The Rangers are finally back at it on Eastern Standard Time as they wrap up their five game road trip with a stop in Philly to take on the Flyers. Philadelphia is coming off a 3-2 loss in Boston Thursday Night as they are now riding a six game losing streak. The last time these two teams met was at the beginning of December when the Rangers bested them on home ice by a score of 4-1. The Flyers have certainly struggled in the last month and a half, dealing with their own injuries and COVID issues, falling further and further down the standings. While tonight will be a great opportunity for the Rangers to build off their exciting win in San Jose, Philadelphia will look to build off their spirited battle with Boston to get back on track.
On New York's end, there will likely still be a lot of uncertainty regarding tonight's group until closer to game time. Ryan Reaves, Julien Gauthier and Barclay Goodrow have all been on COVID protocol long enough to possibly be eligible to return, all depending on symptoms and how they're holding up. The silver lining in all of this craziness is the Rangers have proven to have depth options as the line of Gettinger - Barron - Brodzinski has played well in their opportunities on this road trip. It'll be interesting to see how the lines come back together once we inch closer to a full house.
Head Coach Gerard Gallant, who has also been a part of the leagues COVID protocol as of late could also be close to a return. Hartford Wolf Pack Head Coach Kris Knoblauch has been holding down the fort in his place and you have to think Rangers fans wouldn't mind seeing him behind the bench for one more night, seeing as how the last time he filled in against the Flyers was the infamous nine goal game for the Rangers. Offense will certainly be a key in tonight's matchup for the Rangers as they'll likely be up against Carter Hart, a guy you don't want to get warmed up comfortably. Early and often will be in the Rangers best interest regarding pucks on net.
Expect the Rangers to ride Igor Shesterkin into this one, allowing him the opportunity to pick up right where he left off in San Jose. As mentioned earlier, it's tough to have a clear idea of tonight's lineup regarding all the COVID stuff. Assuming there aren't any changes, it will likely be the same as San Jose
Kreider - Zibanejad - Kakko
Panarin - Strome - Chytil
Gettinger - Barron - Brodzinski
McKegg - Rooney - Greco
Now lets say Reaves, Gauthier and Goodrow are all good to go:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Kakko
Panarin - Strome - Goodrow
Barron - Chytil - Gauthier
Gettinger - Rooney - Reaves
On the back end, again barring any changes expect it to be the same as San Jose:
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Nemeth - Schneider
We talk about how this road trip was a good opportunity to see our depth options, giving looks to different guys in different situations. In an interesting way, this kind of comes at a perfect time as we creep closer and closer to the trade deadline. The Rangers are in a place where they could decide to push in their chips and go all in. With all the big contract extensions kicking in soon, this could be the last trade deadline where they have the cap flexibility to truly be big spenders. With that in mind, all these different looks help give management some insight on which areas can either be improved or perhaps boosted.
Filip Chytil, specifically comparing and contrasting him at the wing and center positions is one thing management should definitely be keeping their eyes on. Frankly, Chytil has still struggled to solidify himself as an "essential" part of this lineup and frankly, if the Rangers have the opportunity to make a run, it's worth considering their options with him. I'm not saying we have to push Chytil out of town but if there's a move to be made that either involves him or pushes him down the depth charts, it may not be the worst thing to consider.
The considerations will continue to grow as more and more thought will be put into how the Rangers want to shape this team up by the trade deadline. Tonight will be the Blueshirts 39th game of the season, nearing the exact mid point of the season. With nine games remaining before what would have been the Olympic break. Realistically, the Rangers can probably go 6-3 in that stretch and I would say that would be a rather ideal outcome. It'll all start tonight as the Rangers look to keep it up and collect another win against one of their biggest rivals.
Chris Feldman
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