The Rangers look for three wins in a row as they face the Hurricanes.at home. New York comes in off of rallying in each of the past two contests to notch victories. Mika Zibanejad returns to action after missing the past 13 contests - during which the Blueshirts went 8-4-1 - with an “upper body injury.… Friday, the Rangers are on national TV at 1pm to take on the Bruins in a Black Friday contest.
David Quinn post-practice:
“We’re certainly moving forward and becoming a true team. I thought we made two big strides over the last two nights.…
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 26, 2019
Coach Quinn on continuing to build, Mika’s status for tomorrow and much more: pic.twitter.com/3ftXsn8J0N
Possible lines:
So DQ said Mika with play with Buch and Kreider, and he's going to keep Panarin and Strome together. Those are your top two lines.
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) November 26, 2019
I asked about the RW on the Panarin-Strome line, and he joked, "I don't want to hand Carolina everything."#NYR
DQ did say he's keeping Chytil and Howden at center, presumably on the 3rd and 4th lines.
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) November 26, 2019
Kakko could be an option for RW on the 2nd line, but he was on the 3rd with Lemieux at LW today. Seems more likely that Fast stays with Panarin and Strome, but we'll see.#NYR https://t.co/b2ruml80Fk
My proposed lines: Kreider-Zib-Buch Strome-Panarin-Fast Lemieux-Chytil-Kakko Nieves-Howden-Smith
Zib slots back onto the top line, though you could argue the second line is really the first. Look for him to also be used on the first line power play and penalty kill. Quinn might go with Kakko with Strome and Panarin but I expect that trio to remain together with Chytil sliding down to pair with Kakko with a grinding winger in Lemieux in the opposite side.
Greg McKegg will be out with the lower body injury that sidelined him Monday. Quinn could dress Michael Haley, but I would go with Nieves so that New York can see what he has and if he and Howden can mesh on a line. When McKegg returns, he deserves to be back in the lineup, with Nieves the likely scratch, as McKegg can also play the wing.
The blueline will be the same as Monday. Skjei-Trouba, Fox-Lindgren and Hajek-DeAngelo. As mentioned in the blog comments yesterday, no word really from anyone as to where Marc Staal is in terms of timeframe to return and current health. The defense gets a good test tonight and then a major one Friday, seeing how Boston dismantled Montreal with all four lines, but especially the top two, contributing to the blowout.
A good look back at the 2010s by Rick Carpinello. Amazing how the decade is almost gone. The past few years have been in stark contrast to the first part of the decade. But what a run from 2012-15. As Caro noted: “ From 2012-15, they played in 12 playoff series and 76 playoff games, reaching the Eastern Conference final three times and the Stanley Cup Final once. …
Henrik Lundqvist in that run was a beast. Carp wrote: “ From the start of the 2012 playoffs to that Game 7 loss to Tampa Bay — with what was arguably the best Rangers team of the decade that season, having lost the previous Cup final and then winning the Presidents’ Trophy during the ’14-15 season — he was 15-3, 1.47, .954 with two shutouts when facing elimination.… I look back at the two double-overtime losses and single overtime loss and remember the two-goal blown leads, the posts hit, Nash’s shot deflecting off the defenseman’s stick and trickling over the net. I still believe that of New York wins Gave 5, they win Game 6 at home and come into LA with all the momentum for a Game 7
The 2010s: For the New York Rangers, a thrilling era where they did everything but win it all https://theathletic.com/1362954/2019/11/27/the-2010s-for-the-new-york-rangers-a-thrilling-era-where-they-did-everything-but-win-it-all/?source=shared-article