The Rangers close out 2021 in the Sunshine State taking on the Lightning tonight. Tampa comes in off a 9-3 butt-whipping by Florida last night, so they will be chomping at the bit to wipe that bad taste from their mouth. New York enters the contest 1-3-1 in their last five and off a 4-3 loss to Florida on Wednesday.
Tonight's lineup will be the same as Wednesday. Ryan Lindgren and Kevin Rooney are both still on the COVID-19 protocol list, so they are out for this contest. Libor Hajek will skate again next to Adam Fox while Greg McKegg is on the fourth line for Rooney. I really would like to see what Zac Jones could do next to Fox or in the lineup overall. Hajek was not bad Wednesday, but Jones is much more talented and would bring another offensive weapon from the blue line.
I could see coach Gerard Gallant mixing and matching if the third line fails to generate any chances. Either Alexis Lafreniere or Julien Gautheir could be moved up, replacing Dryden Hunt. Kaapo Kakko has started to show some chemistry with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, or at least enough where that trio will remain together. Finding that third part of the second line while obtaining some production from the third trio is paramount right now to take the pressure off the top six.
On the blue line, K'Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba are pretty much set in stone. A slow start from the team and/or Hajek might result in Patrik Nemeth or Nils Lundkvist moving up. My preference - if a move is made with Jones not an option- is to try Nils there.
Igor Shesterkin is back between the pipes. A strong game should set him up to start again Sunday versus Tampa. Gallant might opt to play Keith Kinkaid in one of the back-to-back games versus either the Lightning or Oilers, presuming Alexandar Georgiev is not ready to return or Igor is deployed in both contests. Part of that decision may depend on Igor's workload tonight and/or if the Rangers win.
New York has hit a bit of a rough patch, which was somewhat expected. Time to get back on the beam, especially in the third period, which has been an issue the last two contests. A win against an opponent missing their top two netminders would be a nice way to close the year.
HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!