The Rangers (26-17-5, 57 pts) play their final game before the All Star break Monday night at Madison Square Garden when they host the Buffalo Sabres (19-25-4, 42 pts). Their six-day mid-season “vacation” certainly will be more enjoyable should they win Monday’s game. A victory and they head into the break with three wins in their last four games and a 4-2-0 record in six, but a defeat would give them a pair of losses following two feel-good victories last week over the Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes. The reason for this is how the team played in Sunday afternoon’s 3-0 shutout loss to the Senators up in Ottawa, one which clearly irked head coach Alain Vigneault and surprised the players. The Rangers started very slowly and did not seem to have the same jump they displayed in their previous two contests. The Blueshirts were shut out for the fourth time this season, and went 0-for-3 on the power play, extending their recent struggles to 1-for-31 dating to December 28. The bigger issue and surprise was the team’s play five-on-five where they were unable to execute their game plan nor dictate how the game was played, something they had been much better at as of late. Of course the Rangers have played much better on home ice than on the road, both recently and all season long. New York is an impressive 17-5-2 at MSG this season and 4-0-1 in their last five at home. Rick Nash, who sat out Sunday’s game with an unspecified injury, is questionable to play on Monday. The team did get Chris Kreider back on Sunday after a one-game absence due to neck spasms. Kreider played nearly 18 minutes, was credited with four hits and two shots on goal, while attempting six shots. Tanner Glass played only 9:51 against the Senators, but led all players with six hits; while Dan Girardi recorded six of the team’s 27 blocked shots. Vigneault did not state whether Henrik Lundqvist (30 saves Sunday) or Antti Raanta would start in goal against the Sabres. Though they sit in last place in the Atlantic Division and own the second-fewest points in the NHL, the Sabres are no longer the easy pushovers they were a year ago. Under new head coach Dan Bylsma, the Sabres are an up and coming team that features two of the league’s top rookies—Jack Eichel and San Reinhart—All Star Ryan O’Reilly who was acquired from Colorado and leads the Sabres with 40 points, and the return of goaltender Robin Lehner—acquired from Ottawa—who has missed most of the season due to injury, but returned Friday night to make 42 saves in a 3-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Injuries have hurt this team—most notably the one to Lehner, who has appeared in only three games this season—and on Monday key veteran forwards Tyler Ennis and Cody McCormick will be unavailable to play along with Zemgus Girgensons. Also, a six-game losing streak which bridged December and January has marred an otherwise respectable year for the Sabres.
Head To Head:
This is the first meeting between the Rangers and Sabres this season. They will also play March 8 up in Buffalo and April 2 at The Garden. The Rangers enter play with a seven-game winning streak against the Sabres, including all three a year ago when the Blueshirts swept the season series from Buffalo. The 2014-15 season series is remembered most for the milestones achieved by the Rangers then-20 year-old goaltender Mackenzie Skapski who made his only two NHL appearances last season against the Sabres, winning them both. He earned his first victory in his NHL debut on February 20 up in Buffalo, a 3-1 Rangers win, despite allowing a goal just 14 seconds into the contest. He settled down and finished with 24 saves as Rick Nash scored the game-winning goal, Mats Zuccarello added some third-period insurance and Derick Brassard picked up a pair of assists. Then on March 14 Skapski earned his first NHL shutout in his second start, a 2-0 win on March 14 also up in Buffalo. Skapski made 20 saves in this one, and Keith Yandle scored his first goal as a Ranger, the game-winner. In the only game not started by Skapski against the Sabres last year, the Rangers routed Buffalo 6-1 on January 3 at MSG. Six different Blueshirts recorded a goal that night, and 13 Rangers earned at least one point, and Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Mats Zuccarello: He still leads the Rangers in goals with 17 and points with 34, but Mats Zuccarello’s production has slowed in the month of January. Zuccarello has just one goal and two assists in the ten games played this month, making one wonder if he will a prime beneficiary of the time off during the All Star break. He did record a team-high-tying six shots on goal Sunday in Ottawa, his most in any game this season—but the finish and Grade A chances were not there. If Rick Nash is to be sidelined for any length of time—and the Rangers have not indicated he might be—the club will need Zuccarello’s offensive production even more. Zuccarello led the team in scoring two years ago, was a complimentary scorer a year ago, and then came flying out of the gates this season. Now the Rangers need him desperately to find that form once again.
Sabres-Jack Eichel: The second overall selection in the 2015 NHL Draft behind Connor McDavid, 19 year-old Jack Eichel skates against the Rangers for the first time in his pro career Monday night. He comes into his Garden debut playing extremely well, with 16 points in his last 16 games, and as one of the top rookie performers in the league this season. Eichel, who has recorded a pair of two-goal games already and had a four-point outing against Boston the day after Christmas, is third among all rookies with 14 goals and ranks fourth in scoring with 30 points in 48 games. Eleven of his points have come on the power play, where he ranks second among all league rookies while his five power play goals are tops among all first-year players. On the Sabres he ranks second in goals and power play goals, third in points, and first in shots on goal. The former Boston University star won the 2015 Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top performer, and last year he played for the United States at both the World Junior Championships and the World Championships. He is a treat to watch on the ice and an NHL star in the making, though his coach Dan Bylsma has emphasized that Eichel and his -13 plus/minus mark still has a long way to go to become a complete all-around player at this level.
(Reprinted With Permission of New York Rangers)
