NHL Game of the Week: Rangers vs. Lightning

The NHL returns from its All-Star break with major rivalries this week, including the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden. Here’s how each team stacks up in the first week back:

New York Rangers (31-16-3, First in Metro)

The Rangers are riding high off of an overtime win against the Avalanche on Feb. 4, when Alexis Lafrenière netted the OT winner.

The Rangers sent two to the All-Star Game: goaltender Igor Shesterkin and center Vincent Trocheck, who helped Team Matthews win the entire thing in Toronto.

Though the Rangers have been struggling recently, they stay atop the Metro thanks to the likes of Jonathan Quick and Artemi Panarin.

Quick has stepped up while Shesterkin has been working through rough patches. The veteran is sitting at a .918 save percentage, while Shesterkin, not far behind, is at .899.

Panarin leads the team in goals, assists and points, going 31-36-67 on the year so far.

The Rangers’ top two lines have been successful so far, with offseason acquisition Blake Wheeler up on the first “Kreibanejad” line, and Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière as the second.

Big hitter Will Cuylle and Johnny Brodzinski have worked well together on the third line, but Kappo Kakko, who has missed time with injury, has been receiving all sorts of trade buzz.

Additionally, captain Jacob Trouba is set to return to play after a two-game suspension for elbowing Vegas’s Pavel Dorofeyev on Jan. 26.

Tampa Bay Lightning (27-18-5, 3rd in Atlantic)

The Lightning have won eight of their last nine heading into Manhattan tonight,

Nikita Kucherov has been having a standout year, leading the team in goals, assists and points with 32-53-85 as his line.

The Bolts sent Kucherov to Toronto to represent them in the All-Star Game and was surprisingly booed for lack of effort during the Skills Competition.

However bored he might’ve looked in Toronto, he certainly is putting in the work at his day job, tied with Colorados’ Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead in points.

Tampa Bay is down five players, most notably, Mikhail Sergachev, who’s day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The Rangers have the edge this year, winning the first of three matchups 5-1 at AMALIE Arena earlier this season.

Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on TNT with streaming on MAX or MSG Go.

Additionally, the 2025 Winter Classic site and matchup will be revealed during the first intermission of the game.

Adrianna Gallucci is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please amg7989@psu.edu