Kaliyev Makes Rangers Debut as Season Reaches Halfway Marker

After claiming Arthur Kaliyev on waivers, the 23-year-old is set to make his Rangers debut as the Blueshirts hit the halfway point of the season (7PM on MSG)

Rangers	Rankings	Devils
18-20-2	Record	25-15-3
26th	League Rank	6th
20th	Goals For	11th
24th	Goals Against	3rd
26th	Power play	2nd
9th	Penalty Kill	6th

Pregame Notes

Arthur Kaliyev will make his Rangers debut on Thursday night
- Kaliyev was claimed from Los Angeles after being a healthy scratch since recovering from a fracture in training camp
- The 23-year-old was the former 33rd overall selection in the 2019 NHL draft. He is known for having a wicked shot with a shoot-first mentality
- Kaliyev will play for the injured Filip Chytil who is out of the lineup after suffering an injury against Dallas
Returning to the lineup will be Igor Shesterkin as he is slated to come off the IR
- Shesterkin missed the last four games which saw the Blueshirts go 2-1-1 with Jonathan Quick and Louis Domingue each winning a game
Matt Rempe’s suspension has been served and he will join the lineup as Jimmy Vesey is expected to be a healthy scratch.
- In Rempe’s three career games against New Jersey, the 6’9 forward has three game misconducts and over 40 penalty minutes
After Thursday night’s game, the Rangers will officially be at the halfway point of the season, and no one could have predicted they would be in the situation they are back in October. Although the Blueshirts are playing better hockey in the last four-games they sit only above the Islanders and Sabres in the Eastern Conference
The Good news for the Rangers is that there is still time to turn the season around as they are only four points behind Columbus for the final wildcard spot in the East
The Devils have put together a very good season and they show no signs of slowing down
- New Jersey has key contributors up-and-down their lineup and they finally have stable goaltending in Jacob Markstrom – something they have not had in a while. Markstrom recorded a shutout the last time these two teams met just prior to the Christmas break
Jack Hughes leads New Jersey in points with 48 this season
- Hughes has a personal eleven game point streak against the Rangers. In those eleven games, the former first-overall selection has 19 points
Zac Jones is a healthy scratch and his name has been coming up in trade rumors as he seems disgruntled with his playing time. Keep an eye for the Rangers to move Jones as each day passes