After a trade deadline that had highs and lows, the Rangers resume play in the season finale against the New York Islanders (7:00 P.M. ET, MSG).
| Rangers | Ranks | Islanders |
| 33-24-4 | Record | 35-20-6 |
| 6th | GF/PG | 22nd |
| 17th | GA/PG | 5th |
| 7th | PP% | 22nd |
| 19th | PK% | 16th |
The trade deadline has come and gone and teams are now set with their roster for the rest of the season. Leading up to the deadline, the Rangers traded Joey Keane for Julien Gauthier which many figured could be the first of many moves.
The morning of trade deadline day started off in an odd way when the Rangers announced that president John Davidson had called a media briefing which delayed practice. No one was quite sure what was about to be announced: whether it was a trade, a contract signing, naming of the next captain, etc. But with news that it would air on MSG Network and interrupt scheduled programming, Rangers fans knew something big was about to happen.
The media briefing started on a scary moment which left many people worried. Davidson announced that Igor Shesterkin and Pavel Buchnevich were involved in a car accident in Brooklyn, NY and were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital. Buchnevich was shaken up and listed as day-to-day, whereas Shesterkin suffered a small upper-body rib fracture and will be reevaluated in two weeks. Luckily the players were wearing their seat belts and the air bag system deployed correctly or this situation could have been much worse.
The media briefing than took a positive turn when Davidson announced that Chris Kreider had signed a seven-year extension with the Blueshirts. It later came out that Kreider will have an annual cap hit of 6.5 million dollars a season. Kreider currently has 45 points and is third for the Rangers in goals.
“When you look at what he’s doing, his emergence, we feel like he’s still getting better,” said general manager Jeff Gorton on Monday evening. “The fact that his size, his skating and scoring ability, his combination he has with Mika, his power-play ability — when you add it all up, it’s a player that we’ve had in our organization for a long time and we’ve watched the strides he’s been making.”
As the trade deadline was winding down, the Rangers made a big move in the final hour. Brady Skjei was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a first-round pick in 2020. Carolina who also owns Toronto’s first-round pick will be allowed to choose which pick they give the Rangers. But, because Toronto’s first-round pick is top ten protected – if Toronto misses the playoffs and their pick is in the top ten, the Leafs will retain their pick and the Hurricanes would be forced to give the Rangers their first-round pick, regardless if it is 1st overall selection or 31st overall selection. Skjei registered 112 points in 307 career games with the Rangers.
Now the Rangers will resume play in a very crucial game against the New York Islanders. The Islanders currently hold the first wild-card position and sit just six points ahead of the Rangers. Like the Rangers, the Islanders made a splash at the deadline when they traded away a first and second round pick to the Ottawa Senators for Jean-Gabriel Pageau. If the Islanders win the Stanley Cup this season, they will also owe Ottawa an additional third round pick. In addition, the Islanders also gave Pageau a six-year extension which carries an annual cap hit of five million a season. Pageau, who has yet to skate in a game for the Islanders, is expected to make his Islander debut in The Battle of New York. Pageau currently has 24 goals and 40 points on the season and is expected to start on the third line. The 27-year-old has five points in his past three games against the Rangers.
Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome will each hope to keep their point streak alive on Tuesday night. Zibanejad, who was the NHL’s second star last week, currently has a seven-game point streak (six goals, seven assists in that span) and four-game goal streak. Strome is currently on an eight-game point streak (four goals, seven assists in that span). The eight-game point streak is a career high for Strome.
The Blueshirts will also hope they can continue their road dominance. The Rangers enter the game on a seven-game road winning streak which is the longest in franchise history. In addition, the Rangers seven-game road winning streak is the longest road winning streak in the NHL this season. The Rangers have won six of their last seven games as Nassau Coliseum.
With Shesterkin out, the Rangers will turn to Alex Georgiev against the Islanders. Georgiev has started all three games against the Islanders this season and is 2-1-0. In five career starts against the Islanders, Georgiev is 4-1 (career record of 4-2, when he came in against the Islanders in relief).
Semyon Varlamov will start for the Rangers in the final meeting between the two teams this season. Varlamov was defeated in both starts against the Rangers this season. The Russian goalie has allowed nine goals on 63 shots against the Rangers this season.
The Blueshirts lineup appears to be up in the air for Tuesday’s game. Brendan Smith is expected to take Skjei’s vacant spot on defense. Buchnevich is day-to-day from the accident and will likely not be available. Kreider is currently ill and his status is in question for Tuesday’s game. If both Buchnevich and Kreider can’t go, the Rangers will be forced to call up a forward. If no one is called up, expect at least one of them in the lineup.
Projected Lineup
Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko
Panarin-Strome-Fast
Di Giuseppe-Chytil-Lemieux
McKegg-Howden-Gauthier
DeAngelo-Trouba
Lindgren-Fox
Staal-Smith
Georgiev
