Game #31: New York Rangers vs San Jose Sharks Open Thread

After dropping a rematch of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the Rangers are set to continue their west coast road trip tonight. David Quinn’s squad is set to head into the Shark Tank (SAP Center) tonight, as they’ll take on a severely underachieving San Jose Sharks team.

Expected to be one of the Western Conference’s elite teams, the Sharks currently find themselves equidistant between a playoff spot and the bottom of the conference. A five game losing streak (0-4-1) has brought their record to 15-16-2, and Tuesday night’s loss in Nashville cost Peter DeBoer his job as head coach. Bob Boughner has been named San Jose’s interim bench boss, and he’ll look to right the ship against the Rangers tonight. Meanwhile, the Rangers will do everything in their power to make sure the Sharks continue their losing ways.

Player to Watch: Brendan Smith

Again, this game is scheduled for a 10:30-ish puck drop on the east coast, which means the game won’t end until at least 1:00 A.M. tomorrow morning. The brave souls who stayed up to watch the Kings’ game were rewarded with nearly 60:00 of the Blueshirts getting shutout before a meaningless goal in the game’s dying seconds. If you watched that game and are choosing to stay up and watch this one, keeping an eye on Brendan Smith will be right up your alley.

Enjoy the game!