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               The Rangers will be looking to snap a two-game losing skid as they host former fan favorite Pavel Buchnevich and the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden (7:30 P.M. EST, TNT).

RangersNHL RankingsBlues
33-15-5Record32-14-6
7thNHL Standing Rank8th
20thGF/PG5th
3rdGA/PG6th
5thPP%2nd
7thPK%4th

Previous Game

               Last time on the ice, the Rangers were defeated 5-2 by the Vancouver Canucks. The Blueshirts never really got going and found themselves trailing 4-0 entering the third period. Alexis Lafreniere and Ryan Strome were the lone goal scorers for the Rangers. Alex Georgiev made his first start in a month and it didn’t go as planned. Georgiev made 29 saves on 33 shots as he struggles to see regular playing time.

Rangers

               The Rangers will look to snap their two-game skid when they host the St. Louis Blues. The last time these two teams played was on March 3rd, 2020 – one day short of being two years on the button. The Blues won both meetings in 2020. Filip Chytil will rejoin the lineup as the Rangers continue to look for offense. In the past six games, the Rangers have only managed to score more than two goals once. Chytil is expected to join the third line and the second line power-play unit. Morgan Barron is expected to be a healthy scratch.

               Expect Igor Shesterkin to be back in the net once again after receiving rest during the second game of the back-to-back on the weekend. Shesterkin currently holds a record of 25-6-3 with a .941 save percentage and a 1.95 goals-against average.

               Patrik Nemeth is expected to return to the lineup after missing the previous three games. Nemeth’s wife gave birth last week to a healthy baby boy. The 30-year-old has played in just one game since January 22nd. Zac Jones who was filling in for Nemeth has been sent to Hartford as he continues to develop.

Pavel Buchnevich

               The biggest storyline heading into the game will be the return of Pavel Buchnevich. Buchnevich was originally a third-round draft pick in 2013 by the Blueshirts. In 301 games played as a member of New York, Buchnevich recorded 195 points. The Russian right-winger is currently on pace to shatter his career-high point total in a single season of 48 – which was set last season during the 56-game season. Buchnevich has 46 points in 46 games played this season.

               New General Manager Chris Drury had a big decision to make on Buchnevich and ultimately decided to trade Buchnevich – a trade that sparked conversation in Rangerstown. The two biggest reasons for the trade ended up being for cap space in the future and to give more ice time to Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. Despite being a fan and locker room favorite, it was a deal that Drury felt had to be made and the Rangers acquired Sammy Blais and a second-round pick. Blais is currently out for the season due to a torn ACL.

               “A lot of good memories. A lot of laughs,” said former linemate Mika Zibanejad on Buchnevich’s return. “It’s going to be good to see him.”

               Buchnevich and some of the current Rangers players reportedly went out for dinner on Monday in New York City as they caught up.

               “Just happy to see guys who I played with for a long time…,” Buchnevich said.

The 26-year-old will be looking to prove to Drury why they should have signed him and he hopes to get one over on his former teammates.

“If I score, he’s (Shesterkin) going to hear some jokes all day long.”

Blues

               As a team, the Blues have been on fire as of late. St. Louis has won four straight games and are 6-0-1 in their last seven games. Leading St. Louis in points is Jordan Kyrou who has 49 points in 48 games played. At 23-years-old Kyrou is having a breakout season. His previous career-high in a singular season was 35 points in 55 games during the shortened season last year.

               Vladimir Tarasenko is also having a bounce-back season and showing why he is so valuable. The 30-year-old played in just 34 games in the two previous seasons and many wondered if he can return to the level, he was playing at due to injury concerns. Tarasenko was even exposed to Seattle in the expansion draft but ultimately decided not to take the chance. The right-winger currently has 46 points in 47 games this season.

               Perhaps the biggest story in the past two months has been Ville Husso for the Blues. Husso has overtaken Jordan Binnington as the team’s number one goaltender and his play has been stellar. In fact, he’s been so good that his numbers are almost as good as Shesterkin though Husso has played under a smaller sample size. Husso currently has a .935 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average. Husso is expected to be back in goal for St. Louis.

Key to the Game

               Despite the two teams being pretty even on paper, the key to the game could be the offense and goaltenders. Which team’s offense can get a couple of goals to give their goaltender support? Shesterkin and Husso are arguably the two best goalies in the league at this point and we could be in for a low-scoring game like Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. It’s never fun to bet the under if you play the sportsbooks but betting the under could be the right move on Wednesday night.

Projected Lineup

Kreider-Zibanejad-Lafreniere

Panarin-Strome-Hunt

McKegg-Chytil-Gauthier

Reaves-Rooney-Goodrow

Lindgren-Fox

Miller-Trouba

Nemeth-Schneider

Shesterkin

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