Rangers Week Ahead: A chance to catch their breath as schedule slows down
The New York Rangers get a bit of a breather this week after a stretch that saw them play 19 games in 37 days from Nov. 1 through Dec. 7 – including eight in the previous 13 days.
The Rangers schedule includes only two games in the next seven days, each against Original Six rivals, after consecutive four-game weeks.
They’ll also get two days off before making their lone visit to Chicago on Wednesday for a nationally televised matchup with the Blackhawks, followed by two more days off before the Montreal Canadiens come to Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
They can use the time off on Monday and Tuesday to think about what might have been over the weekend. The Rangers went toe-to-toe with the two division leaders from the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights. But they had to settle for one point in each game after losing twice in overtime.
New York scored a sixth-attacker goal with 40.9 seconds left in regulation to force OT against Colorado on Saturday. But the Rangers lost 3-2, when the League’s leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon, netted the game-deciding goal 2:46 into the extra period.
The script was reversed Sunday, but the result was the same. Vegas scored the tying goal with 52 seconds left after pulling goalie Carter Hart for an extra skater, before Jack Eichel’s highlight-reel game winner at 4:52 of OT handed the Rangers another 3-2 defeat.
Still, a 2-0-2 week that also included an overtime win at home against the Dallas Stars, who are second to Colorado in the overall standings, and a road victory in Ottawa is nothing to sneeze at. The single point on Sunday gives the Rangers a 15-12-4 record, 34 points, and possession of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference – although they’ve played at least two more games than all but one team in the East.
Who’s hot
Mika Zibanejad scored the Rangers’ first goal Sunday, and assisted on their other one, to extend his point streak to seven games (four goals, five assists). That is tied for the third-longest active streak in the League. He leads the Rangers with 11 goals.
Artemi Panarin’s assist on Sunday was his 582nd point with the Rangers, tying Chris Kreider for 10th in franchise history. Panarin’s empty-net goal in Ottawa was his 900th career point.
Who’s not
Taylor Raddysh scored his fifth goal of the season on Oct. 30 – and has none since. He’s gone six games without a point and has one assist in his past 16 games. On Sunday, the Rangers scratched Raddysh, who missed practice earlier in the week for personal reasons.
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
Two of everything — two games plus two breaks of two days each before the schedule heats up again ahead of the Holiday break in the schedule.
Rangers at Chicago Blackhawks (Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m.; TNT/truTV)
The Rangers are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games against Chicago, which hasn’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a non-Covid season since 2016-17. The Blueshirts are 5-0-0 in their past five trips to United Center, including a 6-2 win on Jan. 5.
Year 3 of the Connor Bedard Era in Chicago is going a lot better than the first two, although the Blackhawks are returning home after a rough weekend and lost eight of their past 10 games (2-6-2). The first player taken in the 2023 NHL Draft is on target to blow past the 100-point mark (he has 40 points in 29 games) after 61- and 67-point efforts in his first two seasons in the League. Bedard has two assists in three career games against the Rangers.
Panarin, who played his first two NHL seasons with the Blackhawks, has 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 13 career games against his old team. Zibanejad (18 points; eight goals, 10 assists in 18 games) is also a point-a-game player against Chicago.
Montreal Canadiens at Rangers (Dec. 13, 7 p.m., MSG)
The Rangers are 134-131-54-2 against the Canadiens at Madison Square Garden, their poorest home mark against any of their fellow Original Six teams. But they’re 3-0-0 in Montreal’s past three visits, including a last-minute 4-3 win on Nov. 30, 2024. Overall, they’re 6-0-2 against the Canadiens since a 2-1 loss at MSG on Jan. 15, 2023.
Two reasons for their recent success against the Canadiens are Panarin and Igor Shesterkin. Panarin had a four-point night (one goal, three assists) in the Rangers’ 4-3 win at Montreal on Oct. 18, giving him 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) in 24 games against the Canadiens.
Shesterkin is 5-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .931 save percentage, though he didn’t play in the game at Montreal. Backup Jonathan Quick got the win that night and is 10-4-2 against the Habs with a 2.54 GAA and .912 save percentage.
Montreal captain Nick Suzuki scored one of the goals in the loss to the Rangers in October, giving him five goals and 12 points in 15 games against New York.
