Last minute Rangers Changes, News and Reports ahead of Rangers vs Oilers

Alright, after a few days off, it's finally game day and the Rangers just hit us with a bunch of last-minute news and reports. Two defensemen just missed practice with different injuries and illnesses. There was a call-up from the Hartford Wolfpack and a goalie that hasn't played a single game this season is back on the ice for the Rangers. And tonight, the best team in the Western Conference walks into Madison Square Garden. The Oilers are 10-2-2 Now walking into this one, the Rangers have lost three. in a row. So who's actually playing tonight? Can this lineup stop Connor McDavid because they haven't been able to stop much and by the end of the video you'll know everything that's going on before the game tonight. It starts on the blue line and we take you to the Rangers practice facility and Colin Stevenson who said Sean Dursey is once again not practicing. He is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and we kind of talked about it the other day. He is definitely battling something and Brady Schneider is out sick and he is also labeled day-to-day. Schneider has been playing 17 minutes a night and you put those two together it's over 37 minutes of ice time that may not be in the lineup tonight. The Rangers usually carry seven defensemen and now you take two away due to injury that leaves you with five. One of the five is Scott Morrow who has not played a single solitary second of this entire season. And these are not small holes to fill heading into this game. Sean Dursey has been a huge part of this team and their success so far this season. 19 minutes, almost 20 minutes a night is fourth most ice time on the team's blue line. Mike Sullivan didn't confirm that both of them would be out, so they may still play, but the Rangers didn't wait to find out if they were going to play. We found out last night that they recalled Matthew Robertson from the Hartford Wolfpack. And here's a fun little twist to everything. Robertson was actually born in Edmonton and if he plays tonight, this will be his first game back in the NHL after everything that's happened since he's been sent down and he's playing against his hometown team. This is not a random call up either. This actually makes a lot of sense because Robertson played 72 games for the Rangers last season and he had 18 points in those games. He had six goals and two of them were actually game winners, which is a pretty crazy stat and he played 17 minutes a night. This year, he started in Hartford. They sent him down and two points in a game so far. Now he's back and he has an opportunity to make a huge impact. Now, before we get into some other updates and a big one on Jonas Corposalo, a quick reminder to hit that subscribe button. Right now, we are at just over 12,000 subscribers, and I am giving away a jersey here on the channel for whatever comes first, either 15,000 subscribers or the Rangers. Make the playoffs. So thank you so much for the support on the channel, everyone. And let's get back into some more updates because there's a lot that's going on, including Jonas Corposalo and Albert Schmitz. Sullivan was very clear on one thing when he was talking about changing the defense pairings if he was going to do that. Gavrikov and Fox, they stayed together. His words exactly were, we think that's a strong number one D pair for us. They play important minutes. They have complementary skill sets. And then he added, how do we juggle the next group to try and create the balance that we need? I think a lot of that's going to depend on performance, quite honestly. So he's putting some of it on the player. It's also easy to see why he wants to keep those two guys together. Fox has 17 points in 14 games. Don't fix what isn't broken. And both of their skill sets complement each other so well. But he said everything beyond that, with where they are now and how they're playing, it's not etched in stone by any stretch of the imagination. On Friday, the third pair continued to be Schmitz and Schneider, and now Schneider is sick, so that pair is gone before puck drop, and it might be Matthew Robertson. And Dersey has been such a crucial part of this team this season. He has five points in 14 games. He has two goals. And now there's rumblings and speculations about a big, real decision the Rangers have to make on a guy that some people think is underperforming, and that is 18-year-old Albert Schmitz. Bup. Before we get into what people are saying about him, one of the strangest things about getting older is that your recovery, your energy, your focus, your stamina, they're not exactly what they used to be. And it is a gradual decline that is so subtle that you don't notice until it is far too late. And that is exactly where Mars Men comes into play. 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Let them know that Darius at Rangers Digest sent you. And very special thank you once again to Marsmen, who've been a longtime supporter of the channel. I love the product. And thank you so much to Marsmen. Let's get back. Alright, Albert Schmitz. I've barely talked about him so far this season. Fifth overall pick from this past summer, 18 years old, and already 14 games into his NHL career. He is from Latvia, and he does not actually turn 19 until December 2nd. And it's been a relatively rough start for him to start his NHL career. Zero points in 14 games and a minus four. A lot of different sites and people on social media are throwing around different models. And there was one that had him in the first percentile overall, fifth percentile in offense and third in defense. And with him on the ice, the Rangers have given up eight goals against and they have five, four. That is a lot of time chasing when that pairing is on the ice. And by the way, pairing, you have to bring Braden Schneider into the equation. A lot of people are making the point, and I have to agree, he's 18 years old and he's only played 14 games. Give him a second. He is going to definitely figure it out. He is a great player. But the Rangers are also very aware of this. You can see this from Vince McCogliano, where he says that they want to be careful with what they ask of him. And the message is we're trying to be very conscious of not giving him too much too soon. He's already playing upwards of 14 minutes a night and he's going to be on a shorthanded blue line tonight against the league's one of the best power plays, one of the best players, the best player in Connor McDavid. It's a tall ask. And off the ice, he is doing it his way. He's continuing to live life in the NHL as an 18-year-old. He said, I'm living alone. And he got a place, by the way. And that's a sign that you're sticking around with the Rangers, with this organization. He said, just the way I like it. I don't have to like, you know, count on anyone else. Just making my own decisions. And that is it. And honestly, I'm fine with the way that he's continuing to develop. Yeah, he hasn't scored yet. But he's a rookie defenseman in the NHL. And he's playing with Braden Schneider. Give him a second. I think he will be fine. And if you think the blue line is thin when they're healthy, take a look at what's behind the blue line. Speaking of which, Jonas Corposalo was back on the ice yesterday, which is a very encouraging sign. He has not played a single game for the Rangers this season. He's been on the IR since October 1st, and ESPN's injury list has him out with a foot infection. Last season, he played in 31 games for the Boston Bruins, and he won 14 of them. He was actually back on the ice for the first time Friday. He practiced, and then he practiced again on Saturday, and he was taking his first full skate with the team this whole season. And on Friday, Mike Sullivan had this to say about it. He said he's still under the guise of the workload management with our medical department, so it was by design. It's a big step for him joining the team. And the timing of this matters big time because the Rangers just had six days off, but they play four games in the next seven days. Edmonton tonight, then they play St. Louis, Philadelphia, and then Seattle. With Shusterkin out for the entire season, that is a lot of hockey and a lot to ask of Dylan Garan. He's started eight games already. He's appeared in nine this season with an 8-9-9 save percentage. In my eyes, Garan has been fine, but this is just a big workload for him. A lot of what I was saying earlier this season, the preseason, I wanted him to be the backup. I didn't think he was going to have to play all four games at this rate, right? So he's been fine. He has four wins, 269 goals against average, and that's a four-game week for a goalie that's already... Played so much and started the year in Hartford. So the biggest question here is, does Corpus all actually get into a game this week or does he have to go down to Hartford for a conditioning stint first? And Mike Sullivan spoke out and said, it's a conversation that we're having. The biggest step is to get him healthy where we have the ability to put him in the net. So another nothing burger really from the head coach. He went on to say more of nothing saying, we've been having this conversation for a couple of weeks now, looking at the schedule and potential timeframes. I think they're doing everything they can to rush this guy back from this foot infection, which is something that I don't even know if you can rush. I'm not a doctor, but I don't think you can rush that to get him back in time to play some of these games. So Dylan Grant's workload isn't absurd, but it is Dylan Grant that is going to be leading this team out tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. Speaking of the Oilers, the monster over there, Connor McDavid, has a point in all 14 games this season. He has 37 points already this season. Dreisaitl has 12 goals and their power play came into yesterday, first in the NHL at 35.7%. And that's just not the forwards, ladies and gentlemen. Evan Bouchard has 23 points from the back end and he's a plus 20 in 14 games, which could spell trouble big time for this Rangers team because if they get into any penalty trouble and this shortened blue line, it's going to be a tough go for this team. And on the road this season, Edmonton is 6-0-0. They are absolutely perfect. But here's the other side. The Rangers at Madison Square Garden, 6-1-0 at the Garden this year. So something has to give tonight. Also, as a side note, on the road, the Rangers are horrible this year. They are 1-5-1. This team loves playing at the Garden all of a sudden. They have scored 44 goals this season and allowed 42. So nearly every single night is a coin flip at this point. Obviously, different games have different stories, but this is a game that you really need to lock in for. And the Oilers are on the second half of a back-to-back. They played the Islanders yesterday. They beat them 4-0, and the Rangers have not played since Monday. The Oilers also lost Ike Howard in that game. He was helped off the ice after a knee-on-knee collision, and there was no update yet on his status. Tristan Jari was the starter for the Oilers yesterday, and it's rumored and speculated that Matt Tompkins is going to start for the Oilers against the Rangers. Matt Tompkins hasn't played an NHL game since 2014. So I know the Oilers have been fantastic this season, but they're on a back-to-back. They have a goalie with very little experience in that. The Rangers are rested, so it is... It's going to be an interesting one, and if there was a night to steal a game, it's this night, and what a confidence boost this would be for the Rangers. So here's my lineup and what I would play for tonight. Just like Mike Sullivan wants, I'm not changing it. Fox and Gavrikov, they're together. If Sean Dursey can play, and I know he's battling something, you put him with Pedersen. And I would put Robertson with Schmitz if Braden Schneider can't go and he's still sick. I want to see what that pairing can do. I just want to see what that looks like. And I think that it may rejuvenize, you know, Albert Schmitz a little bit. And certainly Matt Robertson, he's going to have a rocket attached to him. Again, this game matters so much for the Rangers. It can be such a confidence booster. The Rangers are now 12th in the East, three points out of a wildcard spot. A lot happens over the course of a week when you don't play and you lose to the Oilers and it's four straight losses. So I want to hear from you guys. If Derzy and Schneider can't go tonight, who are you playing? Where are you playing them? How would you have the whole lineup? We know what's happening with the forward group. If you didn't see what happened with the forward group, check out my video yesterday for a deep dive into why Pavel Dorofeev is now on the top line. But again, let me know how you feel in the comments below. And if Corpus Allo gets a start this week, that is a whole other topic that we are definitely going to dive into. They need to take some pressure. Off of Dylan Garan. And guys, my name is Darius Dominguez. This is Rangers Digest. Thank you so much for watching. Make sure to hit that subscribe button. I'll see you for another video tomorrow.