Game #40: New York Rangers vs St. Louis Blues Open Thread

After a pair of days away from the ice following their thumping at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, the Rangers have hit the road for a brief two game trip. The Blueshirts are in St. Louis to take on the Blues and the host of familiar faces currently occupying St. Louis’ roster. Kevin Hayes made his way to St. Louis this past offseason following a rough stint in Philadelphia , and the big bodied former Rangers was the victim of poor reporting as of late.

Philadelphia sources pointed to his influence as a source of the recently traded away Cutter Gauthier’s decision to refuse to sign with Philadelphia, and Hayes came out and vehemently denied having any outsized influence on that process. As for former Rangers not in the news, former trademates turned teammates Pavel Buchnevich and Sammy Blais are also among the former Blueshirts turned Blues, and they’ll be looking to stick it to their former team tonight.

Player to Watch: Jake Leschyshyn

Since being claimed off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights last season, Leschyshyn has come to Broadway and established himself as one a player who laces up his skates, hops over the boards for a shift once in awhile, and plays hockey. Some might look at the 0-0-0 stat line Leschyshyn put up in 35 NHL games last season (22 in Vegas, 13 in New York) and call him a cardio merchant, but he’s in New York following Tuesday’s recall from AHL Hartford to do so much more than cardio. Keep an eye on Leschyshyn as he serves as one of the Blueshirts’ 12 healthy forwards tonight.

Enjoy the game!