Rangers seek payback and wild card today against Flyers

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David Quinn will have his Rangers ready today, of that there’s no doubt. Friday night the team had to deal with a 3AM arrival off a back-to-back, and the injury to Chris Kreider in the first period. Carter Hart also made some brilliant saves to keep his team in it while the Flyers found their legs. New York’s road winning streak ended at 9, but they would like to start a home streak now. A win today would make it 2 straight and give them something to build on.

No Call Up…yet

We discussed yesterday who the Rangers may call up for Kreider. We mentioned Steven Fogarty, Vinni Lettieri, and Vitali Kravtsov but it is unlikely to happen today. Last night there were no scratches for the Wolf Pack against Bridgeport. So that means Greg McKegg will come back in and we should expect Filip Chytil to be moved back to the wing on a line with Zibanejad and Buchnevich.

Who’s will start?

David Quinn has not announced a starter, but it is unlikely Henrik Lundqvist will be given this game to shake off his rust. Lundqvist has not started a game since February 3rd. Alexandar Georgiev should get the start.

Wild Card

Last night the Islanders lost to the Bruins keeping the NYR within reach for the 1st wild card spot at 78 points. Carolina lost in OT to Montreal and have 75 points. Should the Rangers win today against Philly, and the Jackets lose to Vancouver, New York would hold the last spot at 76 points because of the first tie breaker which is regulation wins (RW). David Quinn’s charges would also be just 2 points away from the Islanders and the 1 WC spot.

Pre-Game Notes

  • All-Time: 132-121-37-9 (69-51-23-5 at home; 63-70-14-4 on the road)
  • Today’s matinee is the third of four meetings between the Rangers and Flyers, and the first of two meetings between the two teams at MSG. The Rangers have posted a 0-2-0 record.
  • Alexandar Georgiev – 4 GP, 1-3-0, 2.54 GAA, .919 SV%, 1 SO – Georgiev has allowed one goal or fewer two of his four career appearances against the Flyers.
  • Artemi Panarin – 14 GP, 6-12-18 – Panarin has registered a point in seven of his last eight games against the Flyers (three goals, 10 assists).

Notes courtesy of the NYR PR Dept.

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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