The Rangers, four points out of a playoff spot with 24 games remaining, begin life without Adam Fox tonight. New York takes on Toronto in an Original Six matchup at MSG. The Leafs come in having won three in a row and are 6-4 in their last 10 games to sit one point shy of Florida in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand. Tampa, on a seven game win streak, are just two points shy of Toronto, both having played 58 contests.

The Rangers forward lines will likely look like this:
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière
Cuylle-Miller-Zibanejad
Vesey-Carrick-Smith
Othmann-Brodzinski-Rempe

- J.T. Miller was at the optional skate this morning but is still considered a game-time decision.
- Arthur Kaliyev skated as an extra Thursday. I understand the mild annoyance at him being a scratch, but seeing how well the bottom-six played, who is sitting for him?
- Chris Kreider, who missed the last two games with an upper-injury, was on the ice this morning. He was a full participant in practice yesterday, too. The question is whether he will be scratched again with all signs pointing to that being the case. What happens with him moving forward seems to be open to interpretation.

On the blueline, with Fox out, the pairings look like:
K'Andre Miller-Will Borgen.
Ryan Lindgren-Urho Vaakanainen
Zac Jones- Braden Schneider.

- K'Andre Miller (lower-body) was on the ice today, but is also considered a game-time decision.
- Matthew Robertson looks to be the healthy scratch

Zac Jones gets his chance to shine. He stepped in more than ably last season when Fox was sidelined and looked good in his short, two-game, conditioning stint at Hartford. Perfect world would result in him running PP2 if K'Andre is used on PP1. But at a minimum, he should get a bit of an extended run in the lineup. How well he plays could help dictate the blueline's performance and pairings. If he can hold his own, Schenider could move up if needed.

- Igor Shesterkin in goal tonight vs. Maple Leafs. Jonathan Quick the backup.

Power play:
With Fox on IR, the Rangers ran a power play Thursday in practice with five forwards, akin to the death unit for Golden State: Zibanejad, Panarin, Kreider, Trocheck and Lafreniere. Swap in J.T. Miller for Kreider.

Smith, Brodzinski, K'Andre Miller, Zac Jones and Cuylle make up #NYR PP2

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