New York Rangers week ahead includes 2 games before trade deadline, crucial weekend back to back
The New York Rangers have two games left before the NHL Trade Deadline arrives Friday, then a crucial weekend back-to-back set against two of the teams they’re battling for one of the two Eastern Conference wild-card playoff berths.
Newcomers Calvin de Haan and Juuso Parssinen were in the lineup Sunday when the Rangers blanked the Nashville Predators, the 30th-place team in the overall standings, 4-0. Jonathan Quick made 35 saves, 20 in the third period, to earn his 63rd career shutout in his 800th NHL game.
The win moved the Rangers (30-26-4) into a three-way tie for ninth in the East with the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. Each enters the week with 64 points, two behind the Detroit Red Wings, who hold the second wild card, and four in back of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the first wild card.
De Haan, who was acquired with Parssinen and two 2025 draft picks on Saturday for defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey, had an assist, six hits and was plus-1 against Nashville in his Rangers debut. Parssinen didn’t have a point but was credited with six hits against the team that selected him in the seventh round of the 2019 draft.
The veteran defenseman de Haan will get his turn to face the team that drafted him when the New York Islanders come to Madison Square Garden on Monday. The Isles took de Haan with the No. 12 pick in the 2009 draft; the Rangers are the sixth team he’s played for since leaving Long Island after the 2017-18 season.
The Rangers play their last game before the deadline when they host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. After two days off, they visit Ottawa on Saturday afternoon and come home to host the Blue Jackets on Sunday.
Who’s hot
J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist Sunday, and is filling the score sheet since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off. Miller has four goals and four assists during a five-game point streak and 12 points (six goals, six assists) since coming to New York in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31. He’s been everything the Rangers could have asked for.
Mika Zibanejad has thrived playing alongside Miller. He had two assists against Nashville, giving him three goals and six assists during a six-game point streak and 15 points in 10 games since Miller’s arrival, most in the NHL since Feb. 1.
Who’s not
Alexis Lafreniere ended a five-game streak without a point by picking up an assist on Artemi Panarin’s goal against Nashville. But his goal-less streak reached eight games.
Related: Rangers trade grades after acquiring Calvin de Haan, Juuso Parssinen from Avalanche
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
Another dose of home games, with three of four contests at MSG. From March 2-9, the Rangers will play five games in eight days – four of them at the Garden.
New York Islanders at Rangers (March 3, 7 p.m. ET; MSG/NHL Network)
The Rangers go for two wins in a week against their archrival after an easy 5-1 victory at UBS Arena last Tuesday.
Igor Shesterkin is in line to start after a sensational 36-save performance against the Islanders last week, followed by an ordinary 14-save night in the 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs three nights later. His Russian buddy, Ilya Sorokin rebounded from an awful showing (five goals on 11 shots) against the Rangers with a 38-save, 2-1 road win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday before one-upping Shesterkin by being credited with a goal in the Islanders’ 7-4 win against Nashville on Saturday. Sorokin was the last Islander to touch the puck before Nashville’s Steven Stamkos missed his point man with a pass and the puck slid into the empty net.
This is a big game for the Rangers, who could pull even in points with the Red Wings for the second wild card. But it’s even bigger for the Islanders, who are 14th in the East, five points out of the second wild card and three points behind their big-city rivals. They host the League-leading Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, so a loss at the Garden could persuade GM Lou Lamoriello to be a seller ahead of the trade deadline.
Washington Capitals at Rangers (March 5, 7:30 p.m.; MSG/TNT/truTV)
The Gr8 chase makes its only stop at the Garden this season, with the Rangers trying to avoid being swept by the Eastern Conference leaders.
Alex Ovechkin moved within 11 goals of passing Wayne Gretzky’s career record of 894 when he scored Washington’s lone goal in a 3-1 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Ovi has five goals in his past four games and 45 in 75 games against the Rangers since he entered the NHL in 2005.
Three of those goals came in Washington’s two victories against New York this season. They Capitals outscored the Rangers 12-7, including a 7-4 win in their last meeting on Jan. 4. But the Capitals have hit some bumps in the road for the first time this season; they enter the week on a three-game losing streak.
Shesterkin is 8-5-0 in his career against Washington with a 2.70 goals-against average and .916 save percentage despite allowing four goals in a 5-3 loss at Capital One Arena on Oct. 29.
Rangers at Ottawa Senators (March 8, 12:30 p.m. MSG)
The Rangers go for a sweep of the three-game season series after defeating the Senators twice at the Garden, allowing just one goal in the process.
The Senators got hot after losing 5-0 at the Garden on Jan. 21 and held a playoff position through the 4 Nations break. But they lost five in a row until defeating the San Jose Sharks 5-3 on Saturday and enter the week tied for ninth place in the East with the Rangers and Bruins; each has 64 points, two behind Detroit.
Artemi Panarin has excelled against the Senators during his career with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 24 games. Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk, who returned Saturday after being injured when playing for Team USA in the 4 Nations event, has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 17 games against the Rangers.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Rangers (March 9, 6 p.m. ET; MSG)
This is the first of two games in a seven-day span against the Blue Jackets, a team the Rangers have defeated in their first two meetings this season. Columbus begins the week holding the first wild card in the East after winning its first four games after the 4 Nations break, including a 5-3 victory against Detroit in their NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
Their previous meeting at the Garden on Jan. 18 was scoreless through 65 minutes before Vincent Trocheck scored the only goal in the shootout for a 1-0 Rangers victory. The shutout was Shesterkin’s third in eight career games against Columbus; he’s 6-2-0 lifetime with a 1.65 GAA and .942 save percentage.
Quick has also been superb against Columbus, with a 20-9-1 record, a 2.46 GAA, a .905 save percentage and two shutouts. The 38-year-old played most of his career in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Kings; his 20 wins against the Blue Jackets are the most he’s had against any Eastern Conference team.
The Rangers also won 4-3 at Columbus on Feb. 8. They’ll be back at Nationwide Arena on March 15 to complete the season series.
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