Rangers Look to get Back on Track Against Columbus

After suffering a disappointing defeat on home ice to the Montreal Canadiens, the Rangers will look to get back on track in Columbus (5:00 P.M. on MSG).

Rangers	NHL Rankings	Blue Jackets
24-12-7	Record	13-27-2
11^th	NHL Standing Rank	30^th
16^th	GF/PG	29^th
6^th	GA/PG	31^st
16^th	PP%	31^st
13^th	PK%	19^th

Rangers are coming off a 2-1 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday evening. Rangers looked as though they had little energy and little motivation. New York was largely outplayed and ultimately Montreal deserved the two points
Yesterday, I wrote it was a trap game after coming off an emotional high and as it turned out – the Blueshirts couldn’t muster a good performance together
Both Igor Shesterkin and Sam Montembeault were fantastic and kept the game from being a game that could have easily had eight or ten goals on another night
The Blueshirts lone goal was scored by Artemi Panarin
Chris Kreider didn’t feature for the second straight game due to an upper-body injury
Rangers will now play the second half of a back-to-back in Columbus
New York has only managed one goal in regulation time in each of the two games Kreider hasn’t played
Alexis Lafreniere has taken Kreider’s spot in his absence, but has yet to record a point. It is unknown if Kreider will play on Monday – stay tuned for Gallant’s press conference prior to the game
With the Rangers looking for offense – they’ll face the 31^st ranked defensive team out of 32. Columbus allows nearly four goals per game
Rangers lost the first meeting 5-1 against the Blue Jackets back in October
With Shesterkin playing on Sunday night, expect Jaroslav Halak to start. Halak has won each of the previous three games. Gallant’s pre game press conference will tell the story as it wouldn’t be unheard of for Gallant to play Shesterkin back-to-back. Rangers don’t play untl Thursday after Monday night when they host the league leading Boston Bruins
Expect Panarin to be booed each time he touches the puck against his former team
Johnny Gaudreau leads the Blue Jackets with 41 points in 42 games. No other player on Columbus has more than 22 points
Patrik Laine has 22 points in 27 games. Laine missed time this season due to a sprained ankle. The Finnish native currently features on the top line with Gaudreau and Jack Roslovic
Zach Werenski and Jakub Voracek have played in just eleven and thirteen games respectively. Werenski suffered a torn labrum and isn’t expected to return this season while Voracek is suffering symptoms from head injuries and it’s not certain if he will ever play in another NHL game
Ryan Carpenter was recalled from Hartford with Gauthier going on the IR. Carpenter didn’t play on Sunday, but could return in the lineup on Monday.