Wrapping up the 2021-22 regular season just as we started it, the New York Rangers will take on the Washington Capitals for game 82 of 82. What a season it's been and thankfully, for the first time in way too long Rangers fans have playoffs to look forward to. While tonight will undoubtedly be just another game the Rangers want to get in and get out of, exhausting minimal amounts of energy, there are potential implications involved as far as the post season goes. If the Rangers win, they will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in round one. If the Rangers lose and Columbus beats the Penguins, the Rangers will play the Capitals.
It'll be interesting to see if Gallant continues to rest his top players or if he will go with more of a complete lineup as the Rangers could control their own destiny. If they feel more comfortable taking on the Penguins in round one, they will absolutely look to win this game. The question is do they want to risk guys getting banged up in order to do that? You have to think the Capitals are in a bit of a similar situation, especially considering the fact that Ovechkin is dealing with an injury of sorts. They could also look to rest a bunch of their guys, especially since they just played on Long Island last night, It's likely in the best interest of both teams to just take it easy and leave the fate of the matchups to the Penguins.
The Rangers are coming off their third consecutive loss after dropping the game against Montreal on Wednesday in the final minute. The losing streak could also play a part in Gallant's decisions as you have to think the team would rather end regular season on an high note versus a four game losing streak. It'll be interesting to see what the coaching staff elects to do. Regardless, I think it's safe to say Artemi Panarin and Andrew Copp will stay out of the mix as they're the ones nursing (hopefully) minor injuries. The Rangers could opt to get Zibanejad and Kreider back in the lineup and give Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Strome the night off instead.
With all that in mind, I truly could not tell you what we're going to see for a line up tonight. My best guess:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Vatrano
Lafreniere - Chytil - Kakko
Hunt - Rooney - Reaves
McKegg - Brodzinski - Gauthier
Miller - Braun
Jones - Schneider
Nemeth - Hajek
If I'm the Rangers, I'm going with Alexandar Georgiev in net tonight unless Shesterkin truly feels he needs some action to stay fresh for playoffs. Even then, if that's the case give Shesterkin the first period and let Georgiev take the rest of the game. The only thing the Rangers should look to get out of this game is Chytil and Kakko feeling good and ready for playoffs and all the extras fresh in the event they need to get in during post season. Another name to keep an eye on will be Zac Jones who led the team in time on ice during the last game. You have to think at this point it's more likely the Rangers will look to Jones over Hajek in the event they need to.
On Washington's end, they're coming off a pretty tough loss to the Islanders just last night. They'll be in a similar situation as the Rangers where they'll want to turn things around and end the season on a high note all while keeping their guys rested and healthy. Vitek Vanecek got the start in net last night so expect the Caps to go with Ilya Samsonov against the Rangers tonight. Aside from Ovechkin, the Capitals didn't really give anyone the night off yesterday, only increasing the likelihood of Peter Laviolette doing so tonight.
Nevertheless, the regular season has come and gone in the blink of an eye and this has been one of, if not the most exciting teams to watch night in and night out in such a long time. So many story lines throughout the season and overall morale regarding this group has been nothing short of fantastic. Its fan appreciation night at the Garden and the Rangers will cap the night off by giving some lucky fans the jersey's off their backs. Assuming nothing drastic happens, as a Rangers fan, you have to just take tonight to sit back, relax, enjoy and take in the incredible year it's been and hope that we have lots more New York Rangers hockey to sit on the edge of our seats for in the coming months.
As a quick little note, this has been the first full 82 game season where I have wrote about this team. Truthfully, I don't know how I did it as consistently as I did while teaching full time, going to grad school for three and a half months, having go through a major surgery and the recovery process. This season has been quite a ride and I couldn't be more proud to be a New York Rangers fan. For anyone who is reading this, thank you for the support. I love this team with all of my being and hope that my passion for the team and the sport has connected with anyone who has read any of my posts or followed me on Twitter. I have lots more in the works including a full playoff preview and of course pre and post game pieces for the Rangers as they embark on their playoff journey so stay tuned and as always.. LETS GO RANGERS!
Chris Feldman
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