Rangers vs. Blues: Lineups, storylines with Artemi Panarin ‘under the weather’
The New York Rangers will have to try to regain their scoring touch and get back on the winning track Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues without Artemi Panarin. Their leading scorer is “under the weather” and was scratched after skipping the morning skate at Enterprise Center.
Panarin has 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) while 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 absence from the lineup is a major concern.
The Rangers (16-15-4) average 2.51 goals per game, 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. The blanking by the Canucks followed a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
New York’s been shut out seven times this season, with six of those defeats on home ice. Though the Rangers lead the NHL with 12 road wins, they were blanked in Chicago by the Blackhawks in their most recent road contest eight days ago.
So, yes, they’ll miss Panarin. But reinforcements did arrive from the minors leagues on 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 recall 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 victory at home over the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, the first of this back to back for them.
Joel Hofer shut out Winnipeg, so Jordan Binnington likely starts against the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin gets the call for the Rangers.
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. 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 that 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 also practiced with the second power-play unit at the morning skate.
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; 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 franchise record with 301 hits, tied for third in the League.
Nathan Walker leads the Blues with 95 hits and averages a whopping 18.05 hits per 60 minutes. Dylan Holloway is second on the team with 91 hits. Neither of these rugged forwards will play Thursday. Walker remains out longer-term with an upper-body injury; Holloway injured his ankle a few days ago 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 will miss his ninth game Thursday.
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
Will Cuylle — Mika Zibanejad — Alexis Lafreniere
J.T. Miller — Vincent Trocheck — Conor Sheary
Gabe Perreault — Noah Laba — Taylor Raddysh
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
