Battered New York Rangers face Wild looking for 7th straight win
On Saturday night, the New York Rangers will take on the Minnesota Wild as they look for their seventh consecutive victory. The Rangers currently hold an 8-2-0 record and sit atop the Metropolitan division by three points. They travel north to face a struggling Minnesota team, who hold a record of 3-5-2. Statistically speaking, the Rangers should come away with another win. However, recent news on the injury front has caused concern.
The Rangers will have to tighten things up in order to make up for some important losses. On Friday, Adam Fox was placed on the long-term injured reserve list, Filip Chytil was placed on injured reserve, and Louis Domingue was called up with Igor Shesterkin facing a minor injury, giving Jonathan Quick the nod in net.
New York also called up Jonny Brodzinski, who is will play tonight as Barclay Goodrow will be with his wife for the birth of their son, per Rangers PR. Zac Jones will slot in on defense, with Connor Mackey recalled as the 7th defenseman.
Last season, the Rangers won both of their matchups against Minnesota. In the last five meetings, they are 3-2-0. The Blueshirts have been road warriors to start the year and will look to continue that trend when the puck drops at Xcel Energy Center. Although Minnesota has struggled, it is important that the Rangers do not overlook this matchup. They have an opportunity to extend their win streak and with that their lead in the division.
Here’s tonight’s game and broadcast info:
New York Rangers (8-2-0) vs Minnesota Wild (3-5-2)
Date/Time: November 4, 2023 @ 8:00 PM ET
Arena: Xcel Energy Center
TV: MSG, MSGSN
Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM
Note: Subject to change, updated for each game
New York Rangers projected lineup
With al the injuries, call ups, and players in and out of the lineup. Here is an idea of what we can expect against Minnesota.
Kreider – Zibanejad – Kakko
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Cuylle – Brodzinski – Wheeler
Pitlick – Bonino – Vesey
Lindgren – Gustafsson
Miller – Trouba
Jones – Schneider
Quick
Domingue
Note: The Rangers will have a pre-game skate scheduled for 12:30 PM ET at Xcel Energy Center. Check back in for updates.
New York Rangers vs Minnesota Wild
Tonight’s Rangers’ lineup being without several key players probably makes this matchup against a struggling Minnesota team tougher than anticipated. Without their star defensemen and power play quarterback, all the Rangers players will all have to pick up the slack. This also means that newcomer Erik Gustafsson will be the defenseman on the first power play unit.
“Gustafsson’s been a first unit power play guy for most of his career,” Peter Laviolette mentioned. “There is going to be a transition there because of the handedness. If we need him to, he will be more than capable of jumping in there.”
It seems as though the Rangers will certainly need to rely on Gustafsson to quarterback the first powerplay unit. Without Adam Fox, he and the rest of the Rangers’ defense will need to step it up. This specifically goes for Braden Schneider, who should get more ice time starting in Minnesota. Schneider has one goal and one assist with a plus/minus of -1 through 10 games this season.
Zac Jones will also need to answer the bell. After playing only one game where he had no points and was a -2, it will be a good opportunity for him to prove that he can be a regular in the Rangers’ lineup. With Fox landing on LTIR, he is required to miss at least 10 games and 24 days, meaning both Schneider and Jones will get extended looks.
Although Minnesota may not be off to a great start, they still have threats throughout their lineup. Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, and Joel Erikson Ek lead the way in points with 10 a piece. On defense, Jonas Brodin and rookie Brock Faber have impressed. In goal, Filip Gustavsson has received 60% of the starts registering a .882 save percentage and a 4.48 GAA. The legendary Marc-Andre Fleury has played the other 40%, registering a .888 save percentage and a 3.25 GAA.
After a long game in which the Rangers were injured and beat up, they are right back on the grind. The now injured and shorthanded Blueshirts will look to earn their 7th straight win without their Norris-winning defenseman, Vezina-winning goaltender, and explosive second line center. A tall task at hand, to say the least.
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