The Rangers coming off a solid effort return to action Thursday against a Sabres team that is 30th in the NHL with a 2-11-1 mark. Buffalo has already made one big deal, dealing Thomas Vanek to the Islanders for Matt Moulson, a first in 2014 and second in 2015, as they attempt to stock up for the future. With rumors surrounding how long Ryan Miller is long for Buffalo, they are a team already playing out the string with nearly 70 games to go.

What's the key for tonight? To me, it's jumping on Buffalo early. You never like to let a team that you believe is inferior to you hang around, giving them confidence to pull an upset. Look what happened with the Heat-76ers yesterday, granted Philly got off to a big lead before Miami made a run, as is the norm in the BA. But that big lead and effort expended by Miami to come back may have contributed to their inability to execute late allowing Philly to get the win. Get the lead early, which is something the Rangers have not done, which then will enable them to play their game rather than chase throughout.

The Rangers revolving door of injuries took another spin Tuesday as the upper body injury Dominic Moore suffered is actually a strained oblique that will sidelined him 7-10 days. In my opinion, given how strained oblique injuries can linger, add at least a week to the target return date, especially given how key the torso is for shooting and for Moore to play the penalty kill with the side-to-side motion. In his stead, Brandon Mashinter will get back in the lineup and Carl Hagelin will likely see some PK time, though I would IR Moore, call back up Jesper Fast and let him play on the PK.

The good news is that Ryan Callahan (broken left thumb) was at practice today in a non-contact jersey. He believes he will be back in 7-10 days, which could enable him to play against Pittsburgh on Wednesday or at Columbus on Thursday, missing upcoming contests Saturday against Carolina and Monday against Anaheim. When he comes back, I would expect him to play on either of the top-two lines, replacing Pouliot or Zuccarello, depending on who else is out, if Moore is back or how AV wants to configure the lineup.

How I would configure the lines:

Hagelin-Richards-Pouliot
Kreider-Stepan-Zucc
Pyatt -Brassard-Miller
Mashinter Boyle-Dorsett

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Anton Stralman
John Moore-Michael Del Zotto

Henrik Lundqvist

The Rangers have a shot to make it two in a row and wins in three of their past four. With several home games upcoming, as noted above, including one against a struggling Hurricanes team, they could be 6-7 with a shot at redemption against Anaheim for the beat down at the pond a few weeks ago. Of course, that all starts with the effort and execution needed tonight. Get it done.

(Also, as noted in blog comments, congrats to Manny Malhotra who signed a one-year, two-way deal with Carolina)

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