Rangers take on Sharks to close out long road trip
On Tuesday night, the New York Rangers look to close out this four-game western trip with a win over the San Jose Sharks. If they can pick up two points, it will give them a .500 record on this Pacific Division excursion after dropping the first two (Vegas, LA) before rallying in Anaheim.
“The win was hard,” coach Peter Laviolette noted Sunday. “I thought we were controlling the game, but that doesn’t matter after you find yourself down two. The fact that we just stuck with it was a really great job by the guys.”
New York is 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, which has allowed the Philadelphia Flyers to crawl within 4 points of first-place in the Metro.
Here’s tonight’s game and broadcast info:
New York Rangers (29-15-2) vs San Jose Sharks (11-31-4)
Date/Time: January 23, 2024 @ 10:30 PM ET
Arena: SAP Center
TV: MSG
Radio: ESPN 1050 AM
Note: Subject to change, updated for each game
New York Rangers projected lineup
Here are the expected line combinations and pairings with Igor Shesterkin expected to start:
Kreider – Zibanejad – Kakko
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Cuylle – Brodzinski – Wheeler
Goodrow – Bonino – Vesey
Lindgren – Fox
Miller – Trouba
Gustafsson – Schneider
Shesterkin
Quick
Note: The Rangers will hold a morning skate at 2:00 PM ET at the SAP Center. Peter Laviolette will address the media afterwards. Check back in for updates.
New York Rangers vs San Jose Sharks
The Rangers road record is solid this season standing at 14-7-1. Against Pacific Division opponents they are 9-4-0 which includes an exciting 6-5 win over the Sharks on Dec. 3. Matter of fact, the Blueshirts are 9-0-1 in their last ten meetings against San Jose.
On Sunday, the Rangers needed a furious four goal third-period rally to take down the Ducks and keep their record perfect (8-0-0) in the second game of back-to-back sets. It also marked their seventh third period rally for a win, which is good for fourth in the NHL.
“The score wasn’t going our way,” said Will Cuylle, who started the comeback. “I thought we out played them all game, but the score wasn’t showing it. To come out with a couple of goals in the end was huge.”
New York will have to avoid the trap of playing a bottom-feeder like the Sharks. At this point of the season, there’s no opponent the Rangers should take lightly. Despite San Jose ranking dead last in the NHL, they have won two straight, including a shootout win over the Kings on Monday.
Milestones within reach
- Nick Bonino is one assist away from 200 career assists
- Mika Zibanejad is 1 point away from 500 with the Rangers
- Peter Laviolette is one win away from tying Al Arbour for 7th most coaching wins in NHL history
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