The Edmonton loss was a 5-day layoff ending the wrong way. The Oilers scored twice in the 1st, answered New York's only goal right after it went in, and backup Matt Tomkins stopped 28 of 29 shots on the second night of a back-to-back. A team coming off a long break against a tired opponent's backup goalie should win that game. The Rangers scored 1 goal.
On paper the Rangers' forwards look fine. Mika Zibanejad centers Alexis Lafrenière and Arseni Dorofeyev, and J.T. Miller runs the 2nd line. Chances aren't the issue; finishing them is. For St. Louis, Jake Neighbours... no, the name to know is Jimmy Snuggerud, who had 7 goals by the end of the Boston game and has become a real scoring threat. Mason McTavish has been worth the trade so far, and rookie Adam Jiricek has earned regular minutes on the back end.
The Blues' injury list is long, but it's mostly defense. Torey Krug is on long-term IR with an ankle injury, Tyler Tucker is recovering from knee surgery, and Logan Mailloux is on IR too. Colton Parayko is day-to-day; Jim Montgomery said before Detroit that he'd 'probably' play. If Parayko can't go, a depleted St. Louis defense has to protect Joel Hofer, who gave up 4 on 26 shots against the Red Wings.
The schedule helps St. Louis a little. The Blues get 2 full days off after Detroit before this one, while the Rangers turn around after one off day from a loss that left them frustrated. Neither team plays again before Tuesday, so what you see now is roughly what shows up at the Garden: a Blues team that's scoring again, and a Rangers team trying to win games in front of a backup-turned-starter.
