Game #79: New York Rangers vs St. Louis Blues Open Thread

After knocking off the Tampa Bay Lightning in a spirited affair last night, the Blueshirts have hit the road for their final road trip of the regular season. A quick, two game swing through the midwest begins in St. Louis tonight. Although the beginning of April means the sports fans of St. Louis shift their attention to the Cardinals of the MLB, the city's hockey team still has a few more games to play before heading into the offseason.

The 2022-23 campaign was one the Blues will be looking to quickly move on from. Set to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and only the second time since 2012, St. Louis is another team simply going through the motions a few more times before the regular season comes to a close. These teams met at Madison Square Garden back on December 5th, a wild 6-4 contest in which the Rangers came out on top. Tonight, the Blueshirts will be looking to finish off a sweep of the two game season series.

Player to Watch: Vladimir Tarasenko

A member of the 2019 Blues team that won the Stanley Cup, Tarasenko (along with Niko Mikkola) arrived on Broadway via a mid-season trade with St. Louis. Tarasenko spent parts of 11 seasons with the Blues prior to the trade, skating in 644 regular season games plus an additional 90 playoff contests. Tonight's game will mark Tarasenko's first game in St. Louis since the trade, so expect it to be an emotional night for one of the core pieces of the Blues' only championship team in franchise history.

Enjoy the game!