Rangers will start Georgiev, Chytil out, expect a hungry Blue Jackets team
The New York Rangers will square off against the Blue Jackets in Columbus and Alexandar Georgiev gets the starter’s nod.
Georgiev, 25, is 7-6-2 on the season with a 2.92 GAA, and a .902 SV%. In his career against the Blue Jackets, the backstop has a record of 3-1-1, accompanied by a .922 SV%, and 3.07 GAA.
This sets up Igor Shesterkin to man the net on Henrik Lundqvist Night at Madison Square Garden this Friday. The heir to the King starting on the night that the iconic #30 is raised to the rafters is poetic.
Rangers expect a hungry Blue Jackets team
Columbus has been outscored 13-3 during a three-game losing streak and has allowed 22 goals in its past four losses. The Blue Jackets have allowed at least five goals 11 times, and they dropped to 0-11-0 in those games after falling 6-0 to the visiting Calgary Flames on Wednesday when they were outshot by a whopping 62-23 margin.
According to STATS, it was the most shots by a visiting team in a regular-season game since the NHL began tracking shots on goal in 1955-56. The Blue Jackets were outshot 46-14 in the final two periods, when they allowed five goals.
“You don’t have to dissect this,” Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. “They were the better team. They had the puck all night. We were not nearly good enough.”
That doesn’t mean the Rangers should expect a cakewalk. If you heard Gerard Gallant speak today, it’s likely to be the exact opposite.
“We’re going to face a hungry team tonight that got beat in their building,” he said. “They’ll be a different team tonight.”
“They had a tough game against Calgary, that’s in the past,” Gallant explained. “You know they are going to come out tonight and give their best effort. When you get embarrassed like that you play your best game after.”
Filip Chytil (lower-body) did not make the trip with the team but is a possibility to play tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild. Gallant noted he remains “day-to-day”.
The lineup is expected to remain the same as it was against the Kings.
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