The New York Rangers announced some good and bad news before their Friday night contest against the Boston Bruins. Colin Blackwell will return to action but Artemi Panarin is out as the team has listed his status as day-to-day.
This comes as a severe blow to a struggling Rangers team who will now have to face the East Division’s top team without their leading scorer.
F Colin Blackwell will return to the lineup tonight vs. BOS, per #NYR Coach Quinn. Artemi Panarin is day-to-day and will not play.
— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 12, 2021
If the Rangers expect to have a chance in Friday night’s game, they will need to have every player step up and carry the load in Panarin’s absence.
While it would be nice to see Mika Zibanejad get untracked, the Rangers will need to rely on players like Kevin Rooney, who leads the Rangers with a plus-six in 10 games this season.
In their last ten games, the Rangers are 3-4-3, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.3 assists, 3.6 penalties, and 8.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .901 save percentage.
They will also need to keep getting the pucks to the net, as the Rangers have registered 50 more shots on goal than they have allowed this season (389-339). Entering tonight’s game, the Blueshirts are one of six NHL teams that have posted a plus-50 shot differential or better this season, although one of those six teams is also the Boston Bruins.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at MSG.