It's game day on the eve of Henrik Lundqvist night, as the New York Rangers pay another visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets to kick off yet another back to back. The Rangers are 2-0 against the Blue Jackets so far this season, currently riding a record of 7-3 in their last ten games. Columbus hasn't been as fortunate as they are 3-7 in their last ten and are on the opposite end of a back to back, as they are coming off a 6-0 loss to Calgary last night. Between having played last night and getting beat pretty badly, the Rangers should have no problem taking control of this game. That being said, they give Columbus any chance to run with this game as they will undoubtedly be hungry to bounce back after last nights burning.
The Rangers will once again be without the services of Patrik Nemeth tonight, who missed last game for "being a little banged up." It was announced yesterday that he would not make the trip to Columbus due to personal reasons, which is now the second time Nemeth has been unavailable for personal reasons. You never know what battles people are going through and whatever it is that Nemeth is dealing with, you have to hope everything is alright and that things are on the brink of turning around. The Rangers will also be without Kaapo Kakko, who remains week-to-week and likely Filip Chytil who is day-to-day but did not skate yesterday.
Assuming Chytil doesn't skate today and remains out, expect the lines to look as they did at yesterday's practice:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Gauthier
Panarin - Strome - Goodrow
Lafreniere - Barron - Hunt
McKegg - Rooney - Reaves
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Hajek - Schneider
Head Coach Gerard Gallant has been happy with Julien Gauthier as of late resulting in a deserved promotion, a look on the top line. It'll be extremely interesting to see how he does on that top line as I've been pushing for him to get a look in the top six for almost two seasons now. More specifically, I've pushed for a Panarin-Zibanejad-Gauthier line which is seemingly become less and less likely as Panarin's made it pretty clear he doesn't have much interest in playing on a line that doesn't have Ryan Strome in the middle. Something that's kind of a blessing but also becoming a curse for this Rangers team is the fact that Kreider and Zibanejad are attached at the hip as are Panarin and Strome.
The lack of natural right wing depth on this team is really what makes this an issue, not just for completing line chemistry for these duos, but for getting Lafreniere in the top six. The Rangers have tried Kreider at the right side to get Lafreniere on the first line, he didn't like it and he's having too good of a year to mess with anything. They also tried Lafreniere at the right side and he doesn't seem to like it either. If only my life went according to plan, the Rangers would be set with a Kreider-Zibanejad-Feldman top line. *Sigh*. Anyway, with Kakko out and nobody wanting to play right wing, Julien Gauthier gets his chance. He's been able to score goals earlier in his career but it hasn't quite translated to the NHL level. It'll be interesting to see how he does on a line with the leagues leading goal scorer and teams top center, however I think he'd be better suited on the line with Panarin as he's one of the best passers on the team.
There are lots of concerns continuing to grow regarding Alexis Lafreniere and I constantly find myself playing hopscotch with the line of worry. There are times where I say he's a kid, he's still developing, be patient and there are times where I think, this kid was the first overall pick he needs to pick it up. Whichever thought is more accurate, the one thing he needs to focus on starting tonight is to stop taking stupid penalties. The last three games he's had a penalty and while the one against the Kings was a weak call, the ones in the previous two games where bad and came in the final stretch of the game.
As far as his production and ice time go, I agree with those who say Lafreniere needs to play which means one of two things. Gallant either needs to play the third line more or Lafreniere needs to understand the situation this team is in and learn to get comfortable on the right side. Brent Burns was drafted as a right winger, was converted to defense and became one of the leagues best. Whether you played the game or not, it's hard to fathom that the best prospect of one of the most recent drafts isn't capable of being that same hockey player on the other side of the ice.
As for who gets the nod in net tonight, I once against could not tell you and would pretty much say it's a coin flip. Tomorrow will be one of the most special nights for the Rangers organization this season as we honor one of the greatest to ever put on the Rangers sweater. So who do we put in net for that evening? The heir to the King's thrown or the one who spent more time sharing the crease with the King? Frankly, I don't think you can go wrong either way. Gallant has had the tendency to play Georgiev in the front half of back to backs more often than not this season so more likely than not it will be Georgiev tonight and Shesterkin tomorrow.
Chris Feldman
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