The Rangers have really only had two big road trips this season. They went to Vegas and California at the beginning of December, and then went to Toronto and western Canada to bridge the New Year. For a team that already has the best travel in the league — as coach David Quinn is quick to point out — they also started the season with a bizarre setup in which only four of the first 13 games were away from the Garden.
Even once they come back from their five-day bye week following this weekend’s All-Star Game in St. Louis, they have five of their next six games at the Garden.
That should be a big help for the club’s persistence on trying to make the playoffs, with the hope inside the locker room that it can convince the front office not to sell-off a couple key assets that would be attractive on the trade market. Instead, the Rangers want to make the case for development of their young players through competing in meaningful games into the early spring.
“We have such a good group,” said Chris Kreider after he competed in his first All-Star festivities, with him arguably being the best player possibly available on the rental market. “We’ve already gotten so much better, and we hope that continues.”
But after this little homestand, the Blueshirts play eight of the next 10 on the road, starting with a three-game swing that begins Feb. 11 in Winnipeg. That starts a stretch when 17 of the final 28 games are on the road — and only one is without a plane flight, Feb. 25 at the Nassau Coliseum to take on the Islanders. There is another two-game trip to Florida in late March, which starts with a game in Washington, and the penultimate game of the season is in Pittsburgh on April 2, before the regular-season finale April 4 at home against the Blackhawks.
So the schedule was nice to the Rangers to start, and it’s nice as they approach the trade deadline. But soon they will have to grind, as do all teams.
The club officially loaned Lias Andersson to HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League. The No. 7-overall pick from 2017, who had been suspended after asking for a trade and then leaving AHL Hartford around Christmas, had been back in his native country, practicing with another team. The 21-year-old played with HV71 for parts of three years, including winning a Swedish League championship in 2016-17.
For more on the Rangers, listen to the latest episode of the “Up In The Blue Seats” podcast:
