New York Rangers vs Arizona Coyotes

An old friend stops by to say hello as the winless Coyotes visit MSG to take on the Rangers

It may be before Halloween, but the Rangers have already entered into "pivotal game" territory as the Arizona Coyotes come to town. The Rangers are 2-6-2 through ten games this season and things are looking bleak, the team needs more of everything if they look to get things back on track and make a run for the playoffs. So maybe it's a good thing the Coyotes are coming to town now as Derek Stepan and his band of merry desert dogs have yet to crack the win column this year and look to be a team fully set on rebuilding around Clayton Keller and a myriad of young talent.

That being said, the Rangers almost NEED to win this game and win it handily. This can't be yet another game where they put up just enough offense and rely on their goaltender to squeak out a win especially when the starting goalie for the Blueshirts is Ondrej Pavelec giving Henrik Lundqvist a much deserved game off.

The Rangers used the two days off between games to rearrange the deck chairs a bit. To help you keep track:

Adam Cracknell's time as a Ranger has come to a close as he was put on waivers and eventually assigned to the Wolf Pack.

Replacing Cracknell's spot in the press box is Boo Nieves who was recalled from Hartford and probably saw Tony DeAngelo in Penn Station on his way to the AHL, for some strange reason.

Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh, and Henrik Lundqvist all had maintenance days after the 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks and both Kreider and McDonagh are expected to play.

Hey, did you guys know that Coyotes center Derek Stepan had a cup of coffee as a New York Ranger?

Huh.

What a weird world we live in.

Enjoy the game folks.