The first game of the Rangers season kicks off in beautiful Stockholm, Sweden in their only match-up this year against the Los Angeles Kings.
First and foremost, on behalf of ever Rangers fan I'd like to say FINALLY! HOCKEY'S BACK YEAH!
Now, for those of you that haven't been paying attention, there are some new additions you'll see today, as the Rangers will debut some newcomers, along with some new veterans. Tim Erixon will be lacing up, along with new enforcer Mike Rupp, and oh yeah, Brad Richards on the first line with Marian Gaborik. The Rangers however, will be down a few players. Gone are Matt Gilroy, Vinny Prospal, Chris Drury, and Bryan McCabe. Along with those losses, Marc Staal will be sitting this game with post-concussion symptoms. Knowing how serious those are, we here at the Clinic wish Marc a speedy and safe recovery. However, aside from those, no major updates have been made. It has also been reported that Brandon Dubinsky will be pairing up with Richards and Gaborik on the first line. Not sure how that will work out, but we will see today.
The Kings will be debuting a new Richards of their own, as former Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards will take the ice in LA for the first time in regular season. Along with that, the Kings will be welcoming back scoring ace Anze Kopitar from a bad leg injury he suffered in last years playoffs. Aside from that, no major losses on the part of the Kings.
The Diagnosis
The Rangers need to just pick up where they left off last season: playing a hard-fought grinding game, and wearing the opponents down in the process. With a new center in Richards, the Rangers have a player to look to to be able to feed it to Gaborik and will hopefully be able to lift him back to his normal self again. I have no real predictions to make because I have yet to see either team in regular season play. All I know is, both of these teams are fairly match, and it should be a good opening game. (just don't expect another hat-trick from Derek Stepan)
The Prediction
I'll hold off on those until I see how these teams look. I have nothing to go off of here!
All I know is, bring on the hockey! And enjoy the game!
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