The New York Rangers kick off back-to-back games tonight in Hockeytown against the Red Wings. New York is 6-1-1 on the road, making the wearing of road whites almost a benefit. Tomorrow, it’s New York-New York, as the Blueshirts face their LIRR rivals, the Islanders, on a Centennial Night at MSG.
Rangers forwards
The forwards will be as they practiced yesterday. Jaroslav Chmelař, a fifth round pick, 144th overall in 2021, makes his NHL debut this evening. His parents are flying from the Czech Republic to Detroit to be in attendance. Look for physical play and a bit of speed from Chmelař, who played his college hockey at Providence.
Noah Laba plays his first game in front of his hometown. He has a substantive group of family and friends coming to watch the game. Both Chmelař and Laba should be amped up tonight.Coach Mike Sullivan provided a bit of clarity on why Adam Edström is sitting. He is dealing with some bumps and bruises, providing a good time to sit him and get Chmelař in the lineup. I expect Chmelař to dress again tomorrow, especially if New York wins, which would give Edström about a week to heal up if he is in the lineup Monday against Nashville.
Vincent Trocheck ditched the red, no-contact jersey today. That might have been solely because today was an optional practice, so no real contact was involved. I doubt he plays tomorrow against the Islanders, but we could see him Monday.
Panarin – Zibanejad – Raddysh
Cuylle – Miller – Lafrenière
Sheary – Laba – Brodzinski
Pärssinen – Carrick – Chmelař
Rangers Defense and Goaltending
Matthew Robertson looks as if he will remain in the lineup. Connor Mackey remained on the ice late for a conditioning skate, making it unlikely he opts into the lineup. It’s possible a change happens tomorrow depending on tonight’s result.
Gavrikov-Fox
Soucy-Borgen
Robertson- Schneider
Jonathan Quick gets the start tonight, meaning Igor Shesterkin takes on the Islanders tomorrow.
Power Play:
Mike Kelly did a nice breakdown the other day on the power play’s futility. Failing to hit the net with shots is an underreported aspect of their issues, resulting in the lack of rebounds. (Granted we won’t mention who was really good at deflections and has nine goals in Anaheim right now being a factor as well. Oh wait, I just did). Maybe Will Cuylle can aid in that aspect as well as screening the goalie, which is another factor in their struggles.
Where is everyone?
I wish i knew as well
While not a significant amount, there have been several posts on the previous blog after you posted this one. It is hard to follow what the most recent post is, especially when some are in the forum and some are not. What I said:
Imagine being a season ticket holder. No wins in seven games and if you exclude the Sharks game they have one total goal in six games.
This team is a joke
At home, for sure. They chased scoring and got burned
At what point does Dolan realize he screwed up with Drury
They are 7-1 at home, 0-6-1 in the road. Crazy splits
Here comes Perreault
In terms of standings, the Rangers are 20% of the way into the season and are tied for the 5th worst record in the league. Only teams worse are Flames, Blues, Predators, and Sabres.
Now that Trocheck is healthy and Perrault is here we should see the team they envisioned for the most part.
I know no one wants to hear it but they have the makings of a playoff team if they can get some consistency, and stay healthy. And then see what happens. These road wins are very promising if you let go of the scoring woes at home. It’s part frustration for them, Id assume, and then they lose their structure because of it. Get one tonight and all should be well moving forward.
You can tell they care and bust their asses unlike last season where the madness never stopped. Their mindset is totally different imo. They just need to win a game at home to get past this crazy streak
Laf has to score there man. Come on