The Rangers head down to Raleigh to take on the Hurricanes in the first of back-to-back contests and to kick off a five-game road trip. As others have mentioned, it’s the first time since Marc Staal returned from his concussion that he and his brother Eric, who has been on a roll since Marc returned, will face one another.

New York (40-15-6, 86 points) has a seven-point lead and two games in hand on the Penguins (37-21-5, 79) in the Atlantic Division, and they have a nine-point lead atop the Eastern Conference over the Bruins (37-21-3, 77 points). The Hurricanes come in to tonight’s game with a 24-26-13 (61 pts) record to rank 13th in the Eastern Conference, and have registered a point in six of their last seven games (4-1-2). In addition, in their last contest, they welcomed back Cam Ward, who has missed the previous three games with an injury.

Captain Cally is out tonight with a bruised foot. If anyone has seen any info as when that actually occurred, let me know, as still haven’t heard or seen when the problem occurred. Last season, Cally was limited to just 60 games with injuries, this year; he made it through 61 before being sidelined. Given his style of play, it’s not surprising that he will and does miss time with injuries, the key is minimizing the amount of time he misses, and more important, if it does happen, hoping that it occurs earlier rather than at the tail end of the season.

The expectation is that he will only miss a minimal amount of time and this is not a long-term injury, so I expect him to sit out tomorrow’s contest against Tampa Bay but possibly play Sunday at home against Boston. That said, given that Cally’s missed time with injuries in the past, the hope has to be that it is minor as we expect it to be and not an ailment that keeps him out long term. (This is why all of us wanted some depth acquired at the deadline. If Cally is out a while, I could see Zucc promoted since he is more of an offensive player). With Cally out tonight, John Scott will make his first appearance as a Ranger on the fourth-line, replacing Ruslan Fedotenko, who probably slides up and plays alongside Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin.

Rangers Lines Tonight:

Carl Hagelin-Brad Richards-Ruslan Fedotenko
Artem Anisimov-Derek Stepan-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Mike Rupp-John Mitchell-John Scott

(I wonder if Feds stays on that line or Dubi moves up with Feds sliding down to reunite with his linemates of last year? If the Rangers struggle early, that is the move I expect to see)

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto-Anton Stralman
Marc Staal-Stu Bickel

Martin Biron
(With back-to-back games and in Tampa tomorrow, it’s not a shock that Biron goes tonight. Plus, as discussed above and previously, the Rangers have a brutal March and first week of April, meaning that I expect Hank to be rested when he can to keep him fresh)

The drive to the playoffs, which has 21 games left, will test the endurance and staying power of the Rangers. With 17 games in 31 days, it is the busiest month of the year for New York. As I discussed when I wrote my schedule blog last summer, these types of months are why coach John Tortorella emphasizes conditioning so much during the offseason and training camp. The Rangers the past several years have been one of the best conditioned teams in the league, as seen in the record on back-to-backs, especially the second leg of them. That record will be tested as the Blueshirts will play four sets of back-to-backs, three of those with both games on the road, the fourth with the second game on the road. Today, they kick off a stretch where they play five of six on the road (Mar 1-9), followed by a seven-game homestand (Mar 11-23). That’s followed by three straight on the road before closing at home. April is no easier with four games in seven games, or one every other day, like how the playoffs will probably run. More important is who they will face as they basically run a gauntlet, home against Boston, at Philly, at Pittsburgh, and home against Washington to close the season.

The first 61 games have been magical, but the regular season job is not done. Twenty-one games are what stand between the Rangers winning the division, conference and possibly the President’s Trophy. As the team has done all season, they will come with their lunch pail attitude nightly and focus on the task at hand, rather than looking forward to what waits beyond that day’s contest. It starts this evening at the RBC Center against the Hurricanes.

Let’s Go Rangers!
(For TPC, Chris Kreider :))

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