The New York Rangers start their post-Olympics break on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers. New York may be close to or at full strength with several injured players set to play. How long this team remains that way with the trade deadline March 6 remains to be seen.
Rangers Olympians
Mika Zibanejad continues his strong season with a fine performance for Team Sweden. He was one of that squad’s best offensive weapons along with Lucas Raymond. Zib tallied Sweden’s only goal in their 2-1 quarterfinal loss to the US on a one-timer with 91 seconds remaining and the goalie pulled. Transitioning back to the NHL may be somewhat challenging at least initially.
For JT Miller and Vincent Trocheck, coming down off the high from winning the gold will be even more difficult. Miller and Trocheck, pilloried by the media and fanbase for their selection to the team by GM Bill Guerin over others, justified that decision. Their brilliant play on the penalty kill as the US was perfect in their tournament can be seen in the numbers below.
One last video from the games:
Olympic viewership
Bread Says Goodbye to Rangers fans
Artemi Panarin, who will wear number 72 for the Kings, makes his LA debut tonight. Say what you will about his playoff performances, his regular season numbers for New York were elite and a big reason why the team had success during the campaigns he was a Ranger. The hope is Liam Greentree continues to blossom and LA wins a few rounds, moving the pick dealt by the Kings up in the draft and awarding New York another selection.
Rangers practice lines sans Trocheck and Miller
Conor Sheary, who is coming back from his injury, and Jonny Brodzinski are likely placeholders for Millet and Trocheck, who were at the White House.
Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin, both sidelined due to injuries, have been practicing in full gear. The same for Adam Edström, who has been out since November with a lower body injury, also has been a full go. Brett Berard, called back up from Hartford, is seeing fourth line time.
The goal the rest of the way needs to be playing and evaluating the youth on the team. With New York near the bottom of the standings, utilizing the kids in the top six is critical. New York has four games prior to the March 6 trade deadline, and what we see on the ice tomorrow may differ vastly from what we see after that date.
Cuylle-Zibanejad-Lafrenière
Othmann-Laba-Perreault
Sheary-Brodzinski-Raddysh
Edström-Carrick-Berard
Gavrikov-Fox
Robertson-Borgen
Schneider-Iorio
Vaakanainen-Morrow
Show support for Duguay
Rangers legend Ron Duguay is batting Stage 4 colon cancer. A GoFundMe account has been set up by his daughters to help defray his treatment costs. Sending prayers and good wishes to Doogs and please donate if you can.
