7PM: Alex Georgiev is in net and Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren are all being rested.
The lines are expected to be (MSG):
- Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko
- Barclay Goodrow, Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano
- Dryden Hunt, Kevin Rooney, Ryan Reaves
- Greg McKegg, Jonny Brodzinski, Julien Gauthier
- K’Andre Miller, Justin Braun
- Patrik Nemeth, Braden Schneider
- Libor Hajek, Zac Jones.
5:53PM: Gerard Gallant spoke after practice today and said (NYR):
- Any update on Panarin and Copp, “no, nothing major. I’ll know more today, but there is nothing to worry about. Not going to play, either one of them, but there is no concern that they are not going to play next week.”
- On Kakko, “Kakko is playing tonight, he’s fine.”
- Could Panarin and Copp play on Friday, “Not even worried about it…we haven’t….we’ll see, we’re going to rest some players, obviously, a little bit here, there is a good opportunity to do that and we’ll see where they go and how they get along. I don’t see any issue in it. They might play Friday, we’ll decide on that. If they don’t play Friday it’s not going to be because the, y are injured. There are no issues, we’re making sure on a cautious side. We’ll see what they are like tomorrow and Friday we’ll make a decision.”
- Who else is in/out tonight, “I’m not going to tell you…but there are going to be some surprises
- How important is it for Kakko to get back in the lineup, “It’s important, but it’s not important. The reason why it’s important for him is because he missed a lot of time and he just got back. He’s ready to go, he’s fine, he probably could have played yesterday, but we didn’t want to play him back-to-back right off the bat. I don’t think there is any issue there, he’s fine.”
- Will you have Kakko with Chytil and Lafreniere, “yes, you’ll see that tonight.”
- Will more players come up from Hartford, “they’ll be coming in soon, I’m not sure exactly when they are coming, but that is going to happen soon.”
- On Alexis Lafreniere, “I didn’t know Laffy until this year in training camp and the first thing I heard about it him was ‘he grew up this year, he grew up like a man,’ he was in really good shape, he came to camp ready to be a good hockey player and from day one he worked hard and competed hard and we asked him to be a 200-ft player and play a good, solid game and he’s done that. He’s a young kid, still 20-years old and we sat him out a couple of games just for little reminders and stuff like that. He’s responded real well, played good, scored some big goals. I think he’s got 18-goals as a 20-year old kid. It’s really tough being a first overall pick, but he’s handled it very well, our players really like him and this year he’s become a man and he’s just going to keep getting better and better and we are really happy with his progress.”
- On Lafreniere showing emotion with his goal last night, “I like that, show some emotion. He wants to be a real good player and you look at our team and there is a lot of skill in the top-two lines so sometimes Laffy isn’t up with those two lines and you get sort of slotted on the third line and, again, it makes him work harder, more of a complete player. Battle for those spots, you aren’t going to be given something and the situation with him, he’s been good, has 18-goals and we like his progress. He’s coming and going to be a real good hockey player, just keep doing what he’s doing.”
- Does he have assets that will work for the playoffs, “he’s going around the net, we always talk about that if you are going to score goals pay attention to Chris Kreider. He’s got 52 goals and most of them are right from that blue paint. He’s a good guy to watch. Laffy’s got skill, got a lot of talent, but when you want to score those goals you get around the net like he did last night.”
10:02 AM: The Rangers have called up defenseman Zac Jones from Hartford.
The Wolf Pack’s season ended over the weekend after they didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
The Rangers already have Libor Hajek and Justin Braun/Patrik Nemeth as spare defensemen.
Jones had 9 goals and 26 assists this season for Hartford in 52 games.