Rangers vs. Blackhawks: Lineups, storylines in Drew Fortescue NHL debut
Another day, another New York Rangers rookie making his NHL debut. That’s the case Friday, when the Rangers host the Chicago Blackhawks, and defenseman Drew Fortescue plays his first NHL game.
The 20-year-old signed with the Rangers last week after his junior season at Boston College ended. He’s burning the first season of his three-year entry-level contract by reporting straight to the NHL, similar to what his buddy and fellow BC star Gabe Perreault did a year ago at this time.
“I’m just trying to enjoy it. I mean, you only get one first game in the NHL, and it’s pretty cool to be able to say that it’s coming today,” Fortescue shared after the morning skate. “Obviously, I’m going to try my hardest to do the best I can. But I’m going to try and enjoy every second of it.”
Fortescue becomes the fifth player to make his NHL debut with the Rangers, and second in as many games. Forward Adam Sykora impressed in a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, and remains in the lineup against the Blackhawks, skating on a line with Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle.
Goalie Dylan Garand debuted this past Sunday and stopped 35 of 37 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets. He’ll start against the Blackhawks on Friday, after Igor Shesterkin was in net the past two games for the Blueshirts.
Center Noah Laba and forward Jaroslav Chmelar also made their NHL debuts this season. Laba remains out with a lower-body injury, but did take part in the morning skate Friday wearing a regular sweater. Chmelar is once again in the lineup on the fourth line.
“We’ve got them surrounded with veteran players that we think can help them when they’re on the ice. But these guys are all good players,” coach Mike Sullivan said after the morning skate about playing the kids.
The Rangers (28-35-9) are one of two teams in the League already eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention. The Blackhawks (27-32-13) soon will join the Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. This will be Chicago’s sixth straight season missing the playoffs.
3 storylines when Rangers host Blackhawks
1. Tankathon opportunity
Many fans for these Original Six teams facing off Friday hope that their side loses. The worse record and further down the Rangers and Blackhawks finish in the standings, the more ping-pong balls for the NHL Draft Lottery. And that means the better the chance to select a player like Penn State forward Gavin McKenna or Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg or North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff with the No. 1 overall pick.
Entering play Friday, the Rangers have a 13.5 percent chance to win the lottery and select first overall for the first time since 2020, when they landed Alexis Lafreniere, per Tankathon. The Blackhawks’ chances sit at 11.5 percent. The Canucks, with the worst overall record by far in the NHL this season, have a 25 percent chance to keep the top overall selection.
A four-game winning streak recently vaulted the Rangers up the lower-echelon of the NHL standings. But they’ve lost six straight (0-5-1) since. The Blackhawks, who shut out the Rangers 3-0 on Dec. 10 at United Center, lost 5-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday and are 2-3-2 in their past seven games.
2. Homeboys
The Rangers open up a season-long seven-game homestand Friday, covering the next 12 days through April 8. These are the final seven home games on the Rangers schedule. Only two of these games are against teams currently in a playoff position — the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. Yet the opponent doesn’t much matter because the Rangers are a dismal 9-18-7 at Madison Square Garden this season.
Only the Canucks (8-25-5) have a worse home record than the Rangers, who are 0-3-1 in their previous four games at MSG after a 3-0-2 stretch in home ice.
The Rangers close out the 2025-26 season with three straight on the road, April 11-15, at the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. If the Rangers win one of their final three away from The Garden, they’ll reach 20 road victories for the fifth consecutive season.
3. First overall
With the talk about Tankathon odds for the Rangers and Blackhawks and trying to land the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, two top overall picks are on the ice against one another Friday. Lafreniere, the 2020 No. 1 overall selection, had three points (one goal, two assists) Wednesday against the Maple Leafs and is second on the Rangers with 21 goals and 50 points this season.
The 24-year-old forward’s been on fire since the Olympic break, and was the NHL First Star of the Week a couple weeks ago. Lafreniere has one goal and five points in nine games against the Blackhawks.
Chicago’s Connor Bedard, No. 1 in 2023) scored his 30th goal on Thursday, reaching that total for the first time in three NHL seasons. He leads the Blackhawks with 67 points — equaling his career high — in 59 games. Bedard has four points (one goal, three assists) in four games against the Rangers.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Alexis Lafreniere — Mika Zibanejad — Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle — Vincent Trocheck — Adam Sykora
Tye Kartye — J.T. Miller — Conor Sheary
Taylor Raddysh — Jonny Brodzinski — Jaroslav Chmelar
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Braden Schneider — Will Borgen
Drew Fortescue — Matthew Robertson
Dylan Garand
Igor Shesterkin
Rangers vs. Blackhawks: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Chicago Blackhawks
When: Friday March 27 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
How to watch: MSG
