NHL12 pts6W-3L-0OTLStreak: L1
Dylan Garand is back in net tonight at Nationwide Arena. The Rangers travel to Columbus on one day's rest, their third game in four days, carrying the wreckage of the 1-7 away loss to New Jersey Devils two nights ago. On balance, The Playbook expects a Rangers loss in Columbus tonight.
That call is made knowing the injury picture is as bad as it gets for New York. Igor Shesterkin is done for the season — per ESPN, Garand made 19 saves in the 6-2 home win over Vancouver Canucks in his first start after Shesterkin went down, but New Jersey showed Thursday what a fully pressured Garand looks like. Joonas Korpisalo remains at least four weeks away, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Mike Sullivan has no goaltending depth above the AHL level.
The scoring load compounds the problem. Alexis Lafrenière carries 11 points — seven goals, four assists — against a runner-up total of nine from Adam Fox. Columbus sits at 4 points through five games, with a goal differential of minus-5, so the matchup is winnable. But a Rangers group running on thin goaltending and Lafrenière's concentration of offense, travelling on back-to-back rest, is the side with more to prove at Nationwide Arena.
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NHL12 pts6W-2L-0OTLStreak: W2
Dylan Garand starts tonight at Prudential Center. The Playbook expects the Rangers to win.
Two wins since Shesterkin went down — the 6-2 home win over Vancouver Canucks and the 4-1 home win over Tampa Bay Lightning — show this team has not stopped functioning. This paper called the Tampa result and it landed. Now the test moves on the road, where Mike Sullivan cannot control the matchup the way he can at home. Garand made 19 saves against Vancouver, per ESPN, and has held up through a stretch no backup rehearses for. Joonas Korpisalo remains on injured reserve, so the depth behind Garand is thin. Bolavip US reported the organization has begun searching for a longer-term solution between the pipes — that search has not produced a transaction yet. On the ice, Alexis Lafrenière carries seven goals to every other skater's two. New Jersey sits at six points with a goal differential of minus-six across six games. The Rangers travel to Newark with 12 points from eight games and a two-game winning streak. That gap in team-wide scoring is a real dependency, but the Devils have conceded 22 goals already — enough runway for Lafrenière and Mika Zibanejad to find room.
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NHL10 pts5W-2L-0OTLStreak: W1
Igor Shesterkin is done for the season. Dylan Garand starts tonight against Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden, and that is the matchup that shapes everything else.
The Rangers win tonight at home. Tampa Bay arrives with a 4-1-0 record and 16 goals through five games — an offense that punishes any goaltender shaky in the first period. Garand has to hold structure early. If he does, the Rangers' forward depth makes the difference.
That depth is real. Alexis Lafrenière leads the club with 8 points (5G, 3A), and Sports Illustrated noted this week he is beginning to fulfill the promise that surrounded his draft pedigree. Mika Zibanejad sits at 7 points on one goal and six assists — a creator leaning on volume setup rather than finishing. That split matters against a Lightning team that can score; the Rangers need goals, not only chances. Gabe Perreault has 6 points on 3 goals and offers a second route to finishing if Lafrenière draws the heavier defensive attention. This paper called Sunday's win over Vancouver and it landed — New York Rangers 6-2. The offensive floor here is established.
Watch the faceoff deployment in the defensive zone early. That is where tonight's answer arrives.
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NHL8 pts4W-2L-0OTLStreak: L1
Eight points from six games puts the Rangers in a position to press — expect them to win Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the Canucks.
The 1-3 away loss to Washington Capitals snapped a two-game run of comfortable home results: a 4-2 win over Utah Mammoth and a 5-2 win over the Islanders. Alexis Lafrenière leads the club with 4 goals and 6 points. Mika Zibanejad has 4 assists and 5 points; Adam Fox, operating from the blue line, has 5 assists without a goal. That distribution — Fox and Zibanejad feeding rather than finishing — puts significant offensive weight on Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault's 2 goals. The injury list complicates the deployment picture: per Yahoo Sports, head coach Mike Sullivan made a decision on Igor Shesterkin before the Capitals game, and the roster has absorbed the loss of Joe Veleno to injured reserve alongside Spencer Martin, with Gabriel Beaudoin recalled from Hartford to cover. Vancouver arrives with a goal differential of minus-4 through five games — 21 scored, 25 allowed. The home matchup favours New York. Watch the first-unit deployment on the power play to see whether Sullivan rebuilds around Zibanejad or shifts the load.
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