Tonight the Rangers will try and get on track when they take on the Sabres in Buffalo. They dropped another one goal contest (4 in row) with a 3-2 loss to these Sabres on Tuesday.
(7:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network, Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM)
Rangers: 1-4-1 (3 pts)
Sabres: 3-3-1 (7 pts)
Note: Rangers will NOT skate today. Rangers Head Coach David Quinn will speak to the media around 5:30 p.m.
Rangers vs Sabres: Igor Shesterkin named the starter
Shesterkin’s last start was a 3-2 loss to the Penguins. It was a game where the Rangers had a lead heading into the third period but he gave up 2 goals on just 4 shots.
“You can see he was a little bit dejected after the last two games,” David Quinn said the day after the Penguins game. “It’s a long season. The circumstances are a little different than they were last year.”
Right now, Shesterkin has to seize this opportunity. He needs to improve on his .886 SV% and a GAA of 2.98. If he does, his current 0-2-1 record will become a distant memory and the Blueshirts can get back into the playoff hunt.
Any additional lineup changes?
The question remains, what tweaks to the lineup will David Quinn make for this game, or will he make any at all? Is Jack Johnson going to play over Brendan Smith? Will Julien Gauthier return to the lineup? And who will play with who?
We will find out at 5:30 tonight when Quinn addresses the media.
Pre Game Notes:
- All-Time: 77-79-25-5 (43-31-15-3 at home; 34-48-10-2 on the road)
- Mika Zibanejad – 25 GP, 3-14-17 – Zibanejad has registered a point in 12 of his last 19 games against Buffalo (three goals, 11 assists).
- Artemi Panarin – 13 GP, 5-8-13 – Panarin has tallied a point in eight of his last 10 games against the Sabres (five goals, seven assists over the span).
- The average age of a player on the Rangers’ active roster this season is 25.6 years old, which is the youngest in the NHL.
- The Blueshirts have outshot their opponent in each of the last five games, registering 172 shots on goal and allowing 122 shots on goal over the span. New York is tied for fifth in the NHL in shots on goal per game in 2020-21 (32.7) and has allowed the fifth-fewest shots on goal against per game in the NHL thus far this season (25.8).
- The Rangers have drawn 29 penalties and have taken 21 penalties through six games this season. New York’s plus-eight net penalty differential is tied for the third-best in the NHL in 2020-21.
Pre Game Notes courtesy of the NYR
