Bantering Points: 1/13/17

With New York's bye week now in the rear view mirror, the team is back in action tonight against another team playing for the first time since Saturday, as Matt Martin and the Toronto Maple Leafs are in town. With Rick Nash and Pavel Buchnevich set to rejoin the lineup, the Rangers will be icing one of their most complete lineups this season against a Toronto team overflowing with youth. Here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

• Larry Brooks discusses how the Rangers are getting healthy at the perfect time (NY Post)
• Brett Cyrgalis chatted with the next American-born NHL superstar before he plays at Madison Square Garden for the first time in his career (NY Post)
• Justin Tasch believes that with the forward corps finally inching closer to full health, their expectations will soar accordingly (NY Daily News)
• Game Preview: New York will look to start their second half with a bang against a Maple Leafs team ahead of schedule on their rebuild (CBS)
• Jim Cerny looks ahead to the trials the Rangers will face as they begin the stretch run of their quest for the Stanley Cup (The Hockey Writers)
• Rory Sasson thinks that the team will need to continue their torrid offensive pace in order to put themselves in a good position entering the playoffs (Elite Sports NY)
• Christian Nehls releases report cards for New York's top six forwards (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Dave Shapiro examines how the Rangers can make due without Marc Staal available for the foreseeable future (Blue Seat Blogs)
• The staff over at Blue Line Station debated who New York's best under-25 forward is (Blue Line Station)
• John Williams breaks down how Chris Kreider has emerged as a premier power forward this season (Blue Line Station)
• Matt Calamia delivers another prospect update, including bits on Nicklas Jensen, Igor Shesterkin, and more (Official Team Site)
• Post Practice Interviews: Alain Vigneault,(6:15) Rick Nash,(4:31) Henrik Lundqvist,(1:46) and Mika Zibanejad (3:12)
• He appeared in 155 games on Broadway, and was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2000 Expansion Draft. Yesterday's player in the picture was.....Mathieu Schneider (Wikipedia)/

Around the NHL:

• Scott Cullen hands out his mid-season awards (TSN)
• Andrew Bottomley reports that former Ranger Martin St. Louis is set to watch his #26 ascend to the rafters at Amalie Arena later tonight, as the Tampa Bay Lightning will be retiring his jersey (Sportsnet)
• Former NHL goaltender and universe theorist Ilya Bryzgalov answered questions from TPT's mailbag (The Player's Tribune)
• Josh Cooper saw that the Edmonton Oilers gave New Jersey Devis forward Taylor Hall a warm reception in his first game in Edmonton since the blockbuster trade over the summer (Puck Daddy)
• Jared Clinton notes that the NHL will be splitting up the four divisions during the All-Star Skills Competition, and the winning division will receive perks leading up to the 3-on-3 tournament (The Hockey News)/

Do you know who the Ranger in the picture is?