The Rangers hit their Christmas break with a 19-11-5 record after a 5-3 win over the Islanders on Thursday night. Here are three things to look for when the Rangers season resumes on Tuesday night against the Capitals:
Will head coach Gerard Gallant give Vitali Kravtsov another top-six look?
This is probably the surest bet to make of the possibilities listed here. Not only has Gallant already made in-game adjustments to bump Kravtsov to the top six in recent games, but there are surely instructions from management to find out what the Russian winger is capable of in different roles. It’s probably only a matter of time before Kravtsov gets another start in the top six. The fourth line is no place for Kravtsov if the Rangers want to see if No. 74 will sink or swim in the NHL.
Will Igor Shesterkin continue on this path back to untouchable status?
After a shaky start to the season that is only classified as shaky because of the standard he set for himself last season, Shesterkin has been a lot sturdier during the Rangers’ recent stretch heading into the holiday break. He is back on the NHL goaltending leaderboard with a 2.44 goals-against average.
Will we see Zac Jones again this season?
Considering the fact that the Rangers are one injury to a defenseman away from having to make a call to AHL Hartford, this is also a likely occurrence. However, it’ll be interesting to see if Jones is brought back up based on a management decision rather than necessity. Jones split time with Libor Hajek earlier this season, but now Ben Harpur has seemingly leapfrogged both blue-liners on the depth chart after having skated in each of the past five games.
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