7:26 PM: The Rangers are going with 11 forwards and five defensemen tonight. Ryan Lindgren is out.

3:02 PM: Igor Shesterkin will start for the Rangers tonight against the Flyers. (NYR)

Gerard Gallant spoke after the morning skate and said (NYR):

• What is your reaction to the Kane trade, “It’s a great move for our hockey team, obviously. To get a player like Kane is outstanding, he’s a great competitor, Stanley Cup Champ, he’s exactly what we need and we’re very real happy to have him.”

• So you’ve finally been able to put Kane’s name up on the board, “yea, we put him up. I don’t know if it’s for tonight or not, but we put him up.”
• How excited are you now that you added Kane and Tarasenko, “it makes our team a lot deeper, there is no doubt and a lot of skill and talent, but you gotta do it on the ice. It’s a real good team on paper and we gotta make sure we are ready to play hard and compete hard and do it on the ice.”
• What line did you put on Kane on the board with, “You know where he’s going.”
• With Panarin and Trocheck,“yea. I watched the NHL Network last night and they had the lines up pretty good (laugh)…any fool can put those lines up (laugh).”
• On seeing Panarin and Kane together, “when you put skill players with skill players and talented players and I look down my roster and don’t look at one line, I see a lot of good hockey players up front. Again, it’s on paper, it’s on the board, gotta do it on the ice and that is what we expect them to do, work hard, compete hard and there is lots of skill and talent, just make sure that you work hard and do the right things and we’ll have a good, successful hockey club.”
• Do you only have 11 forwards tonight, “I’m not sure, I haven’t heard yet. When I talk to Chris he’ll let me know.”
• What about Lindgren, “He’s still day-to-day.”
• So Lindgren is out tonight, “I’m not telling you (smile) six hours is a long time.”
• But it’s possible you will have to play shorthanded, “it’s possible.”
• Does this feel different than last year after these moves, “it definitely feels different, but we had some great results last year with those guys and they are not superstar names, but they are all guys that fit into our team really well and played really well and really hard and that is why we had the success we had last year. Didn’t win the Stanley Cup or the third round, but we played great hockey. We’ve added these players, Tarasenko and Kane, real good hockey players, great name players…again, let’s get it done on the ice and we got 22 games left and then hopefully we’ll play well and get into the playoffs, that is what it’s all about.”
• Do adding these players raise the pressure and expectations, “no, not at all. We know what we got, guys look in the dressing room and are excited and happy, but you go play the game and worry about playing the game and if you do the right things you win hockey games. We’ve had a good team since I’ve been here, a pretty good team. Did we make our team better, definitely, Dru and the management staff did a great job making us better. It’s a better team, a good team, but do it on the ice.”
• Have you spoken to Kane yet, “I haven’t, no.”
• On the conversation with Braden Schneider telling him he would sit on the bench and not play, “Smooth, no issue with the kid.”
• On Kane’s skillset, “His passing skills, IQ, vision, all that stuff. He’s not a big guy, but he makes the right plays and has done it for a long time. His hockey IQ and the way he passes the puck are probably the two biggest things for me.”
• On when Kane started to score in his last four games, “yea, you see the points, but that didn’t change anything, if he wouldn’t have gotten any points in those games it wouldn’t have changed anything for me, we know what he is and what he can do.”
• How will the PP units set up, “I don’t know, we’ll see once he gets there tomorrow or tonight….he’s going to be there. Mike Kelly and the coaching staff will sit together and put different things together. He’ll be on one of the two.”
• Who is in goal tonight, “Shesterkin.”