The New York Rangers are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Monday night. The San Jose Sharks are on a three-game winning streak. Here is a pregame analysis of Rangers vs Sharks.
The Rangers
In the past 10 games, the Rangers are 5-4-1. They are 13-7-2 in away games. In their 3-1 loss to the Kings, they were totally dominated. The Kings almost doubled the Rangers shot on goal 39-23. Both teams didn’t score on their power play, which Rangers have now dropped to 10th. Considering the Rangers are usually never close to a top 10 in power play percentage, this is still great. The Rangers and Kings were pretty even on hits.
People would assume that taking down the Kings would be easy being Rangers have 50 points to the Kings 39 (41 currently with the win against the Rangers). That is, until they see that the Kings dominate the Eastern Conference. With the win against the Rangers, the Kings are now 12-4-1 against the Eastern Conference. Their puck possession and shots on goal are high against the East.
There are some highlights with the Rangers. Artemi Panarin did return Monday night from COVID protocols. He is looking to continue his outstanding play against the Sharks. Also, the Rangers are fourth in the league in penalty kill percentage at 85.2 percent. This stat, along with their power play, are a winning combination that have allowed the Rangers to be where they are at in the standings. In order to stay at the top of their game and stay in playoff contention, they need to continue this throughout the rest of the season.
The Sharks
The Sharks are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games, thanks to their three-game win streak. Strangely, the final score for each of these games has been 3-2. The last two games against the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings have both ended in OT.
The Sharks are standing in fourth in the Pacific Division. They are tied with the Kings with 41 points, but the Kings have one game on hand. At home the Sharks are 10-7-1. This can be an interesting matchup because they are above .500 at home, but the Rangers have had a good number of wins away.
The last time the Sharks faced the Rangers was on December 3, 2021 when they lost 1-0. This was the game that the Rangers and their fans were a little nervous as Igor Shesterkin left the ice with a lower-body injury. A struggling Alexandar Georgiev had to take Shesterkin’s place in the middle of the third period. It worked out for the Rangers as they won their fifth straight game.
The all-time record between these two teams is 30-10-3-1 with the advantage going on the Rangers favor. It is looking like a victory for the Rangers is they continue stopping their opponents from scoring on a power play. The Rangers also need to continue scoring on their own power play when giving the opportunity.
Will the Sharks keep their winning streak going and take a bite out of the Rangers? Or will the Rangers continue their dominance against the Sharks? Watch the Rangers take on the Sharks at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 13, 2022 to see who will win this matchup.
Featured Image Courtesy of nhl.com
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