Rangers Clash with the Central Division Leading Stars

After coming up with a late game-winning goal through Jimmy Vesey over the New Jersey Devils, the Blueshirts travel to Dallas for a battle with a fellow division leader (8:00PM on MSGSN).

Rangers	Rankings	Stars
12-2-1	Record	11-4-1
3rd	League Rank	5th
12th	Goals For	13th
2nd	Goals Against	10th
2nd	Power play	14th
10th	Penalty Kill	3rd

Previous Game

The Rangers are coming off a narrow 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Artemi Panarin and Jimmy Vesey each recorded two goals while Blake Wheeler iced the game with an empty net goal shortly after Vesey’s effort gave the Blueshirts a very late 4-3 lead. With a point against the Devils, Artemi Panarin extended his point streak to 15 games which broke Rod Gilbert’s franchise record of 14 to start the season.

Igor Shesterkin made his first start since early November after dealing with an injury. The Russian netminder recorded 30 saves for his seventh win of the season.

Rangers vs Stars

New York will now return their attention to the Central Division leading Dallas Stars. The Stars have balanced scoring throughout the lineup as they have five players that have at least thirteen points on the season. Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski each are tied for the team lead with 15 points whereas the new Star Matt Duchene has 14. Dallas has an additional five players with at least eleven points.

The Rangers have won each of the last three meetings with the Stars including a 2-1 overtime victory against the Stars. In that game, K’Andre Miller tied the game with less than a second before Adam Fox won the game in overtime.

Jake Oettinger is projected to get the start for the Stars. Oettinger is currently 8-3-1 on the season with a .920 save percentage. Oettinger is 0-1-1 in three career games [plus a no-contest due to injury] against the Blueshirts with an .855 save percentage.

One Player the Rangers hope will get scoring on offense is Mika Zibanejad. Zibanejad has just two goals on the season in 15 games. The Swedish center has five goals and five assists in ten career games as a member of the Rangers in games against Dallas.

Kaapo Kakko is another player the Blueshirts hope can pick up the scoring pace. With just two points in 15 games, the Rangers are hoping the second overall pick can find his groove sooner rather than later. Kakko has five career points in as many games against the Stars.

Adam Fox has resumed skating, but head coach Peter Laviolette has refused to put a timeline on his return. Fox must miss a minimum of the next five games due to being placed on the long-term injured reserve list.

In Fox’s absence, Zac Jones has filled in nicely as he has gotten a run of games in the lineup. Jones looks more composed and confident and he recorded an assist on Vesey’s first goal against New Jersey.

The bet of the night: The bet of the night is for Alexis Lafreniere to record over 1.5 shots on goal. The former first overall pick has done this in each of the last six games. A $5 bet will pay out 7.85 with -175 odds. It’s not much, but it should come through based on recent performances. Dallas also allows the eighth most shots against per game.

Last bet: The last pick was for Lafreniere to record a point which did not come through.

Current record: 5-3

Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are up $29.30 on the season