The Rangers look to win their second in a row after defeating the Hurricanes on Tuesday. A home match against Chicago is the game tonight as New York heads towards the weekend and an extended break. Following Saturday's game in Boston, the Blueshirts are off until January 29 due to the bye week and All-Star break, meaning we will have 27 days and 16 games until the trade deadline.

Lines:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Chytil-Strome-Fast
Vesey-Nieves-Namestnikov
McLeod-Howden-Buchnevich

Kevin Hayes, who practiced without restrictions Wednesday on a line was a winger with Filip Chytil and Ryan Strome, will miss his eight straight game with a nagging upper-body injury Thursday and won't return until after the bye week, meaning he is also out Saturday against Boston. Jesper Fast had a maintenance day Wednesday but will play Thursday. Speculation existed that Pavel Buchnevich, after scoring two PPG on Wednesday, would move up from the fourth but coach David Quinn has opted to keep the lines as is.

Pavel Buchnevich is staying on the fourth line, David Quinn said. "I know he got the two goals last night,'' DQ said of Buchnevich. "I was happy as heck for him, but those are two power play goals and there’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of ice time, five-on-five...'' (more)

— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) January 16, 2019

Pavel Buchnevich is staying on the fourth line, David Quinn said. "I know he got the two goals last night,'' DQ said of Buchnevich. "I was happy as heck for him, but those are two power play goals and there’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of ice time, five-on-five...'' (more)

— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) January 16, 2019

We sometimes forget athletes are human beings. That they have the same insecurities and issues as the rest of us, despite what they do for a living. In addition, a fine line exists between having and losing confidence, and once it's gone, regaining it ins't easy. Quinn discussed that about Mats Zuccarello, who appears to have found his form again.

DQ on Zuccarello's state of mind: "He’s a sensitive guy, he loves being a Ranger, and we love having him here. You know, there’s a business aspect to all this; there’s an uncertainty piece to it – that’s not easy for people to handle. We’re all human beings. (more)''

— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) January 16, 2019

Zucc, cont'd: "... You see these athletes getting paid big bucks and they’re human beings. And he and I have had a lot of discussions about it. Nothing was resolved, but just the fact that there was a lot of talk... I just think he’s in a better place, mentally."

— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) January 16, 2019

Larry Brooks, who wrote about Zucc's struggles will the possible move recently, noted in today's paper that Don Meehan, Zuccarello’s agent, told The Post via email late Tuesday that there have been no discussions with the team regarding a possible contract extension for the 31-year-old, who first arrived on the scene at the 2010 training camp and is third on the club in seniority behind Henrik Lundqvist and Marc Staal.

Brooks added, the Oilers are believed to be interested in Zuccarello. So, too, Carolina, which is both light on forwards and is seeking to move pending free-agent winger Micheal Ferland. The Rangers would not be interested in Ferland, but rather the rights to Harvard junior defenseman Adam Fox. Sign me up for the latter but I would be pretty surprised if Carolona would move Fox for Zucc.

Skjei-McQuaid
Staal-DeAngelo
Lindgren-Shattenkirk

Lundqvist

Neal Pionk will be out through the bye week and All-Star break with a lower-body injury that the defenseman has played through “for a while,” according to Quinn. With Frederik Claesson out 1-3 weeks with his shoulder injury, look for Adam McQuaid to once play through his upper-body injury with Brendan Smith sitting again..

Larry Brooks wrote today that if Kevin Shattenkirk, who has a 10-team NMC continues to play as he has as the past week, he may be hastening his way out of town. "But in this fractured universe in which the Rangers — and especially their veterans without no-move clauses — are living, Shattenkirk’s improved play not only makes him more valuable to the team, but more attractive to contenders who might be interested in his particular skill set. The better he plays, the more likely he punches his ticket out of town less than two seasons into his Broadway run"

It hasn’t been perfect, hasn’t necessarily been dynamic, but Shattenkirk has become more involved in the play even on the third pair with a changing cast of characters on his left side, the latest, of course, the freshest of freshman, Ryan Lindgren.

“I feel like I’m being more instinctively aggressive, jumping into play, making quicker and better decisions,” No. 22 told The Post in advance of Thursday’s Garden match against the Blackhawks. “I’m being more assertive, I’m activating more and keeping my feet moving.

“I’m moving before I get the puck at the blue line, and that’s helping me get my shot through. I’d had a problem with my shots getting blocked, but that’s been much better, too. Being on the first power play, you begin with a faceoff, and if you win that, you’re going to have touches, whereas on the second unit, a lot of times you’re coming on when the puck is being sent in and being, on the penalty kill forces you to move your feet.

“I’m feeling a lot better about myself and my game, too.”

“What I’ve done is focus on the process, and I’ve found that to be very beneficial. I think I’m more patient, focusing on making progress individually and as a team. It’s different after playing on winning teams for so long. We’re a young team with young players getting a lot of responsibility, which I understand, but with that, there are going to be mistakes. That can be frustrating.

“But what the coaches have taught me is to help out the younger guys because that was me once and I was there, too. Sometimes I forget that.”

You know my views on 'Kirk, but it's impossible not to see how much he has declined since his days in St. Louis. Maybe it is injury related, but that's an easy excuse and his issues began well before his arriving in New York. If this is the "real" Shattenkirk, then we should see the puck-moving blueliner whose offensive skills were in demand at the deadline two years ago. GM Jeff Gorton has to weigh dealing him now, especially if the offer mirrors that talent level, or wait and see, potentially taking the chance the past week or so is an aberration.

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