Rangers Look to Snap Road Losing Skid in Anaheim

The Blueshirts are in Anaheim for the third-game of a four-game road trip to take on the Ducks (8:30PM on MSG). 

Recent Struggles and Road Worries

The Rangers have been going through their most testing time of the season to date. New York has struggled mightily since the turn of the New Year. Since January 1st, the Rangers have recorded three wins for a record of 3-6-1. Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that the Blueshirts haven’t recorded a road win since December 30th in Tampa bay, and they have lost their last five games away from home. 

The following is how the Rangers rank for the month of January thus far: 

In addition to these stats, the Rangers have scored just seven goals in the third period since the beginning of 2024. The issues go further back and into the beginning of December, but they have become more noticeable and egregious in January. As simple and obvious as it sounds – New York is simply not scoring enough and are allowing too many goals. Perhaps what’s more interesting is the fact that they have been shooting the puck more often in January (Rank 14th in the league for the season), and are allowing the second fewest shots per game (Rank 6th in the league for the season). This points to the problem being the quality of the chances being allowed and team defense as a whole.

Rangers vs Ducks

New York will look to snap their skids when they take on the 30th ranked Ducks. The Rangers will get an opportunity against one of the bottom teams in the league to get back on track. After playing Anaheim on Sunday, the Rangers will get an opportunity against the 32nd ranked Sharks. New York desperately needs to get back in the winning column and start to feel good about their game again. 

Igor Shesterkin will be back in goal for the Rangers after Jonathan Quick lost his fifth straight game. Quick made 24 saves on 26 shots in his return to Los Angeles. Shesterkin will be looking to bounce back after allowing four goals on 25 shots in Vegas. Quick will have the night off to celebrate his birthday. Teammate K’Andre Miller is also celebrating his birthday on Sunday.

The Rangers won the first meeting between the two teams by the score of 5-1. Anaheim have two former Blueshirts who will be hoping to add to their misery and continue the recent trend of former Rangers haunting the team. Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano play on the same for the Ducks. Strome played parts of four seasons in New York and he established himself as a middle-six forward in the league. Vatrano on the other hand, was a trade deadline acquisition and part of the team that made it to the Eastern Conference Final two seasons ago. Vatrano leads the Ducks in goals with 21 and points with 35.

The Ducks were involved in a big trade with the Flyers this month. Anaheim traded Jamie Drysdale and a future second-round pick for Cutter Gauthier. Drysdale, 21-years-old is a defenseman who was picked sixth overall by the Ducks in 2020. Drysdale had 45 points in 123 games with the Ducks over four seasons. Gauthier helped lead the USA to a World Junior Championship at the beginning of the year. The 20-year-old wanted out of Philly and would not sign his entry-level contract with the Flyers. Anaheim opted to move a young defensive prospect in-exchange for the former fifth overall pick in 2022. The Ducks will hope Gauthier will play a key role in the youth movement up front with Troy Terry, Mason McTavish, Trevor Zegras, and Leo Carlsson. Gauthier has yet to make his debut in the NHL.

Many figure the Ducks to be sellers at the trade deadline in March. Some other names rumored to be available include Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg, and Ilya Lyubushkin. Zegras’s name has also found its way into trade rumors which could be another surprising trade of another young player out of Anaheim. John Gibson’s name has also been thrown around if the right offer arrives at Anaheim’s door step. 

Erik Gustafsson was unavailable on Saturday night and his status for Sunday is in doubt. Nick Bonino did not play either for New York. We will learn about the lineup closer to game time. Ducks injuries include Zegras and Alex Killorn to lower-body injuries and Max Jones with an upper-body injury. 

Bet of the Night

The bet of the night – Quite frankly, there aren’t many bets I would be willing to make in favor of the Rangers given their recent form. The Blueshirts really need to win and get back on track so the bet of the night is the Rangers -1.5. New York won by 4 goals against Anaheim in the first meeting and this time, they just need to win by two goals for this to cash. If New York find themselves in the lead, they’ll also have a chance for an empty net late in the game. At +114 odds, $5 bet will pay $10.70 for a profit of $5.70. 

Current record: 15-12

Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are up $25.70 on the season

Projected Lineup

Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko

Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere

Cuylle-Brodzinski-Wheeler

Vesey-Goodrow-Pitlick

Lindgren-Fox

Miller-Trouba

Jones-Schneider

Shesterkin

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