Rangers against the Dallas Stars.
The Rangers are coming off a hard fought victory against the Carolina Hurricanes, won 2-1 in overtime by Mats Zuccarello. It was very joyous for me to see this kid finally come up big for this team because I truly believe he will be good given time to grow. Not many players can say they lead the Olympics in goals and did not play in a single medal game... while also standing 5'7.
The Rangers have yet another injury to throw onto their pile of inactive players that just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Michal Rozsival apparently suffered a right rib injury against the Hurricanes and is currently listed as day-to-day. While he may not be the subject of much praise on this team (especially coming from a man I know named Blake), he is after all, an important player for this team. He is the most experienced defenseman on the team, and has recently been putting up number well out of his expected norm, most recently getting the game-winning goal against the Devils on the 29th of December. Say what you want about his skill, an injury is an injury, and the team may slow down because of it.
The Stars have been putting on a rampage of a season so far, racking up 52 points, and sitting at 3rd place in the Western Conference. Mike Ribiero and Brendan Morrow have put up a collective 74 points, and do not show any signs of slowing down. Along with that, the goaltending of Kari Lehtonen and Andrew Raycroft have kept the team afloat. The last time the Stars met the Rangers was a year and a day ago at Madison Square Garden, when the Rangers pounced on the Stars and won 5-2. It may not be as easy this time because the Stars have found some rhythm among the players.
My Diagnosis
Expect another hard fought game from the Rangers and Stars yet again. With the standings in both conferences being so close, both teams must consider this a must-win game. However, with the Rangers suffering from multiple injuries and having to sit a lot of players, the goal of winning is becoming much harder. Marian Gaborik has been streaky this season, and the production of goals from secondary scoring players has slowed. So tonight, I feel the game will go in the Stars' favor because they are ore healthy, and threrfore more equipped when it comes to scoring.
My Predictions
Stars win 3-2
Mike Ribiero will get the games opening goal for the Stars early in the 1st period.
Derek Stepan will tie the game up at 1-1 late in the 1st.
Loui Eriksson will pull the Stars ahead in the 2nd period.
Brandon Dubinsky will pull the teams even again early in the 3rd period.
Finally, Brendan Morrow will win the game for the Stars half way through the 3rd.
Edit: I forgot to mention this is Sean Avery's first return to Dallas since the whole "sloppy-seconds" incident. Expect booing, and plenty of it.
Edit: I forgot to mention this is Sean Avery's first return to Dallas since the whole "sloppy-seconds" incident. Expect booing, and plenty of it.
Enjoy the game!
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