W2W4: Rangers vs. Avalanche 12.03.15

 

Who: New York Rangers vs. Colorado Avalanche

Where: Madison Square Garden

When: Thursday night at 7:00 PM

Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM

Listen: ESPN-98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com

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The Skinny:

Now comes the tricky part for the Rangers (17-6-3, 37 pts). Less than 24 hours after playing one of their best and most complete games of the season--albeit in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders Wednesday in Brooklyn--the Blueshirts must regroup and reenergize in time to face a Colorado Avalanche (10-14-1, 21 pts) team at Madison Square Garden which will not have the same playoff-like intensity as facing a bitter division rival like the night before. The Rangers are just 1-3-1 in their last five games, but Wednesday's fast-paced, hard-hitting contest was easily their best in this recent stretch of play. The Rangers played with a passion and precision that has been missing from their overall game, and did so without two of their top players--the injured Derek Stepan and Kevin Klein--missing from the lineup. Not one of Alain Vigneault's four forward line combinations or three defense pairings failed to play well, and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist--who made 36 saves--was sensational all night long. An 0-for-3 power play and allowing the Isles a 5-on-3 power play goal were the only real blemishes on Wednesday. New York blocked 20 shots at one end of the rink Wednesday, produced 34 shots on goal--including six in overtime--at the other, and the team was credited with a whopping 52 hits, including eight for J.T. Miller and five apiece for Tanner Glass and Derick Brassard. That same intensity will be needed Thursday as the Rangers play the final game of a grueling nine-games-in-15-days stretch. After Thursday's match the Rangers play once--Sunday against the Senators--over the next five days before opening up a three-game swing through Western Canada Wednesday in Vancouver. Colorado is playing the third game of a four-game road trip on Thursday. The Avalanche lost in Brooklyn to the Islanders 5-3 on Monday before skating past the Devils in New Jersey 2-1 the next night. They are looking to even their road record Thursday, coming in at 7-8-0. Overall the Avs sit in last place in the tough Central Division with 21 points, and even a three-game winning streak in early November was pretty much negated immediately thereafter when Colorado proceeded to lose three straight. A high-scoring team averaging three goals a game—headlined by Nathan Mackinnon, Matt Duchene, and Gabriel Landeskog who all have more than 20 points—the Avalanche have been undone by poor defensive play and goaltending. Semyon Varlamov has lost much of his grip on the No. 1 spot between the pipes due to a bloated 3.28 GAA and shocking .887 save percentage in 14 games, while No. 2 Reto Berra has been much more effective.

Head To Head:

Thursday's game at The Garden will mark the second and final meeting between the Rangers and Avalanche this season. The Rangers spotted the Avs an early 1-0 lead back on November 6 in Colorado before skating to a 2-1 victory. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 of 30 shots that evening, allowing only a Nathan Mackinnon power play goal 7:13 into play. Derek Stepan tied it with a power play goal at 12:42 of the second before Oscar Lindberg netted the eventual winner 21 seconds later on a bad-angle shot that surprised Avs goalie Reto Berra. Ryan McDonagh earned a pair of assists in the Rangers victory. In the most recent game these two teams played at MSG, Colorado won 4-3 in a shootout back on November 13, 2014. Mackinnon scored the game-tying goal in the third period and Alex Tanguay recorded the game-deciding goal in the shootout for Colorado. The Rangers have lost three of their last four games played against the Avalanche coming into play Thursday.

Players To Watch:

Rangers-Tanner Glass: Afforded another opportunity with the Rangers after being sent to the minor leagues in mid-October, Tanner Glass was back in the lineup Wednesday night in Brooklyn after being recalled from Hartford and made a positive impact. Glass played ten minutes on an effective line with J.T. Miller and Oscar Lindberg, and was credited with five hits and three shots on goal. After the game Glass spoke of how much he embraced the opportunity to be back with his Rangers teammates and for another chance to play in the NHL. The rugged 32 year-old winger, who appeared in 66 games with the Rangers a year ago, had not played in the minors since the 2008-09 season before playing in 17 games with the Wolf Pack this season. It's been a humbling experience for the veteran of 446 NHL games; and his return to the Rangers was extremely well-received by his teammates. Now it's up to Glass to prove he should stay with the big club. His opportunity arose because Derek Stepan is injured and Emerson Etem was not feeling well enough to play on Wednesday. Assuming Glass plays well again Thursday against the Avalanche, will he have shown Alain Vigneault enough to remain with the club on its three-game trip to Western Canada next week, and above that will he have shown enough to remain in the lineup ahead of Etem? Wednesday was a major step in the right direction for Glass, who adds definite grit to the Rangers lineup as his 16 hits in three games played this year testifies. Now can he carry it further forward on Thursday? Let's find out.

Avalanche-Matt Duchene: One of the league's hottest scorers right now is Colorado's Matt Duchene. The 24 year-old was named the NHL's Third Star for the month of November after recording a whopping 20 points in 14 games, which included 11 goals. He then started December off on the right foot by opening the scoring in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Devils with his team-leading 13^th goal of the season. This recent offensive explosion comes on the heels of a painfully slow start to the 2015-16 season in which Duchene was held pointless in the first four games and limited to just one goal in the season's first 11 contests. However a two-goal performance on November 3 against Calgary got Duchene going. He has recorded at least one point in 12 of his last 15 games, and he has six multiple-point outings in that same span. Duchene now sits fourth in the NHL with 13 goals scored and he is nearly on a point-per-game pace with 23 points in 25 games. Through 444 career games Duchene is also climbing up Colorado's all-time leaders board, now sitting 11^th overall with 341 points and 139 goals.