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Rangers look to rebound from loss to Hurricanes, face Coyotes tonight

January 22, 2022, 6:21 PM ET [138 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Rangers, off a disappointing 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes in Carolina on Friday, get a chance to wipe the bad taste from their mouths tonight at MSG versus the Coyotes. Igor Shesterkin, given the night off yesterday, will be between the pipes. With a heavy upcoming schedule in terms of talented teams to be faced, this is one of "easier" games on the docket. Normally, it might be a look past game, but after last night and the difficulty the team had in the prior game against Arizona, one would hope that won't be the case.

We all knew how good Carolina was coming into the game. Coach Gerard Gallant dressed Georgiev, saving Igor for tonight, A few possible reasons and Georgiev wasn't the reason why they lost. First, Gallant does not normally go with goalies on back-to-back nights, so each netminder was going to see a contest. Going with Georgiev might have been a way to further boost his confidence, which rose after the stretch of games he played when Shesterkin was out. Second, Gallant downplayed the significance of the contest, even though first place was at stake. If New York won, all the better. But if not, the victory came against the backup and not "starting" #1 goalie.

Carolina's ability to transition from offense to defense while playing a heavy game and limiting chances in their own zone were on display last night. In addition, New York's inability to continually generate an attack from their top-six 5x5 also came to the fore once again. That later aspect is why we all believe a top-six right winger is a must. Part of the issues with the team is the lack of full growth from Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. Kakko was replaced for part of yesterday's game by Ryabn Reaves with New York needing to be bigger, though Kakko is no wallflower himself. Gallant can spin it that way, but we know the reason.

Tony DeAngelo extracted his revenge with a goal and two assists in the first of four meetings between the two squads. Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast,Brady Skjei and Brendan Smith were all in the lineup last night. Quickie scored as well, his ninth of the season. So wished the Rangers had found a way to keep him.

In taxi squad news, Anthony Greco and Tarmo Reunanen were recalled while Tyler Wall was sent back to Hartford. I would like to see Greco get another game, though the fourth line has been the team's most consistent the past two games, so no need to change there. Hopefully, the Blueshirts (26-11-4) get a win tonight, starting the second half of the season on the right foot.



Lineup:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Hunt
Panarin-Strome-Goodrow
Lafreniere-Chytil-Gauthier
McKegg-Rooney-Reaves

Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Nemeth-Schneider

Shesterkin

Scratches: Tinordi, Hajek, Kakko

Kakko, who skated in warmups, was scratched just before the game for Julien Gauthier. Chytil moves back to center the third unit between Lafreniere and Hunt, while Goodrow is bumped up to the right wing of the second line next to Panarin and Strome. We shall see if this works.

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