While there was some buzz about Brooks Laich possibly returning to the lineup (and some about Joey Crabb or Aaron Volpatti possibly getting a sweater), none of that came to pass, so expect these familiar lines and pairings with Braden Holtby in net:
Marcus Johansson – Nicklas Backstrom – Alex Ovechkin
Eric Fehr – Mike Ribeiro – Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera – Mathieu Perreault – Joel Ward
Matt Hendricks – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson
That would leave Jeff Schultz, Wojtek Wolski, Tom Poti and Volpatti as healthy scratches (along with the Black Aces that were called up from Hershey), and Martin Erat and Laich out with injuries.
At the other end of the rink, here’s what the Rangers can be expected to go with (with Henrik Lundqvist in net, of course):
Carl Hagelin – Derek Stepan – Ryan Callahan
Rick Nash – Derick Brassard – Mats Zuccarello
Taylor Pyatt – Brian Boyle – Derek Dorsett
Chris Kreider – Brad Richards – Arron Asham