Rangers Begin Tough Road Trip Starting in Vegas

After suffering another disappointing defeat on home ice, the Blueshirts are in Vegas where they will begin a tough three-game road trip (10:00PM on MSG).

Rangers	Rankings	Golden Knights
10-8-2	Record	8-4-6
14th	League Rank	21st
30th	Goals For	14th
2nd	Goals Against	13th
20th	Power play	11th
15th	Penalty Kill	20th

Rangers vs Golden Knights

Rangers are coming off a disappointing 2-1 defeat on home ice. While the score of the game was close, the Rangers were largely outplayed and Detroit were in control for almost the entire game
- The only thing saving this from being a blowout were the heroics of Jonathan Quick who made 40 saves. Cam Talbot only had to face 19 shots on the other end of the ice
- Mika Zibanejad scored the lone goal on the power-play
- Mike Sullivan did not coach this game due to a personal reason
- Following the game – a small bench clearing skirmish took place after Quick took exception to Detroit putting the puck in the net after the final horn had sounded
Sullivan met the team in Vegas after flying from Boston and will coach in Tuesday night’s game in Vegas
Igor Shesterkin will start in goal after being rested in the second half of a back-to-back
On this road trip, the Blueshirts will play the Golden Knights, followed by the Avalanche, and then finish in Utah for just the second time.
- The Golden Knights and the Mammoth each have the same amount of points as the Blueshirts do, and the Avalanche currently hold the best record in hockey.
- Vegas is 4-3-3 on home ice, Colorado is 7-0-2 on home ice, and Utah is 5-1-1. The Blueshirts currently hold the best away record in the league at 9-1-1 and that will be greatly tested this week
Vegas made headlines in the summer when they acquired Mitch Marner’s services. Marner played the first nine years of his career in Toronto and was traded to Vegas in a sign-and-trade just prior to the opening of free agency. The 28-year-old is currently second on his team in points with 20.
- Jack Eichel leads Vegas in points with 24
Leading Vegas in goals is Marner’s linemate Pavel Dorofeyev with eleven goals. Last season, the Russian winger quietly had 35 goals and this season he is pushing for 40
Other notable names to keep an eye on include former Rangers Reilly Smith and Brett Howden. Both were traded to Vegas by New York. Smith last year prior to the trade deadline and Howden prior to the start of the 2021-2022 season
Vegas is currently going through a bit of an injury crisis as they are missing five key starters
- Alex Pietrangelo will miss the entire season
- Starting netminder Adin Hill is week-to-week
- Mark Stone is on LTIR and is considered week-to-week
- And William Karlsson is also considered week-to-week
- Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon was placed on IR earlier on Tuesday
Akira Schmid will start in goal for the Golden Knights in Hill’s absence. Schmid is very familiar with the Rangers from his time with the Devils and he has given the Golden Knights a chance to win on most nights. The Swiss goalie is 7-1-2 with a .900 save percentage on the season
Will Borgen is currently listed as a game-time decision for the Blueshirts. New York is currently carrying eight defenseman so if Borgen can play, then two defenders will have to sit unless the Rangers went with eleven forwards and seven defensemen for insurance