New York Rangers Travel to Tampa Bay – Pregame Checklist

Rangers travel to Tampa Bay for the regular series finale with the Tampa Bay Lightning (7:00PM on MSG).

Rangers vs Lightning

• Rangers have won the past three games
  • They have allowed just one goal in the past three games including two shutouts by Igor Shesterkin
• Tampa Bay currently find themselves in the first wild card spot and if the playoffs started today, the Rangers would host the Lightning in game one
• Artemi Panarin has 87 points on the season which is tied for sixth in the NHL
  • Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning has 107 points which is second in the league only behind Nathan Mackinnon
• Brayden Point and Victor Hedman are each averaging a point a game for Tampa Bay
• Brandon Hagel has 61 points and he is well on pace to break his career high which was set last season at 64. 
• At the trade deadline, the Lightning acquired Matt Dumba and former Ranger Anthony Duclair
• Tampa Bay will be without Tanner Jeannot and Mikhail Sergachev 
• The Blueshirts will be without Jacob Trouba, Filip Chytil, Blake Wheeler, and Matt Rempe
• Andrei Vasilevskiy will likely start in goal for the Lightning and he has not played up to his usual standards after missing the start of the season due to injury. The two-time Stanley Cup winning netminder has an .896 save percentage on the season
• Shesterkin has found his game as of late and he has been red hot. Since the all-star break, Shesterkin has nine wins which is tied for the most in the league, a .951 save percentage and three shutouts – both of which are the best in the league. He’ll once again be in net for the Blueshirts
• The Rangers are in the midst of arguably the toughest stretch of their schedule. Thursday night will mark the third game in four nights for New York and they’ll play an additional two games this upcoming weekend for a total of five in seven days.
  • Next week won’t be any easier for the Rangers as they play the Jets, Bruins, and Panthers – all of which are top seven teams in the league
• The key for the Rangers on Thursday night will be to stay out of the penalty box as the Lightning hold the league’s top power-play entering play

Bet of the Night

The bet of the night is for Chris Kreider to record a point. Kreider has recorded a point in both games against the Lightning so far this season and he is currently riding a four-game point streak. At -160 odds, a $5 bet will win $8.12 for a profit of $3.12

Current record: 20-19

Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are up $16.77 on the season

Projected Lineup

Kreider-Zibanejad-Roslovic

Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere

Cuylle-Wennberg-Kakko

Vesey-Goodrow-Brodzinski

Lindgren-Fox

Miller-Schneider

Gustafsson-Jones

Shesterkin

T-Shirts

Shop now