New York Rangers look to rebound against Ducks, welcome back Ryan Strome
The New York Rangers will look to put their first loss of the season behind them when they take on the Anaheim Ducks at Madison Square Garden on Monday evening.
They will also play host to two former Blueshirts in Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano.
Vatrano, 28, was a deadline acquisition last season and played a total of 42 games with the Rangers including 20 memorable postseason contests. Salary cap issues prevented the two sides from coming to terms before Vatrano signed with Anaheim.
Strome, 29, spent four seasons on Broadway where he finally realized his potential as a former first round pick (5th overall in 2011). In four season with the Rangers, he registered 195 points in 263 games.
You can expect a warm welcome by the Garden Faithful and a video tribute on the MSG Jumbotron.
“I was there a little bit after The Letter went out, they started tearing down a little bit. Saw so much change,” Strome said via the NY Post. “I think the core group of us just kinda being there and kinda pulling ourselves out of the basement a little bit was a great feeling.”
Here’s tonights game and broadcast info:
New York Rangers (2-1-0) vs. Anaheim Ducks (1-1-0)
Date/Time: October 17, 2022 at 7:00 PM ET
Arena: Madison Square Garden
TV: MSG
Radio: ESPN 98.7
New York Rangers look to rebound vs Ducks
The Rangers are 2-1-0 this season winning their first two games in dominant fashion before defensive lapses burned them against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
After a day off on Saturday, the Blueshirts were back at work at the MSG Training Center in preparation for visiting Anaheim.
“I wanted to have a good hard practice (on Sunday) and get them ready to play another game,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “We’re just trying to get better in the d-zone.”
The focus at practice was on cleaning up their coverage issues that cost them in the third period of a 1-1 game.
“We obviously didn’t bring our best [against the Jets],” K’Andre Miller said. “Guys know what they did and didn’t do that cost us the game. Small breakdowns in our d-zone we need to clean up and come back hungry on Monday.”
Rangers forward Ryan Carpenter left the game in the second period because of a laceration on his left ear and side of head. He did not practice on Sunday and is listed as day to day.
Barclay Goodrow will likely move down to center the fourth line as he gives way for Sammy Blais to make his regular-season debut.
Blais, 26, was hit hard by Islanders defenseman Alexandar Romanov in the team’s final preseason game last weekend. It was a real blow for him after missing over 10 months due to surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered in November of last season.
“I feel really good,” Blais said. “I think the two more days (off) helped me be ready. It was kind of a bummer to get hurt in preseason. I was pretty mad about it, but I felt good today and I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
Vitali Kravtsov also returned to practice for the first time since departing a 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday following a hit from Victor Hedman, but the right wing was wearing a yellow non-contact jersey.
“Yeah it’s good– he’s still day to day with the no-contact jersey on,” Gallant updated on Kravtsov. “That could change tomorrow morning, but it’s good to see him out there doing some skating.”
On defense, Zac Jones and Libor Hajek rotated on the third pair with Braden Schneider. At this time, it isn’t clear which defenseman will play.
Igor Shesterkin is expected to start.
Ryan Strome says returning will be ‘weird’
The Rangers will get their first look at Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano, who left New York and signed with Anaheim in the offseason. Both scored in a season-opening 5-4 overtime win against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
“It’ll probably be weird,” Strome said via the NY Post. “But not emotional.”
Road trips are excellent for team bonding and camaraderie, but the Anaheim Ducks just want to play better when they visit the Blueshirts tonight.
The Ducks were blasted out of the water in the opener of their five-game road trip on Saturday night, losing 7-1 to the New York Islanders.
“It’s embarrassing for everyone,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “I think this is where you’ve got to (do) a little bit of soul-searching. It should hurt like (heck).”
The Islanders scored five goals on Anaheim goalie John Gibson, ending his night after two periods. They tacked on two more in the third period against backup Anthony Stolarz.
The Ducks could come back with Gibson in goal, though they also play Tuesday at the New Jersey Devils. Gibson has struggled against the Rangers in his NHL career, going 2-3-3 with a 3.12 goals-against average and .891 save percentage compared with a 5-2-0 mark against the Devils with a 1.75 GAA and .936 save percentage.
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–Field Level Media contributed to this article
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