Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• Greg Joyce notes that due to the Tony DeAngelo situation and the plethora of injuries the Rangers’ defense corps is managing, Libor Hajek will get to make his season debut tonight (NY Post)
• Joyce also hears that between Igor Shesterkin’s strong performance on Monday and Alexandar Georgiev’s altercation with DeAngelo, Shesterkin will get the start in goal tonight (NY Post)
• Mark Fischer relays word that a month after undergoing open heart surgery, Henrik Lundqvist is in better spirits as of late (NY Post)
• Colin Stephenson reports that due to Brendan Smith’s injury, Hajek will be Anthony Bitetto’s new partner on the team’s third pairing (Newsday)
• Vincent Mercogliano observed Kaapo Kakko’s return to practice, signaling his removal from the league’s COVID Protocol list (LoHud)
• Jim Bay sees tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals as the Blueshirts’ toughest test of the young season (Empire Sports Media)
• Media Availability: David Quinn,(6:14) Brett Howden,(3:13) Anthony Bitetto,(2:01) and Libor Hajek (2:01) (Official Team Site)/

Around the NHL:

• The Minnesota Wild’s schedule has been postponed through February 9th due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the team (TSN)
• Chris Johnston believes that the 2022 Olympics could signal a changing of the guard for Canada’s brightest hockey stars (Sportsnet)
• The pandemic shortened season has caused more teams to rely on both of their goaltenders than every before (NBC Sports)/