Lineup Update: Rick Nash (leg) will not play tonight but did skate on his own after the team left the ice; Dan Boyle is back in the lineup; Dylan McIlrath is a healthy scratch; Henrik Lundqvist starts in goal.
It was said that Nash did skate but was skating "Very gingerly"
"We'll see how he reacts tomorrow & then I'll probably have a better idea moving forward"-Alain Vigneault on status of Rick Nash.
At practice the Rangers had the following lines:
Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello
JT Miller, Derick Brassard, Jesper Fast
Oscar Lindberg, Kevin Hayes, Viktor Stalberg
Daniel Paille, Dominic Moore, Tanner Glass.
The defense pairs were:
Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi
Marc Staal and Dan Boyle
Keith Yandle and Kevin Klein.
W2W4: Rangers vs. Devils 2.2.16
Courtesy BlueshirtsUnited
Who: New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils
Where: Prudential Center
When: Tuesday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG-2 beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: 570-AM and NewYorkRangers.com
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The Skinny:
The final playoff push officially begins Tuesday night for the Rangers (27-17-5, 59 pts) when they square off with the New Jersey Devils (25-20-5, 55 pts) at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Rangers have 33 games to play over the next ten weeks to find a way to clinch their sixth consecutive playoff berth, and tenth in the past eleven seasons. Currently they sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division and are third in the Eastern Conference and seventh overall in league standings. However the Blueshirts are well aware that their current standing is not so secure. They are only four points clear of the Devils, the East’s ninth-place team, and are only seven points ahead of Montreal and Ottawa who are tied for 12th place in the conference. New York comes out of the All Star break refreshed and feeling better about its all-around game. The Rangers won three out of four heading into the break and were 6-3-1 in the ten games which preceded the six-day break they just had in their schedule. Head coach Alain Vigneault again emphasized Monday that the Rangers need to play better on the road—where they are only 9-12-3 this season, though they have split their last four on the road heading into Tuesday’s contest in New Jersey—and must have better overall play on special teams. New York has scored only twice on their last 35 power play opportunities, and their penalty killing unit is ranked 23rd overall in the NHL. However New York has done a good job of late staying out of the box—shorthanded only five times in the past four games—and that has helped the club in a major way with the Rangers having not allowed a power play goal since their January 17 loss in Washington. The Rangers will be without Rick Nash again on Tuesday as he will sit out his third straight game due to a bone bruise in his left leg. That means Jesper Fast—coming off a two-point outing in last Monday’s 6-3 win over Buffalo—remains in a top-six role, skating on a line with Derick Brassard—who recorded a career-high five-points against the Sabres—and J.T. Miller—who has scored four goals in his last six games. Henrik Lundqvist will start in goal for the Rangers, while the Devils likely will go with All Star Cory Schneider. Like New York, the Devils will be missing a key component from their lineup Tuesday as the club’s leading scorer Michael Cammellari will not play, placed on Injured Reserve with an upper body injury on Monday. They also remain without the injured Patrik Elias, Jon Merrill, and Jiri Tlusty. New Jersey recalled three rookies from the minor leagues, as well, on Monday and also expect former Rangers defenseman John Moore back in the lineup after a pre-break injury. The surprising Devils have worked their way back into the playoff picture by winning four of their last five games before the All Star break, losing 2-0 in Pittsburgh last Tuesday.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Devils are meeting for the second time this season, and for the first time since the third week of the season, a 2-1 Devils overtime victory on October 18 at Madison Square Garden. That loss snapped New York’s six-game winning streak against New Jersey, one that included a sweep of last year’s four-game season series in which the Rangers outscored the Devils 17-7. The Rangers won both of their visits to the Prudential Center a year ago, edging their hosts 4-3 in overtime on October 21 as Kevin Klein’s OT goal capped a comeback from 3-1 down in the third period, and then doubling up the Devils 4-2 on April 7. Back on October 18 at The Garden Derek Stepan opened the scoring just 3:12 into play, but Cory Schneider blanked the Blueshirts the rest of the way, finishing with 26 saves including two in overtime. Adam Henrique tied the game for New Jersey 1:52 into the second period, and former Blueshirt Lee Stempniak netted the winner at 3:07 of overtime. The Rangers and Devils will play twice more this month to wrap up their season series, first meeting next Monday at MSG and then again on February 23 in New Jersey.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Henrik Lundqvist: As the final ten-week playoff push commences Tuesday night, there is no more important New York Ranger than goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Fortunately Lundqvist is feeling refreshed and rejuvenated following the week off, and even more importantly is feeling confident that his game is back where it needs to be after a dip in December and early January. Lundqvist will make his fifth consecutive start on Tuesday, and he will be starting for the 16th time in the team’s last 17 contests. He allowed only six goals in his final four starts before the break, winning three of them; and Lundqvist has surrendered two goals or fewer in his last seven starts and nine of 11. Overall Lundqvist has appeared in 41 games so far this season, tied for third most in the NHL, with his 23 wins fourth most in the league. Lundqvist owns a 2.41 GAA and .921 save percentage heading into action on Tuesday. In his career Lundqvist has won more games against New Jersey (33) than against any other team in the league.
Devils-Cory Schneider: Lou Lamoriello’s one last parting gift to the Devils was the acquisition of goaltender Cory Schneider at the 2013 NHL Draft and subsequently signing him to a long-term contract thus solidifying that position in the post-Martin Brodeur era for New Jersey. Schneider has seamlessly slid into the No. 1 role following splitting time with the legendary goalie for one season and then Brodeur’s eventual departure from the organization. The 29 year-old Schneider, who played all or parts of five seasons under Alain Vigneault with the Vancouver Canucks before being traded to New Jersey, was the Devils lone representative at the 2016 NHL All Star Game which just took place this past weekend in Nashville. He stopped ten of twelve shots, and picked up an assist, in the Metropolitan Division’s 4-3 loss to the Atlantic Division in the 20-minute three-on-three contest. More importantly, Schneider leads all NHL goalies this season in games played (42), ranks third with a 2.03 GAA, is tied for third with four shutouts, and is sixth with 22 wins and a .929 save percentage. This follows a terrific 2014-15 campaign in which he appeared in as career-high 69 games and posted a 2.26 GAA for a struggling Devils squad. The former Boston College star has won four of his last five starts, allowing just eight goals in those five matches. In his career Schneider is 2-4-1 with one shutout and a 2.27 GAA and .919 save percentage against the Rangers.
photo credits @NYRangers
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