The New York Rangers have been making national headlines lately, but not for reasons that would please a fan of The Broadway Blueshirts. They have lost two straight, and many have them slated to lose yet again tonight at Ball Arena against the vaunted Colorado Avalanche. Colorado still hasn’t lost a second game in regulation, and at this point, we shouldn’t have any reason to expect them to go without at least a point at home. Will the Rangers make a statement, or will the Avalanche add to their
win total?
Colorado Avalanche: 13-1-5
The Opponent: New York Rangers 10-9-2
Time: 7:00 p.m. MT
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Colorado Avalanche
It’s been all business for this year’s Avalanche squad, which has made a habit of scoring early in the first period. That habit is a fresh one as the 2024-25 Avalanche team, which was notorious for starting slow, and it has really fueled this season’s success. Jared Bednar has been openly proud of Colorado’s commitment to checking and defensive responsibility, which becomes the focus when you have the lead. The Avalanche have led their opposition for a whopping 88% percent of the time (1,034.8 minutes out of ~ 1,170 possible minutes), which is best in the league. That’s called a recipe for success!
Scott Wedgewood will get the start in net for the Avalanche tonight as they continue to work MacKenzie Blackwood back into the lineup and into a groove. All the while, Scott Wedgewood has been putting on a show, making save after save. Let’s hope that continues this evening.
Nathan MacKinnon somehow had no points against the Islanders in Colorado’s last game out, so I’d imagine he’s due for a multi-point outing this evening. I boldly predicted on this week’s edition of the Mile High Hockey Lab that Gabe Landeskog would score an unorthodox hatty. You know the infamous, one real goal, one goal off the shin guard, and one empty netter. I say this because his story this season has been all about disallowed goals—time for the universe to balance things a bit.
Projected Lineup:
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Ross Colton — Brock Nelson — Gavin Brindley
Gabe Landeskog — Jack Drury — Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly — Zakhar Bardakov — Tristen Nielsen
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Sam Girard — Sam Malinski
Scott Wedgewood
MacKenzie Blackwood
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are undoubtedly unsatisfied with their current position in the division standings. Still, our very own Jackie Kay mentioned that it may have more to do with optics rather than an absolute lack of success. They are 6-4 in their last 10 despite losing two in a row, still employ Igor Shesterkin, and have plenty of scoring talent. That combination could lead to a surge of wins sometime this season. We’ve seen lots of teams rebound from a poor start, and having one of the game’s best netminders helps.
Projected Lineup:
Will Cuylle — Mika Zibanejad — J.T. Miller
Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafrenière
Conor Sheary — Noah Laba — Jonny Brodzinski
Juuso Parssinen — Sam Carrick — Taylor Raddysh
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Carson Soucy — Will Borgen
Matthew Robertson — Braden Schneider
Time to serve the Blueshirts!
