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Game 20: NYR-MTL, Rangers Look to Build on Win Over Flyers

November 23, 2014, 7:42 AM ET [141 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
After an unexpected break in the schedule, the Rangers return to action Sunday against the Canadiens. Montreal comes in off a 2-0 over the Bruins on Saturday making them 8-2 in their last 10 and 16-5-1 overall to lead the Atlantic Division. New York enters following the 2-0 win over the Flyers on Wednesday but storms in Buffalo canceled Friday's game against the Sabres, giving the Rangers a few extra days off. The Rangers are 3-3-4 in their last 10 and 8-7-4 on the season to sit fourth in the Metro Division. Sunday is the Rangers' 20th game of the season, meaning they basically have hit the quarter-pole and a win will put them third in the Metro.

This is the second meeting this season between the Original Six, who faced each other in last year's Eastern Conference Finals. Montreal won the first, 3-1 on October 25 at the Bell Centre. Tonight, as Carey Price played last night, the team will have between the pipes Dustin Tokarski, who played so well against New York in that playoff series after Price was injured by Chris Kreider.

Larry Brooks wrote a great column (http://nypost.com/2014/11/21/rangers-have-a-wing-answer-in-the-ahl-whom-theyre-wasting/) about the Rangers use - or more precisely misuse - JT Miller. Brooks questions why New York hasn't shifted Miller from center to wing in the minors as well their failure to give him a realistic shot when he was up with the team to start the year. The Rangers were finally going to move Miler from center to wing this weekend, which hopefully will enable him to maximize his talent. If Miller proves capable on the wing, New York should bring him up and install him on the third or fourth line, where he can use his size and speed.

Ryan McDonagh, out since November 1, with a separated left shoulder, skated on his own again prior to the Rangers’ practice Saturday. He will repeat that again Sunday as the Rangers will have an optional morning skate at the Garden limited to non-game day players. The plan is for McDonagh to accompany the team to Tampa and be on this Thanksgiving week road trip (practice in Tampa on Tuesday, game against the Lightning on Wednesday, practice in Tampa on Thursday and a game in Philadelphia on Friday afternoon). McDonagh was expected to miss about a month with his injury, so if McDonagh can progress from non-contact to contact practice during the road trip, it's feasible he could be back at the beginning of December, though I expect him a week after that.

The lineup today will be similar to Wednesday with one possible twist:
Rick Nash-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Marty St. Louis
Carl Hagelin-Kevin Hayes-Anthony Duclair
Tanner Glass-Dominic Moore-Lee Stempniak

The one change is that Stempniak, who missed the win over the Flyers with a lower-back injury, will get back in replacing Jesper Fast. Can someone explain this to me? The fourth line finally had their best game of the season and coach Alain Vigneault is changing up that trio? Why? There is no rational reason to make that switch. Fast did nothing to lose his spot while Glass had his best game in ages and Moore was solid as well, so to me making this change is completely non-sensical. If the line struggles Sunday, then make a switch, and yes, I know everyone wants Glass out. But if they played well Sunday as they did Wednesday, then keep the group together. Why mess with success, even if it was just one game.

The Rangers did not have a first round pick the past two years, but their picks from those drafts have played very well. John Rosasco, in the Rangers PR department, tweeted out several of these stats:

Anthony Duclair, the last of the three third round pick in 2013, exploded with 50 goals last year and earned a spot on the parent club with a strong camp.

Pavel Buchnevich, the second third round pick on 2013, is tied for 8th in the #KHL with nine even strength goals. The hope a few years ago before he tragically passed away was that Alexei Cherapanov was going to be the sniper who took over for Jaromir Jagr. Maybe Buchnevich will be the next player from the former Communist bloc countries to be a star for New York.

Adam Tambellini, the first of the three 2013 draft picks, is tied for 6th in the #WHL with 13 goals and leads CGY in goals and points (23) while posting a +13. He is 5-4-9 with a plus-8 in his last 7 games.

Brandon Halverson, selected in the second round, 59th overall and the team's first pick last year, ranks 2nd in the #OHL with 13 wins. He stopped 199 of 212 shots on current six-game win streak with a .939 SV%. The hope is the Halverson or the goalie profiled below could be the future replacement for Henrik Lundqvist way down the road. In addition, if Cam Talbot, who is a free agent after this season walks, it's possible that MacKenzie Skapski, a sixth-round pick in 2012 and is playing well for Hatford in the AHL, gets a shot to fill the role as the Rangers' back up.

Igor Shesterkin, drafted in the fourth round in 2014, starred in five games for the winning Russian National Junior team in the just-concluded six-game Subway Super Series against Canadian all-star junior league teams. The athletic 18-year-old, taken 118th, posted a 1.58 GAA, a .940 save percentage and one shutout. Granted there is a long way to go, but the future looks bright for the Russian goalie.
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