Bantering Points: 2/19/25

Here are today's news and links:

Rangers News:

Dan Martin hears that as the NHL season gets ready to resume on Saturday, the Rangers are gearing up for a late-season playoff push (NY Post)

Jaclyn Hendricks saw Henrik Lundqvist struggle with his American geography knowledge in a segment during TNT's NHL coverage (NY Post)

Colin Stephenson notes the opportunity for a rest and recharge the 4 Nations Face-Off provides for the players not participating in the tournament (Newsday)

Vincent Mercogliano chatted with Alexis Lafreniere about the need for Lafreniere to step up his game over the remainder of the season (LoHud)

Stan Fischler offers his take on how the Rangers can get right in time for the stretch run (The Hockey News)

Remy Mastey heard from Sam Carrick about his first season on Broadway (The Hockey News)

Jesse Courville-Lynch discusses a recently-proposed trade seeing the Rangers trade Lafreniere to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Trevor Zegras (The Hockey Writers)

Peter Baugh highlights the unique position New York's Canadian players find themselves in as Canada takes on Team USA and its four Ranger players in the 4 Nations Face-Off final (The Athletic)

Around the NHL:

Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy underwent surgery to clear out an infection suffered at the tournament, and will be out on a week-to-week basis (Sportsnet)

Even with McAvoy's absence, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes will not be available for Team USA in Thursday's tournament final barring another injury to an American player (TSN)

The Nashville Predators acquired forward Grigori Denisenko from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations (Official Team Site)