New York Rangers Daily: Super Saturday at 4 Nations Face-Off; trade interest in Kraken’s Jared McCann
Likely what will be the most fun day of the 4 Nations Face-Off takes place Saturday, when two major rivalry games take place at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Sweden and Finland meet in the afternoon before Canada and the United States square off later in the evening.
Depending on where you’re from, you can make the argument for which is the bigger rivalry. But from a tournament perspective, U.S. and Canada are playing for the top seed with Team USA coming in with three points and Canada with two.
The round-robin international tournament continues Monday at TD Garden in Boston, ahead of the championship game there Thursday night.
There’s a bit of extra intrigue to the Canada-USA game Saturday considering how intensely the American National Anthem was booed by the mostly-Canadian fan base ahead of Team USA’s 6-1 win against Finland on Thursday. That went beyond rivalry, and several U.S. players noted the vitriol was surprising and beyond the norm. Likely the current political climate and tensions between the two countries contributed heavily towards such a negative reception for the United States at Bell Centre.
As for the hockey, these should be two great games. It’d appear that five of the six New York Rangers selected to participate at the 4 Nations will play. Chris Kreider, a healthy scratch for Team USA against Finland, is expected to sit again Saturday.
No Rangers player recorded a point in the opening games Thursday.
Speaking of the Rangers, in exactly one week the regular season starts up again. The Rangers will kickstart their 27-game stretch drive with a three-game road trip that starts in Buffalo against the Sabres and continues with games at the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. Four home games follow, including a rematch with the Islanders, before the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline.
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New York Rangers news
Playing for Team USA, Rangers defenseman Adam Fox explained why he’s already gained a better appreciation for the leadership skills of its captain Auston Matthews.
In a recent interview, Mike Keenan revealed that he almost returned to coach the Rangers eight years after leading them to the Stanley Cup in 1994.
Top Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann is on a heater with seven goals in his past nine games. He’ll look to stay hot Saturday when the Hartford Wolf Pack visit the Charlotte Checkers.
Rangers report cards have been handed out here at Forever Blueshirts. Here are the grades for the Rangers forwards and another article grading the goalies and defensemen.
NHL news
Canada coach Jon Cooper is playing it coy and hasn’t revealed a starting goalie for the 4 Nations game against the United States. Jordan Binnington was between the pipes in their opener.
Canada is already without injured defenseman Shea Theodore — and may have to play without Cale Makar on Saturday after he missed practice Friday with an illness. If he can’t go, Thomas Harley of the Dallas Stars would slot in.
Set to face a gritty Team USA lineup that includes Rangers forwards J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck, Canada is expected to insert Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers into the lineup Saturday.
After Juuse Saros surrendered six goals against the United States on Thursday, he’ll be replaced in goal by Kevin Lankinen when Finland faces Sweden.
In his latest 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman offered that the Los Angeles Kings are seeking a right-shot top-9 forward, with Kyle Palmieri of the Islanders and Joel Armia of the Montreal Canadiens options on the trade market.
Friedman also reported that several teams have reached out to the Seattle Kraken to check on the availability of forward Jared McCann.
Sam Steel signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars on Friday.
Our friend James Nichols over at New Jersey Hockey Now presents everything that comes next for the Devils ahead of the trade deadline and after.
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