harvard) for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in NCAA hockey.
He is also a two-time NHL All-Star (2022, 2024) and has recorded seven points over Winnipeg's five most recent games.
How to Tune In
Obviously, if the Rangers have any hope of scoring more goals than the Jets — then shutting down Connor has to be one of the Rangers' No. 1 priorities. Fans can tune in to the 8:00 p.m. EST puck drop by streaming the game live via ESPN+. Be sure to tune into Blue Line Stations's Twitter for live updates.