The Rangers finally return to action after more than a week off tonight at MSG. Schedule makers did not make it easy for the Blueshirts as they face the Central Division leading Avalanche. When the two teams met earlier this year, Colorado and Alexandar Georgiev stuck it to New York.
Possible Rangers lineup:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Wheeler Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière Cuylle-Brodzinski-Kakko Vesey-Goodrow-Pitlick
Lindgren-Fox Miller-Schneider Jones-Gustafsson
Quick Shesterkin
Scratches: Leschyshyn, Trouba (suspended), Mackey LTIR: Chytil
The above presumes that Ryan Lindgren, who missed the last game prior to the All-Star break with an injury, is back in the lineup. If that occurs, Zac Jones likely remains paired with Erik Gustafsson while Connor Mackey, who sparked the team with his fight against Brady Tkachuk, is the healthy scratch. This is not set in stone, but I am reading the tea leaves with Jacob Trouba finishing the second game of his two-game suspension.
Jonathan Quick gets the nod between the pipes. With Igor Shesterkin having taken part in the All-Star festivities this past Friday and Saturday, going with Quick is not a big surprise. Quick was good against Ottawa and has not played since, while Igor dresses against Tampa Bay, another tough opponent.
New York gets to see the leading Hart Trophy candidate in Nathan MacKinnon and possible Norris Trophy winner in Cale Makar up close and personal. MacKinnon has taken his game to another level with 31 goals and 53 assists, though he sits one point shy of Nikita Kucherov for the league lead. Makar, despite missing a few games this year, has 58 points in 44 games, four shy of Quinn Hughes, who has played five more contests.
While I love watching MacKinnon, as he combines speed and power, and Makar due to his ability to go coast-to-coast, the player to me that drives the Avalanche's engine is Mikko Rantanen. If he is rolling, it will be a very long night for the Rangers. We know Georgiev loves sticking it to his old team, so he will be highly motivated.
I am curious to see if the break helped a few of those players struggling find their equilibrium and game. I am looking at Mika Zibanejad and K'Andre Miller. If either or both are back to where they have been in the past, New York will look like the team we saw the first 23 games of the year when they went 18-4-1. If not, the squad's performance will be more like January, when the team was a disappointing 5-6-2.
For at least part of one night, we can put the trade talk to bed. This will be the case at least until the first defensive breakdown, missed opportunity or goal against. Once that happens, all bets are off. A tough test right out of the gate. A solid win and the fanbase will breathe a little easier. If not, well you can fill in the rest.