Rangers vs. Blues: 3 things to watch for returning home to begin busy Thanksgiving week
The New York Rangers start the final week of November back home at Madison Square Garden, when they host the St. Louis Blues on Monday.
Perhaps, the home crowd and a struggling opponent will get the Rangers going. The Rangers (12-6-1) have lost consecutive games for the first time this season after dropping the final two of their just-completed four-game road trip.
Each of those losses — 3-2 to the Calgary Flames and 6-2 to the Edmonton Oilers — featured terrible first periods when the Rangers appeared not ready to play in either contest. They allowed 41 shots in each of the past two first periods and were outscored 3-0 because Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, respectively, turned in some outrageous work between the pipes.
The Blues (9-12-1) just might be the right tonic for the Rangers. They’re 30th in the NHL, averaging a paltry 2.36 goals per game, near the bottom in both power play (25th) and penalty kill (24th) and 2-6-1 in their past nine games. St. Louis has lost six of its past seven road games (1-5-1).
There will be a new coach behind the Blues bench Monday, so perhaps that will give them some juice. Jim Montgomery, fired last week by the Boston Bruins, was named the 28th coach in Blues history after he replaced the fired Drew Bannister on Sunday.
Related: Rangers week ahead includes first meeting with Hurricanes since 2024 playoffs
3 things to watch for when Rangers host Blues
1. No more one and done
A common theme after the Rangers’ loss in Edmonton to the Oilers on Saturday was that their offense has become “one and done.” In other words no sustained pressure. Take a shot, fail to retain possession of the puck and immediately defend against a rush the other way.
It’s been that way for a while. The Rangers aren’t dictating play nearly often enough, nor winning enough puck battles. Their lack of compete shows up on the power play, too. They’ve been awarded only seven power plays in the past five games, largely because they’re not working hard enough to draw calls. More focus is on their 5v5 play, too, because the Rangers haven’t scored a power-play goal in those past five games.
It certainly wouldn’t hurt to put the Blues back on their heels by scoring first Monday. The Rangers are 10-0-0 when scoring the first goal this season and 7-0-0 when leading after the first period.
2. Roll out the big guns
The Rangers spend so much time defending recently that their offensive game has very little flow. Of course, it’d help if their big guns came out firing, and scoring.
Vincent Trocheck has one goal in his past eight games. Chris Kreider (who’s now out with an upper-body injury) has one goal in six. Mika Zibanejad is sitting on two goals in his past 13 games. Before scoring twice against the Oilers, Artemi Panarin had one goal in seven games. Adam Fox has not scored a goal all season. And Filip Chytil, who’s missed the past four games and remains out with an upper-body injury against the Blues, has one goal since Oct. 24.
The only consistent scorers lately are Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cuylle. That’s not enough. The big boys need to step up.
3. Small guy could make big impact
Brett Berard was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Sunday. He’s expected to be in the lineup, perhaps to provide a bit of a jolt. The 5-foot-9 wing brings tons of energy and speed to the lineup. Plus he has skill, leading Hartford with seven goals and 13 points in 16 games, after topping the Wolf pack with 25 goals as a rookie pro last season.
With the injury to Kreider and by the looks of things from the morning skate, there will be a major shake up among the forward line combinations. And Berard is right in the mix of it all. Berard skated on a line with Cuylle and Zibanejad. That drops Reilly Smith down to a third line centered by Kaapo Kakko with Adam Edstrom on the other wing.
Berard also skated on the second power-play unit with Cuylle, Kakko, Smith and Zac Jones.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Cuylle – Zibanejad – Berard
Edstrom – Kakko – Smith
Vesey – Carrick – Brodzinski
Miller – Fox
Lindgren – Trouba
Jones – Schneider
Shesterkin
Quick
Rangers vs. Blues: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. St. Louis Blues
When: Monday Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
How to Watch: MSG
Click here for New York Rangers complete 2024-25 schedule and game results
More About:New York Rangers News
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