RANGERS VS RED WINGS GAME DAY PREVIEW 12/29

RANGERSTOWN INVADES HOCKEYTOWN

New York Rangers (20-13-4) vs Detroit Red Wings (13-16-7)

TONIGHT 7:30 PM TV: MSG RADIO: WEPN 98.7 FM

Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI

Tonight the Rangers and Red Wings meet for the second of three games this season. The Rangers took the first game 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on November 24fh. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 41 shots on goal in the contest while Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello provided the offense. Tonight’s buffer will be the only game between the two played in Detroit.

While we will see Lundqvist return to the Rangers lineup after his backup Ondrej Pavelec backstopped the Rangers to a 1-0 win on Tuesday against the Capitals we will not see forward Chris Kreider. Kreider left the game Tuesday after swelling in his right arm which was noticed earlier in the day during practice. Kreider was diagnosed yesterday with a blood clot in his right arm and could miss up to 6-8 weeks of ice time. Add to the mix of dependable forward Jesper Fast who is out with a quad strain we will see a Rangers lineup that is spread a bit thin.

The Rangers recalled forward Vinni Lettieri from Hartford of the AHL yesterday to replace Kreider in the lineup.  Lettieri has 12 goals and 9 assists this season for the Wolf Pack. He will slot in on the fourth line opposite Paul Carey and centered by Boo Nieves. The only other line change from Tuesday will see Pavel Buchnevich moved up from the fourth line to the third centered by David Desharnais and flanked by Jimmy Vesey. The defense remains the same.

The Rangers coming off the 1-0 win over the Capitals are 3-2 in their last 5 games and are 4th in the Metro Division and currently tied with the Islanders for the Eastern Conference Wild Card Spot.

Unlike the Rangers Detroit dropped their last game on a 3-1 loss to New Jersey on Tuesday. In their last 5 games the Red Wings have gone 2-3 and are currently 6th in the Atlantic Division and 11 points behind a Wild Card Spot.

TEAM LEADERS

Rangers

POINTS: Mats Zuccarello 29

GOALS: Michael Grabner 17

ASSISTS: Mats Zuccarello 21

Red Wings

POINTS: Dylan Larkin 30

GOALS: Anthony Mantha 13

ASSISTS: Dylan Larkin 25

Rangers Projected Lineup

Forwards

Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, JT Miller
Pavel Buchnevich, David Desharnais, Jimmy Vesey

Paul Carey, Boo Nieves, Vinni Lettieri

Defense

Ryan McDonagh, Nick Holden

Brady Skjei, Marc Staal

Brendan Smith, Kevin Shattenkirk

Starter

Henrik Lundqvist

Backup

Ondrej Pavelec

Scratches

Steven Kampfer D

Injuries

Chris Kreider (Blood Clot Right Arm)

Jesper Fast )Quad Strain)