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Rangers-Devils, enough said, Igor in net, Fox skating |
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The Rangers after five full days off take on the Devils tonight at the Rock. Tonight's contest kicks off a stretch of five games in eight days, during which they have contests in New Jersey, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and at the Garden against Boston. Four of the five games are in the Eastern Conference, three of which are divisional games.
As I wrote the other night, after this stretch, we should have a good sense of this team. Two caveats are the absences of Adam Fox and Filip Chytil, so we won't have a full idea about this squads. A successful five-game span, especially without Fox and Chytil, and you can start to get even more excited.
I don't view tonight's game with any more significance than another divisional game because New Jersey defeated New York in seven games last playoffs, Will winning tonight really send any kind of message? Will it reverse the loss last year? If the two teams meet again, will a win November 18 sway the minds of each's team fanbase or management? Getting a win in a divisional game has meaning, but that's it, at least to me.
Lines:
Kreider - Zib - Wheeler
Panarin - Trocheck - Laf
Cuylle - Bonino - Kakko
Vesey - Goodrow - Pitlick
Miller - Trouba
Lindgren - Gustafsson
Jones - Schneider
Shesterkin
Quick
Igor Shesterkin is back between the pipes, which is a major positive. Jonathan Quick was excellent in his absence. But getting Shesterkin back is a major plus. In even better news, five words that makes every Rangers fan smile, "Adam Fox has resumed skating."
Tonight is Game 5 that Fox has missed. Since he is on LTIR, he has to miss 10 games and 24 days. The earliest he can return is November 29 against Detroit. We have no idea if Fox will be ready to return then, but the mere fact that he resumed skating is a major plus, especially since Chytil has yet to skate.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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