Rangers vs. Blues: Lineups, storylines with Artemi Panarin game-time decision
When the New York Rangers try to regain their scoring touch and get back on the winning track Thursday against the St. Louis Blues, they may have to do so without Artemi Panarin. Their leading scorer is “under the weather” and a game-time decision after skipping the morning skate at Enterprise Center.
Panarin has 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) playing all 35 games so far this season. The durable 34-year-old’s missed just two games since the start of the 2022-23 season. He’s also led the Rangers in scoring each of his first six seasons after signing a seven-year, $81.5 million contract as a free agent on July 1, 2019.
Though Panarin’s production is more inconsistent this season, his potential absence from the lineup is a major Rangers concern.
The Rangers (16-15-4) average 2.51 goals scored per game, ranked 29th of 32 teams in the NHL. New York was shut out 3-0 by the last-overall Vancouver Canucks at home on Tuesday to complete a miserable back-to-back set at Madison Square Garden to begin this week. The also lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
New York’s been blanked seven times this season, with six of those defeats on home ice. Though the Rangers lead the League with 12 road wins, they were shut out in Chicago by the Blackhawks in their most recent road contest eight days ago.
So, yes, they’d miss Panarin if he can’t play against the Blues. But reinforcements did arrive from the minors leagues Wednesday, when the Rangers recalled Gabe Perreault and Brennan Othmann from Hartford of the American Hockey League. Neither former first-round pick scored a goal yet in a combined 34 NHL games, but each possesses plenty of offensive skill.
Perreault leads Hartford with 10 goals and 17 points in 20 games as a rookie pro. The 20-year-old also picked up his first NHL point, an assist, during a three-game call up earlier this season. Othmann scored 21 goals for Hartford two seasons ago, and had three in his past four AHL games before this recall.
The Blues (13-15-7) are one of the three teams that actually scores fewer goals than the Rangers. St. Louis is 31st in the League, averaging 2.49 goals per game, and its unsightly minus-36 goal differential is worst in the NHL.
Still, the Blues found a way to win two of their past three games despite scoring a total of six goals. They’re coming off a 1-0 shutout win at home over the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, the first of this back to back for them.
Since Joel Hofer started in goal against the Jets, Jordan Binnington likely starts against the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin is the Rangers starting goalie Thursday.
3 storylines when Rangers visit Blues
1. Going fourth
The Rangers didn’t do line rushes at the morning skate, but Othmann told reporters he’s slated to skate on the fourth line with Sam Carrick and Matt Rempe. If coach Mike Sullivan actually gives that line some decent playing time, it could be a source of much-needed energy in the Rangers lineup. When Othmann is at his best, he’s engaged and playing physically, which often leads to offensive success.
It would be nice to see Othmann get some run in the top-nine. But Sullivan trusts Carrick and Rempe, so hopefully that means Othmann earns some trust, too, and plays more than a handful of minutes.
Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
After a slow start this season, which led to plenty of Othmann trade rumors, the 22-year-old forward has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past seven games with Hartford.
“The last two or three weeks it’s been trending upwards,” he explained after the morning skate. “I feel like I’ve been playing pretty good hockey in Hartford and getting good feedback from the top of the organization to the bottom.”
There’s no indication where Perreault slots in Thursday, though a top-six role is likely, whether Panarin plays or not. Perreault practiced with the second power-play unit Thursday morning, as well.
2. Hit parade
Outside of not scoring a lot of goals, there’s another thing the Rangers and Blues have in common. They are among the most physical teams in the NHL, at least according to one statistic. The Rangers lead the NHL with 927 hits; and the Blues are fourth with 820.
Will Cuylle again leads the Rangers, and is third in the NHL, with 121 hits in 35 games. Last season, Cuylle set a new franchise record with 301 hits, tied for third most in the League.
Nathan Walker leads the Blues with 95 hits, and averages a whopping 18.05 hits per 60 minutes. Dylan Holloway has 91 hits for the Blues. However, each of these rugged forwards won’t play Thursday. Walker remains out longer-term with an upper-body injury, and Holloway injured his ankle a few days and won’t be evaluated again for six weeks.
3. Did you see the red Fox?
This won’t help the Rangers against the Blues, but it’s certainly good news that Adam Fox took part in the morning skate, albeit wearing a red no-contact jersey. He remains on LTIR with an upper-body injury, and misses his ninth game Thursday. The Rangers could activate Fox ahead of their game Sunday against the Nashville Predators, but that remains to be seen.
New York is 3-3-2 since Fox sustained his injury in a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 29. Without Fox quarterbacking their top power-play unit, the Rangers are 2-for-21 with the man advantage. The second unit scored one of those power-play goals and the other was a 4-on-3 score in overtime. The five-forward PP1 unit is without a power-play goal.
It should be noted that in Panarin’s absence Thursday morning, rookie defenseman Scott Morrow ran point on PP1, either signaling a change of plans or that he’s a placeholder for the Breadman.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Alexis Lafreniere
J.T. Miller — Vincent Trocheck — Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle — Noah Laba — Conor Sheary
Brennan Othmann — Sam Carrick — Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider
Carson Soucy — Will Borgen
Matthew Robertson — Scott Morrow
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Rangers vs. Blues: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. St. Louis Blues
When: Thursday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Enterprise Center
How to watch: MSG
