Rangers Return Home for Rematch Against Golden Knights

After yet another disappointing defeat, the Rangers return home from their four-game road trip to take on the Golden Knights in a (7:00PM on ESPN).

Rangers	Rankings	Golden Knights
29-16-2	Record	28-14-6
8th	League Rank	7th
13th	Goals For	16th
9th	Goals Against	6th
2nd	Power play	17th
6th	Penalty Kill	13th

Rangers Road Trip

The Blueshirts concluded their road trip 1-2-1. It started in Vegas where the Rangers were comfortably defeated by the score of 5-1. They then traveled to face the Kings for Jonathan Quick’s return to Los Angeles. Against the Kings, the Blueshirts managed just one goal for the second straight game and were defeated by the score of 2-1. The following night they went to Anaheim and overcame a two goal deficit to defeat the Ducks. Lastly, and perhaps most disappointingly, the Rangers blew a 2-0 third period lead against the Sharks. San Jose entered as the worst team in the league and are now tied with the Blackhawks in the basement.

Rangers vs Golden Knights

Eight Days ago, the Rangers played a poor game in Vegas and they found themselves down 4-0 after forty-minutes. New York was not good in that game and they will look for revenge in the rematch on Friday night. Despite the Rangers being in a massive slump, the one thing they’ve done well at is limiting shots on goal from the opposition. During the four-game road trip, the Rangers allowed just 91 shots total for an average of just 22.75 shots. The Hurricanes allow the fewest shots against at 25.3 per game.

When the Rangers faced the Golden Knights just over a week ago, Vegas had a lot of injuries they were dealing with. The situation has not gotten much better as they are still without many key players including Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, and Shea Theodore. Other injuries include Michael Amadio, William Carrier, and Ben Hutton.

The one key player that has returned to the lineup is starting netminder Adin Hill. Hill is 11-2-2 on the season with a .935 save percentage and a 1.93 goals-against average. Vegas will play on Friday at Madison Square Garden and Saturday night in Detroit. Expect Hill and Thompson to split the two games with Hill getting the start in New York.

Filip Chytil took part in his second practice since returning from the Czech Republic. Chytil has been out with a head injury, and unfortunately for Chytil and the Rangers he had a setback. Chytil went down on the ice and needed the help of two teammates to get back on his skates after being down on the ice for a few minutes. This setback is directly related to the injury he has been dealing with.

The Rangers signed Nick Bonino as a free agent this past offseason. Bonino leads the league in block shots for forwards and he has a faceoff percentage of 51% on the season. However, Bonino has just five points in 45 games with one goal and is a minus twelve on the season. On Thursday afternoon, the Rangers placed Bonino on waivers and he went unclaimed. Bonino will report to Hartford after the all-star break as he has a trip planned with his family.

Jake Leschyshyn was recalled from the Wolf Pack and will man the roster spot left by Bonino. Leschyshyn has played in just one game for the Rangers this season. In that one game, the former Golden Knight played less than six-and-a-half-minutes.

The Rangers will shake up their defensive core as Erik Gustafsson will start with Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren will play with Braden Schenider. Fox has played with Lindgren since being put together by former head coach David Quinn. Besides injuries, Fox and Lindgren have been together ever since as defensive partners.

Blake Wheeler will move back to the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Kaapo Kakko will return to the third line with Will Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski.

The bet of the night – As mentioned a few articles ago, it is very tough to bet on the Rangers and the best advice is to not bet on them until they get back into their groove. For the sake of this, the bet of the night is Adam Fox to record over 1.5 shots on goal. Fox has been over this three of the past four games, including against Vegas. At -166 odds, a $5 bet will payout $8.01 for a profit of $3.01

Current record: 16-13

Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are up $26.40 on the season