The Rangers are back home after going 3-3-0 on a six-game road trip and they will welcome the Philadelphia Flyers who have lost four of their last five games (7:00 P.M. ET, NBCSN).
| Rangers | East Division Ranks /8 | Flyers |
| 11-12-3 | Record | 13-9-3 |
| 6th | East Ranking | 5th |
| 5th | GF/PG | 2nd |
| 3rd | GA/PG | 7th |
| 7th | PP% | 5th |
| 2nd | PK% | 7th |
The Blueshirts truly are a case of Jekyll and Hyde this season. In one game they look like one of the worst in the league, but the very next game they show they can beat any team in this league rather convincingly. After getting dominated by the Boston Bruins on Thursday night 4-0, the Rangers returned the favor against the very same Bruins team and outclassed them by the same score of 4-0. The Rangers allowed just one high-scoring chance the entire game and really shut down any momentum the Bruins tried to start. It was arguably the best game the Rangers had played under head coach David Quinn.
Keith Kinkaid made the last start and had very little to do. His best save came when he went post to post to make a sprawling save, but play had already been blown dead so the save didn’t officially count. Kinkaid recorded his first win as a Ranger and in an 18 save shutout.
“There’s a good vibe here, and everyone in this organization trusts me,” said Kinkaid. “I just wanted to prove to them I could still play.”
With Shesterkin ruled out for Monday’s game against the Flyers, Kinkaid will get that chance to prove he can still play. With Alex Georgiev’s recent struggles, Kinkaid has played his way into serious playing time and he will make his second consecutive start.
The Rangers have COVID issues as Adam Fox, Pavel Buchnevich, and Phil Di Giuseppe are all on the COVID protocol list. None of them will be available when the Rangers host the Flyers. Julien Gauthier and Brett Howden will both draw back into the lineup. Tarmo Reunanen will make his NHL debut in place of Adam Fox. Reunanen is a 23-year-old left-handed defenseman who developed in Finland. The former fourth-round pick has five points in eight games with the Hartford Wolf Pack this season.
Phil Di Giuseppe was placed on the COVID protocol list and won’t be available for the Rangers. The Rangers canceled their morning skate for precautionary reasons but it is expected that Julien Gauthier draws back into the lineup.
The Flyers are entering this game as the fifth seed in the East Division. Once a lock as a top-three team in the East, the Flyers have work to do as they come closer to the halfway point. The Flyers have lost four of their last five games with their only winning coming in a shootout against the Buffalo Sabres who are on a ten-game losing streak.
One thing to keep an eye on in this game will be the Flyers powerplay vs the Rangers penalty kill. Despite the powerplay being midtable in the East, the Flyers have scored a powerplay goal in five of the past six games and have operated at over 26%. The Rangers penalty kill has surrendered just one goal during the past nine games.
Philadelphia gets a lot of goals at even strength and they have the second-highest scoring rate in the division. They are led by James Van Riemsdyk who has 28 points in 25 games. Sean Couturier has played in just 15 games but he has been averaging over a point-per-game.
22-year-old Carter Hart will get the start for the Flyers. Has strong as he was last season, Hart has struggled mightily this season. Hart holds a .887 save percentage and has a 3.60 goals-against average in 16 games played this season.
Artemi Panarin will play his second straight game since returning back from a leave of absence. Panarin looked fantastic for missing nine games and he had a beautiful assist on the Rangers third goal on Saturday. Panarin will look to extend his personal point streak to four games.
Jack Johnson was placed on waivers on Sunday afternoon and has cleared waivers. Johnson will be on the taxi squad and save cap space. Johnson on the taxi squad will also open up a roster spot which will eventually be needed for when Vitali Kravtsov is ready for NHL competition. Kravtsov has left Russia following his team being eliminated from the playoffs and he will now enter mandatory quarantine before he is eligible to start practicing with the team. Kravtsov is about one to two weeks away before he will likely see game action.
Projected Lineup
Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko
Panarin-Strome-Blackwell
Lafreniere-Chytil-Gauthier
Lemieux-Rooney-Howden
Miller-Trouba
Lindgren-Reunanen
Hajek-Smith
Kinkaid
