Bantering Points: 12/29/16

Tonight, the New York Rangers will be at the Gila River Arena, as they take on Lawson Crouse and the rest Arizona Coyotes. After stealing two points against the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night, look for the team to come out with a solid effort against one of the league's worst teams, lest they get bailed out by stellar goaltending once again and and earn another "character win". Here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

• Steve Zipay says that despite Henrik Lundqvist feeling better, he is unlikely to be in goal tonight (Newsday)
• Larry Brooks heard from Alain Vigneault about why J.T. Miller's role has decreased over the recent weeks (NY Post)
• Sean Hartnett discusses how Derek Stepan has lead the team by example throughout this season (CBS)
• Patrick Kearns points out how defense is still a key to New York's success (The Fourth Period)
• Kevin Baumer breaks down the inevitable returns of Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich, and what that means going forward (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Karly Redptah names the top 5 best Rangers in the 2016 calendar year (Blue Line Station)
• John Williams believes that Jimmy Vesey busting out of his scoring slump would be a boon for both him and the team (Blue Line Station)
• Brandon Cohen examines Daniel Carcillo's time as a New York Ranger (Blue Line Station)
• Matt Calamia writes about how with the Metropolitan Division being as competitive as it is, the upcoming road trip will be the start of New York's push for the playoffs (Official Team Site)
• Post Practice Interviews: Alain Vigneault (5:48) and Henrik Lundqvist (2:32)
• He spent 57 games on Broadway during the 2009-2010 season, and for some reason I thought he was on the team a lot longer than that before looking it up. Yesterday's player in the picture was.....Enver Lisin (Youtube)/

Around the NHL:

• The Chicago Blackhawks agreed to a two year, $12 Million extension with forward Artemi Panarin yesterday (TSN)
• Tonight will be a special night at Canadian Tire Centre, as the Ottawa Senators are primed to retire Daniel Alfredsson's #11 in a ceremony before taking on the Detroit Red Wings (Sportsnet)
• San Jose Sharks forwards and future New York Rangers Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are both pending unrestricted free agents, but they haven't let the uncertainty bother them this season (Puck Daddy)
• Sean Mcindoe lists the top five dumbest hockey controversies of 2016 (The Hockey News)/

Do you know who the Ranger in the picture is?