Sunday is a big day for the New York Rangers. First and foremost, they will try and win consecutive games for the first time in more than a month, coming off a fairly solid 3-1 win on the road against the Dallas Stars on Friday.
Second, though, forward Matt Rempe will meet in-person with the NHL Department of Player Safety to determine if supplemental discipline is in order for his elbowing major against Stars forward Miro Heiskanen. Since it’s an in-person hearing and Rempe is a repeat offender, after he was suspended four games last season for an elbow against Jonas Siegenthaler of the New Jersey Devils, a hefty suspension is likely in line for the 22-year-old.
Without Rempe in the lineup — and remember, the game Friday was only his fifth of the season — the Rangers will try to knock off the Carolina Hurricanes in an important Metropolitan clash. In fact, these final two games before the NHL holiday break are huge for the Rangers. Hurricanes on Sunday, Devils on Monday. A pair of wins would certainly change the feeling around these Rangers.
New York (16-15-1) is sixth in the Metro, eight points behind Carolina for third place. The Rangers are five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
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New York Rangers news
Let’s start with three things to watch for when the Rangers host the Hurricanes on Sunday, including the wise play to follow their new leader.
We detailed the positives and one major negative from Rempe’s return to the Rangers lineup against the Stars.
Our Tom, Castro made the case to yank Mika Zibanejad from the Rangers lineup. Agree or not with the idea, but this is a great read either way.
NHL news
Reports of a rift between Vancouver Canucks forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson are picking up steam in the greater Canadian Northwest.
Auston Matthews is not completely recovered from an upper-body injury, so he didn’t play for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Maple Leafs were hammered 6-3 by the Islanders.
The Devils grinded their way to a 3-0 win against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Look out for the Senators. They won their sixth straight game, longest winning streak currently in the NHL, 5-4 in overtime against the Canucks.
WATCH Owen Tippett cap a four-point effort with a game-winning OT goal for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Rookie goalie Yaroslav Askarov made 39 saves and was brilliant for the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. But the Edmonton Oilers scored in the final seconds of regulation and opening seconds of overtime to steal a 3-2 win.
