The New York Rangers take on the Carolina Hurricanes two months after Adam Fox and Filip Chytils injuries.
Tarrytown, NY- The New York Rangers (25-9-1) open the new year against the Carolina Hurricanes (20-13-4). It will be the second matchup this season between the two top clubs in the Metropolitan Division.
The Blueshirts returned from last weekend's Florida trip, where they lost in a track meet to the Florida Panthers 4-3 and blasted the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1. Tonight marks the first time both teams meet since Adam Fox and Filip Chytil were injured on Nov.2.
The puck is set to drop at Madison Square Garden at 7:00 p.m. Following tonight's game, the Rangers host Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday and travel to the Bell Centre to combat the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Morning Skate Updates:
The Rangers skated today at the MSG training facility. Igor Shesterkin was the first goaltender off the ice, signifying he will start for the second game in a row (15-7-0, 2.69 GAA, .911 SV%). He has won his last five starts.
Jimmy Vesey talked about a response to Adam Fox's injury, “I haven’t thought about it, we’ll address it if there's any bad blood tonight… Fortunately enough we were able to maintain our place in the standings.”
Alexis Lafreniere spoke about the team's speed, “I think we're pretty fast too. When we play fast we are at our best. It's gonna be a really fast game up and down a lot of physicality.”
Rangers Projected Lines:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Wheeler
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere
Cuylle-Bonino-Jonny Brodzinski
Vesey-Goodrow-Pitlick
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Shesterkin
Opponent Projected Lines:
Svechnikov-Aho-Teravainen
Noesen-Kotkaniemi-Necas
Martinook-Staal-Jarvis
Lemieux-Drury-Bunting
Slavin-Burns
Skjei-Pesce
Orlov-Chatfield
Kochetkov
Raanta
How To Watch: Tonight's game is available to watch on ESPN+ and ESPN.