The New York Rangers are coming off a 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Toronto Maple Leafs won on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues 6-5, but their game against the New Jersey Devils was postponed due to attendance restrictions. Here is a Rangers vs Maple Leafs Pregame Analysis.
Rangers vs. Flyers
Mika Zibanejad (14) scored on a PPG early in the first period, making it 1-0. After the pass came from Adam Fox (33), Zibanejad scored on a slap shot. The puck crossed the line and went into the net after going over goalie Carter Hart’s right shoulder, stick-side. Artemi Panarin (27) also got an assist.
Oskar Lindblom (5) scored on his backhand at 11:45 in the first period after Ryan Strome passed the puck to Filip Chytil. Chytil couldn’t control the puck and it was brought into the Rangers zone. Travis Konecny shot the puck and it was saved, until Lindblom scored on the rebound. Konecny (15) and Scott Laughton (6) got the assists.
There was very little action in the second period, but the third period was when the action and scoring heated up. The Flyers made it 2-1 when Cam York (1) scored his first NHL goal unassisted on a slap shot. The Rangers tied it 2-2 on a wrist shot by Chytil (4) at 10:48, only 37 seconds after York’s goal. Chytil’s goal was assisted by Panarin (28) and Strome (20). The Rangers made it 3-2 from a tip-in by Chris Kreider (24), assisted by Fox (34) and Kaapo Kakko (9).
Toronto vs. St. Louis Blues
The first to score was Ryan O’Reilly (7) who scored off his forehand from Ivan Barbashev’s (17) pass. O’Reilly was all alone and made a magnificent play. Oskar Sundqvist (4) also got an assist. Michael Bunting (8) tied it 1-1 on a pass from Auston Matthews (15).
Toronto would go on to score two more goals in the first period. Mitchell Marner (7) made it 2-1 when he steals the puck in the Blues zone and shoots it, scoring glove-side on goalie Jordan Binnington. John Tavares (15) made it 3-1 off a wrist shot. Alexander Kerfoot (20) and Morgan Rielly (26) got the assists.
More scoring took place when O’Reilly (8) scored early in the second period, Niko Mikkola (3) got the assist. This made it 3-2. Brandon Saad (13) tied it, assisted by Robert Thomas (25) 1:40 later. The Leafs made it 4-3 when Timothy Liljegren (1) scored his first NHL goal on a one-timer from a pass by Travis Dermott (3). Pierre Engvall (7) also assisted.
Thomas (5) and Mikkola (3) also scored for the Blues. Matthews (25) scored for the Leafs and Ilya Mikheyev (5) got the game-winner.
Rangers vs. Toronto
The Rangers are looking to stay on top of the Metropolitan Division. They are hoping that the Carolina Hurricanes lose tonight to the Boston Bruins and win against the Maple Leafs Wednesday night. Toronto looks to stay near the top of their division. They are third with 51 points. The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have 57 points, but the Panthers have the edge based on playing two games less than the Lightning.
While both teams have something to play for, it is important to see the key players for each team. Matthews has seven points in the last five games, five of them are goals. Kerfoot has five assists and Bunting has a +4 rating. Zibanejad has five points in his last five games, Kreider has four goals, Fox has four assists and Ryan Lindgren is +6.
The last time the Rangers played the Maple Leafs was November 18, 2021 when they lost 2-1. Rielly got both goals for the Leafs, while Dryden Hunt scored his first goal as a New York Ranger. The Rangers went 0-1 on their power play, while the Leafs were 1-1. The Rangers played a physical game with 31 hits to the Leafs 19, but it was the Leafs power play that made it a 2-0 game. They couldn’t overcome this deficit, losing 2-1.
Who will win this time as the Rangers play at home against the Leafs Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET? Check it out to see if Rangers stay on top or if Toronto inches closer to the Lightning and Panthers.
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