After an impressive 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, the Rangers remain on home ice as they host the Maple Leafs (7:00PM on MSG).

Rangers	Rankings	Maple Leafs
19-6-1	Record	14-6-5
2nd	League Rank	10th
14th	Goals For	9th
8th	Goals Against	17th
2nd	Power play	7th
8th	Penalty Kill	15th

Previous Game

The Blueshirts are coming off a 4-1 victory over the Kings; which handed them their first regulation defeat on the road this season. The Blueshirts got goals from Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey, Jonny Brodzinski, and Will Cuylle. But the big story of the night was goaltender, Jonathan Quick facing his former team for the first time in his hall-of-fame career. Quick recorded 25 saves to improve to 8-0-1 in his first season as a member of the Rangers.

Rangers vs Leafs

The Rangers will now shift their focus to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Kings entered the game on Sunday as the best defensive team in the league. Meanwhile the Leafs aren’t known for their defense, but rather their offensive superstars who they rely on. Auston Matthews has 19 goals on the season which is tied for the league lead. But leading the Leafs in points is William Nylander with 34. Nylander’s 34 points is good for 12th in the league for the most points. Not to be outdone are their other two offensive superstars in Mitch Marner and John Tavares who are each point-per-game players this season. Tavares recorded his 1000th career point against the Islanders, his former team, on Monday night.

With the Leafs playing a back-to-back, the Leafs will turn to Martin Jones in goal. Jones will make his first start as a Maple Leaf after making only a relief appearance for them. Starting netminder Joseph Woll is out with an injury which means that Ilya Samsonov will be asked to carry the load in his absence. But with Samsonov playing in Long Island on Monday, the Rangers will see Jones instead.

Igor Shesterkin is slated to get the start for New York. Shesterkin had no offensive help in his last appearance as the Rangers were shut out in Washington.

Perhaps an area the Rangers can attack is the Leafs injured blueline and their third-string goaltender. John Klingberg underwent season injury hip surgery, while Timothy Liljegren has a high ankle sprain, and Mark Giordano has a fractured finger. Liljegren and Giordano are both week-to-week. The Blueshirts need to play with speed and put pressure on the Leafs defense to make a good play.

For the Rangers, they will be without K’Andre Miller who is out due to a personal reason. New York will hope they can get Miller back prior to their back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, Erik Gustaffson will play with Jacob Trouba, while Zac Jones will slot into the lineup to play with Braden Schneider.

Barclay Goodrow suffered an injury to his jaw when he took a puck to the mouth against Ottawa on December 5th. Goodrow missed the game against the Capitals, but was able to play with a full face shield against Los Angeles.

“I don’t know,” Goodrow said when the media asked him what he spat out of his mouth. “ A part of my mouth that should still be in my mouth, maybe.” Goodrow confirmed that he didn’t lose any teeth.

Filip Chytil remains out of the lineup with a concussion. Chytil has only played in ten games this season.

Vincent Trocheck is coming off a three point night as he was crucial against Los Angeles. Trocheck has been playing some of his best hockey as of late and he has been very noticeable on the second line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere.

The bet of the night – Jacob Trouba to record over 1.5 shots on goal. Trouba has been over this in each of the last five games. At -175, a $5.00 bet will pay 7.85 for a $2.85 profit.

Current record: 10-4

Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are up $42.16 on the season