New York Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs
The Rangers are playing the second game of a back-to-back tonight as they travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs. New York was a 5-2 loser in Pittsburgh last night, though that final score wasn’t really indicative of the quality of play.
Toronto is playing their first game since the Winter Classic, which was a 3-2 shootout win against Detroit. The Leafs will also be looking to win four games in a row for the first time this season.
As has been the Rangers’ issue all season long, they played at least as well as their opponent yet just couldn’t score enough goals. The Rangers, as a team, have the second-worst shooting percentage at five-on-five in the NHL at 5.8-percent, just slightly ahead of Buffalo’s 5.5-percent. When they can convert their power play chances, they have a shot at winning games, but they aren’t doing it at even strength unless they allow two goals at the absolute most.
Toronto, meanwhile, made it through what was called “Deathcember” with a 6-6-2 record, not actually that bad considering the murderers row of opponents they faced. This is all about their goaltenders, as over Toronto’s last three games (all wins), Jonathan Bernier has had to make an average of 38 saves per game.
The Rangers had a closed-door meeting last night, which should provide extra incentive tonight. This is a toss-up game so I’ll take some skaters but leave the goalie alone.
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Top RW Value |
Top LW Value |
Top C Value |
Top D Value |
Bargain Bin |
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(TOR) $13,250 |
Chris Kreider $7250 |
Tyler Bozak $8200 |
Jake Gardiner $6500 |
Nikolai Kulemin $5750 |
