When the NHL announced a 56 game schedule due to the COVID Pandemic, that was one strike against a very young Rangers team. Once again, new players were being introduced into the lineup like Alexis Lafrenière and K’Andre Miller as veterans were jettisoned like Jesper Fast and Marc Staal. The Blueshirts made the decision to part ways with legendary goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and thus trusting two 25 year-old goalies with shouldering the responsibilities in net.
If that wasn’t tough enough, realignment and scheduling had them facing the likes of the Bruins, Penguins, Islanders, Flyers, and tonight’s opponent the Capitals 8 times.