Open Game Thread: Stars vs Rangers
After back-to-back losses to against Original Six teams last weekend, the New York Rangers are back in action tonight. They'll be welcoming their old friend Cody Eakin and the rest of the Dallas Stars into Madison Square Garden for the second and final meeting of the season between the two teams. As you may have heard, things got ever so slightly tense when these two squads met in Dallas last month, thanks to this hit on Henrik Lundqvist:
Now that the Rangers have had time to digest the hit, it'll be interesting to see whether someone on the roster steps up and sends a message to the Stars, or if cooler heads will prevail and New York will opt against protecting their franchise icon. The Rangers lines are as follows:
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Rick Nash-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich
Michael Grabner-Kevin Hayes-J.T. Miller
Jimmy Vesey-Brandon Pirri-Jesper Fast
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Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Brady Skjei-Nick Holden
Adam Clendening-Kevin Klein
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Henrik Lundqvist
Meanwhile, Lindy Ruff will look to escape New York with two points by rolling out the these combinations:
Antoine Roussel-Jason Spezza-Tyler Seguin
Devin Shore-Radek Faksa-Patrick Sharp
Jamie Benn-Marked Man-Patrick Eaves
Lauri Korpikoski-Adam-Cracknell-Jiri Hudler
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Esa Lindell-John Klingberg
Johnny Oduya-Stephen Johns
Dan Hamhuis-Patrik Nemeth
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Antti Niemi
Player to watch: With all the questions surrounding how the Rangers will respond in their first game against the Stars since Cody Eakin's hit on Henrik Lundqvist, look for Kevin Klein to do what's right by his goaltender early in the action.
Enjoy the game!
