Following another worst game of the season contender, the Rangers are back at it for another. rivalry game at the Garden with the Philadelphia Flyers. Now I didn't get to see the game Friday Night, I ended up going to a concert at the last minute and honestly, seems like I made the right decision since the consensus was this was a.game to miss and forget about. Head Coach Gerard Gallant didn't sugarcoat it, saying the team played like horse shit and Artemi Panarin had similarly worded thoughts. Now to be fair, the Rangers had played three games in four games but that can't be too much of a crutch if they want to make a deep playoff run.
How the Rangers will bounce back following the weak performance will certainly be interesting. There will certainly be a couple tweaks to the lineup going into tonight's game in addition to Ryan Strome potentially returning to the lineup. The Flyers on the other hand, have also been in the news headlines lately as their veteran defenseman, one time Ranger Keith Yandle's iron man streak came to an end just weeks after breaking the record. Flyers Coach Mike Yeo decided to make Yandle a healthy scratch against the Toronto Maple Leafs last night as the team is long gone from the playoff race and is beginning to shift gears towards a rebuild.
Everyone and their mothers have had thoughts on the situation, many of which are calling out the Flyers for ruining Yandle's streak as he was just a handful of games away from hitting 1,000 consecutive games played. Initially, I felt a similar way. This season has been kind of disastrous for the Flyers and at this point, they're pretty much just going through the motions to get through the season and start preparing for the future. With that in mind, why not just keep Yandle in the lineup until he hits 1,000? Even if his game isn't what it used to be he can mentor some of the younger guys as everyone seems to have great things to say about his character.
However, thinking deeper about it is it really worth him hitting that 1,000 consecutive games mark if he really didn't earn it? It's quite obvious Yandle hasn't been great for Philly, especially as of late. You have to earn your keep in the NHL, even if you've played over a thousand games in the league. If his game isn't good enough to stay in the lineup then perhaps the Flyers are right in making him a healthy scratch and giving younger guys the opportunity to prove themselves. Sure, Yandle is a well respected vet and deserves to be treated as such but maybe that already got him to break the record in the first place?
While we likely won't see Yandle out there again for the Flyers tonight, we will see a team looking toward the future looking who doesn't want to lose against one of their biggest rivals. To the Rangers advantage, the team did just play last night at home so they may come out a little sloppy, tired from travel and playing the night before. The Flyers are 3-6-1 in their last ten, sitting one point behind the Devils in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of Montreal at the bottom. The Flyers goals for and against percentages are rather bad and have the worst power play in the league. There isn't much that flatters Philly outside of their face-off percentages which has notoriously been a struggle for the Rangers.
On the Rangers end, they have to come out and prove to be the dominant team. After the disappointment against the Islanders on Friday, they're going to want to get back on track quick and have a great chance to do so tonight. They can't take Philly lightly but should have the obvious advantage. They must play their usual style of high energy, physical hockey against this tired Flyers team. If they can get Philly to take lazy penalties and take advantage of special teams, they should be able to beat them no problem, potentially by a big margin.
Ryan Strome, who has missed the last three games with a lower body injury has the chance of returning tonight which is certainly good news for the Rangers. In addition to that, Kakko and Rooney have begun skating and may potentially be on the brink of a return at some point this week. As a Rangers fan, you have to be excited to see what this team could look like at full health. As for tonight, expect the lines to look as such:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Vatrano
Panarin - Strome - Copp
Lafreniere - Chytil - Gauthier
Motte - Goodrow - Reaves
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Nemeth - Braun
While Braden Schneider has been more impressive than not, it makes sense for Gallant to want to keep Justin Braun fresh and getting him in there against his former team is an obvious opportunity to do so. Julien Gauthier, who hasn't played since the trade deadline is expected to take Goodrow's spot on the third line, moving him down to the fourth line, likely making Hunt, McKegg and Brodzinski scratches. Brodzinski was skating in Strome's place at yesterday's practice so if Strome isn't ready to go back, perhaps we'll see a second line Johnny Brodzinski?
Expect Igor Shesterkin to once again take the net tonight as the Rangers will likely use Georgiev in Newark on Tuesday, if at all this week. The Rangers play every other day until next Sunday starting tonight. In theory, Shesterkin could play all four but I wouldn't be surprised if they get Georgiev in at least one of them to keep everybody fresh. It's a big week for the Rangers as three of these four games are against rival opponents. With 13 games remaining the Rangers are playing for match ups and home ice advantage. Just one point ahead of the Penguins and five behind the Hurricanes, they can't afford to give away too many games like they did with the Islanders. Expect a much stronger showing, hopefully reminiscent of last seasons blowouts against the Flyers.
Chris Feldman
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