Game #35: New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Open Thread

The Christmas break has come and gone, 2024 is almost over, but the Blueshirts season rolls on. After falling below .500 with yet another sloppy showing on Monday, the Rangers have made the trip down to the Sunshine State (where they seem to end up on or around New Year's relatively often for some reason) for their latest road swing.

Peter Laviolette's squad will head into Amalie Arena to take on the new-look Tampa Bay Lightning for the first time this season. Longtime captain Steven Stamkos has departed to Nashville, but the rest of the Lightning stalwarts are still around. Victor Hedman has ascended to the captaincy, and Nikita Kucherov remains one of the NHL's top scorers, and old friend Ryan McDonagh was re-acquired from Nashville after spending the last two seasons with the Predators. Similar to how the Blueshirts have built their team, the bit pieces have come and gone, but Tampa's core has largely remained the same.

Player to Watch: Chris Kreider

In one of the more shocking moves in a Ranger season full of surprises this far, Kreider sat out Monday's shellacking at the hands of the Devils as a healthy scratch. The longest tenured Blueshirt being sat was meant to send a message, but the Rangers played arguably their worst game of the season with Kreider out of the lineup, so the veteran forward will draw back in tonight. Keep an eye on Kreider to see how he responds in his return to action.

Enjoy the game!