The Rangers are back at it tonight against the Buffalo Sabres and may have an eagerly awaited return to the lineup. Filip Chytil will be a game time decision however, David Quinn later added "there's a good chance he will play." While Panarin still remains day-to-day, Kakko on the Covid list, Trouba out and Bitetto now confirmed with an undisclosed injury, it is still refreshing for the Rangers to get one of their guys back, one they can certainly use at that. What does this mean for the lines? Yesterday's practice looked like:
Lafreniere - Zibanejad - Buchnevich
Kreider - Strome - Blackwell
Rooney - Chytil - Gauthier
Di Giuseppe/Howden/Lemieux/Brodzinski
Same D pairs as the past couple of nights. Assuming Chytil is good to go, one of Di Giuseppe, Howden, Lemieux or Brodzinski will be a healthy scratch. Brett Howden despite his lack of production will more likely than not be safe. While Brodzinski can play center, Howden is the only one the Rangers have played at center plus his use on the penalty kill is a key factor. Phil Di Giuseppe would be the next best guess on who is safe, he's played well, somewhat consistently and quite frankly was one of the more active players in Sunday afternoon's loss. If it was my call, I would take Lemieux out, other than the fight to end the last game he hasn't done much of anything out there. Brodzinski has been working his tail off, going to the net and was rewarded Friday night with a goal in the blowout win against Boston. Realistically, I would guess he is the one DQ keeps out and gives Lemieux the benefit of the doubt.
As for the Sabres, they are 2-8 in their last ten and find themselves sitting at the bottom of the league standings. In the first matchup of the season Buffalo came out on top 3-2 then two days later lost in overtime thanks to Alexis Lafreniere's first NHL goal. Buffalo hasn't scored a goal in their last two games following consecutive 3-0 losses to Philadelphia. The team is struggling with confidence, clearly struggling with goal scoring and conversation regarding their star center not wanting to be there has picked up tremendously in the past few days. The Rangers need to have the kind of start they had against Boston on Friday and take control of this game early. This is the perfect opportunity for the blueshirts to help their own confidence issues and capitalize before heading out on a long road trip.
If I'm Mika Zibanejad, this is the perfect game to use as a slump buster, expect his line to come out hungry and strong. There is no doubt that first goal will be running through Lafreniere's head as he goes into tonight's game so look for him to have a strong game, especially since admitting he's felt more comfortable on the ice as of late. While Georgiev finished Sunday's game despite being banged up in the collision with Nick Ritchie, expect Sheshterkin to get the start tonight as Georgiev has started the last two.
Chris Feldman
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