With plenty at stake for both teams, crucial on-ice details will be top of mind for the New York Rangers and the host Winnipeg Jets when they meet Tuesday night.
Only one of the two, however, is desperate for points.
The New York Rangers are nursing a three-game winless skid (0-1-2) that includes a pair of weekend defeats — Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss at Ottawa and Sunday’s crushing 7-3 home loss against Columbus.
The sting of those losses is compounded by the fact the Senators and Blue Jackets hold the two Eastern Conference wild-card playoff spots just ahead of the Rangers — and both teams have at least one game in hand.
“I don’t want to be too negative,” Rangers forward J.T. Miller said when asked about the defeats. “We’ve got a lot of important games coming up. Really important road trip … we don’t have time to pout … but it’s not good enough and I know we’ll be better next game.”
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette echoed this sentiment.
“You’ve got to move on,” Laviolette said. “We’ve got to get back to work. We’re still sitting here a point out … we’ve got to get on the plane … and go get some points on the road.”
While the Winnipeg Jets are essentially a lock for the playoffs — considering they lead the Western Conference with 92 points — they still have plenty to fight for.
With Dallas and Colorado making significant additions at the trade deadline, the Jets are trying to maintain their position atop the Central Division.
With 17 games remaining, each matchup brings its own lessons, according to head coach Scott Arniel. That includes Sunday’s 4-2 defeat in Carolina.
“We got away from their pressure, but they kept up a little bit to the outside,” Arniel said. “Lesson learned. You know, we see teams like that come at us with pressure, we just got to make sure that we get some inside attacks and take it from there.”
His players are taking a similar approach as key elements of their game and overall team structure have gained greater importance.
“We played some good hockey,” Jets forward Cole Perfetti said about his team’s recent 2-2 road trip. “We’re just going to take what we can from this and learn from it, and move on, and go home and have a couple of good games.”
It’s unclear whether the Jets will have Vladislav Namestnikov available Tuesday night.
The center left in the third period in Raleigh after taking a hit from Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal. He may enter the seven-day concussion protocol.
The Jets already have another center in concussion protocol as Rasmus Kupari has missed the last three games.
–Field Level Media
