High-powered Panthers Take on the Rangers in MSG

The 23-20-5 Florida Panthers will head up to Madison Square Garden to play the 25-14-7 New York Rangers Monday night.

The Rangers are currently on a two-game losing streak at home. This comes following losses to the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. The Panthers are riding on back-to-back multi-goal wins against the Minnesota Wild and the same Montreal Canadiens team. The Panthers have momentum in their favor with a high-scoring offense heading into the game.

Panthers Scoring

With Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachcuk racking up a total 24 goals this season, the Rangers defensive game plan must target and his limit shots.

A contested Igor Shesterkin has allowed the fifth fewest goals in the NHL this season. Shesterkin plans to sit in the net Monday for the Rangers.

Changes for the Rangers

An area of interest in this game is a sluggish Rangers offense. In the past 4 games, the Rangers have only scored two goals in five-on-five play. This recent offensive play has gotten the Rangers by with a 6-3-2 record since the holidays. This is an area which may be exposed by the high-scoring Panthers.

The Rangers have taken to some line changes including Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider filling the veteran top line. 

Closing out another month of Mika. pic.twitter.com/PVnCE7tPFq

— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 23, 2023

The Rangers second line will consist of Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko, bringing a young and high energy group to the ice.

New Man in Net

The Panthers are putting their third-string goalie, Alex Lyons, back on the ice for the third consecutive game. Both Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight are out with injuries.

Lyons has impressively held both the Wild and the Canadiens to 2-points each despite his unproven talent so far. 

The Rangers will be coming out with a fresh look on offense and a higher-strung defensive plan against a powerful Panthers team.

First up in the back-to-back!#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/nCe2AaDYsP

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) January 23, 2023