The New York Rangers will play the second of back-to-back games against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, Oct. 14. In their first game, they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1and received contributions from their special teams. Mika Zibanejad scored a short-handed goal (SHG) and a power-play goal (PPG) on opening night, while Igor Shesterkin proved his reputation as one of the NHL’s top goaltenders, saving 25 of 26 shots for a .962 save percentage (SV%). The Rangers then defeated the Minnesota Wild in a dominant 7-3 victory on Thursday, led by Artemi Panarin’s four-point game as well as five other players having multiple points.
The Jets will open the 2022-23 season against the Rangers and will be looking to get off to a good start after a good preseason. Here’s our gameday preview.
New York Rangers Projected Lineup
Forwards
Kreider – Zibanejad – Kakko
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Vesey – Chytil – Goodrow
Hunt – Carpenter – Reaves
Defensemen
Lindgren – Fox
Miller – Trouba
Jones – Schneider
Goaltenders
Shesterkin – Halak
Injuries to Blais, Kravtsov Create Opportunities for Lafreniere, Hunt
Vitali Kravtsov suffered an upper-body injury after a hit from Victor Hedman against the Lightning. Dryden Hunt will be in the Rangers lineup, while Alexis Lafreniere will play on the second line with Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.
Sammy Blais returned to practice recently after suffering an upper-body injury during the exhibition contest on Oct. 8 versus the New York Islanders. While he will be with the club on the road trip, his playing status against the Jets is yet to be determined. The 21-year-old Lafreniere had two assists against the Wild and is looking to break out during his third NHL season.
Winnipeg Jets Projected Lineup
Forwards
Connor – Scheifele – Ehlers
Perfetti – Dubois – Wheeler
Barron – Lowry – Appleton
Maenalanen – Gustafsson – Gagner
Defensemen
Morrissey – DeMelo
Dillon – Pionk
Stanley – Schmidt
Goaltenders
Hellebuyck – Rittich
Hellebuyck Emphasizes Closeness Of Team
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck recently highlighted the Jets’ new process heading into the season: “We’re ready to just go play and enjoy the process. And we have a new system, we’re all hungry to learn the systems and figure out the new reads. We’re all doing it together, which is great. It’s not one guy trying to figure something out, we’re all doing it together,” (from, ‘Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck eager to get season going,’ Winnipeg Sun, 10/11/22).
Related: Jets Have Chance to Regain Relevance in Pivotal 2022-23 Season
Hellebuyck went on to talk about expectations: “Expectations are what kill teams. When you’re coming into a season with expectations, you’re constantly trying to live up to those expectations, and you forget about the process. That’s what kills you. When you come in hungry and ready to prove yourself, then you don’t worry about the expectations, and the end result and you work every day, and the result ends up happening by just the process.”
Players To Watch
Rangers – Mika Zibanejad
Zibanejad can be the Rangers’ best player at times, and he is off to a good start through their first two games with two goals and two assists. Three of his four points have come on special teams, and he will aim to keep his momentum going against the Jets.
Jets – Cole Perfetti
Cole Perfetti is looking to build on his call-up from last season, and he has been practicing in their top six on a line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler. He has the opportunity to play with two of the team’s top offensive producers and further grow his game. He is expected to be in the running for the Calder Trophy and will benefit offensively if he can maintain his spot on one of the Jets’ scoring lines for most of the season.
Tonight’s game has an 8:00 PM ET start time at the Canada Life Centre and will be broadcast on MSG. The Rangers will return home to Madison Square Garden for their next game against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 17.
*Jets lines from @ScottBilleck on Twitter. Rangers lines from @vzmercogliano on Twitter.
