All the ingredients are in place for the final regular season game between the Rangers and Maple Leafs.
As if the previous two meetings weren’t intriguing enough, the NHL trade deadline is less than a week away and both teams are surging toward the playoffs.
The puck’s fall on Saturday should be a key litmus test between two major markets where expectations were sky high after last season’s disappointing results.
The Leafs have won eight of their last nine games, outscoring their opponents 44-25 during that time.
Auston Matthews leads the league with 53 goals, 12 more than second-place Sam Reinhart (Florida) with 24 games remaining on the schedule, and is well on his way to the Rocket Richard Trophy.
Matthews and John Tavares both rank in the top seven in expected goals this season. Matthews took first place with 36.9 points.
Toronto was humming with its first goal of this kind since the All-Star break.
The Leafs are running an explosive power play that is scoring 3.66 goals against and profitable 28.9 percent of the time.
The only team worthy of similar praise over the last month has been Rangers, who have won 11 of their last 12 games.
They took a five-point lead in the cutthroat Metropolitan Division with lights out special teams and improved goaltending.
New York street gangs are quick to denounce those who show signs of regression.
That’s been the theme for Igor Shesterkin this season as he gets back into shape, averaging 1.72 goals against and stopping over 95 percent of his shots in February.
When the Rangers are able to confidently play hockey in front of their No. 1 goaltender, the palms could be removed from within attack range of the panic button.
Shesterkin hasn’t lost a start since Jan. 26, and the Rangers have posted a plus-14 goal differential in those seven games.
The Rangers have also disrupted the power play. He scored 25 percent on the man advantage.
The Blueshirts’ offense has kept them at the top of the division all season, even in bad games.
Thanks to Artemi Panarin’s MVP campaign and Chris Kreider’s third straight year of 30+ goals, the team ranks eighth in shooting percentage with 3.33 goals per night.
New York may be the best team in hockey right now, but the subtle concerns remain for the Rangers, who have struggled to complete games with a 5-on-5 advantage.
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Even in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over the demoralized Blue Jackets, they ceded momentum to Columbus late in the game.
Toronto followed a similar scenario in Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Coyotes at 5-on-5.
You can find some similarities between these teams, but the most obvious is how focused their star-studded lineups are on the power play.
Look out for the third over-to-cash in this Original vs. Six matchup.
choose: 6.5 goals or more (+100, DraftKings)
