Golden Knights at Rangers

The struggling New York Rangers may be on the verge of some major changes as they attempt to begin turning around their season Tuesday against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights. The Rangers battled back after an embarrassing first period before losing 5-4 at Montreal on Saturday and have won just three times in 12 games to start the season, putting coach Alain Vigneault squarely on the hot seat.

“There’s good energy in here when we go through our meetings, and there’s good talk,” New York captain Ryan McDonagh told reporters. “We’ve had the same lines and same ‘D’ pairs here for a few games, so that’s not an excuse. There is no excuse.” The Rangers are 2-2-2 over their last six contests but have not won back-to-back games all season and are near the bottom of the league in goals allowed (3.5) as they face the surprising Golden Knights, who have scored at least three in each of their last eight games. Vegas saw its five-game winning streak come to an end with a 6-3 setback at the New York Islanders on Monday and may have lost its third goaltender to injury thus far as Oscar Dansk left the contest with an apparent lower-body ailment. Rookie Alex Tuch and defenseman Colin Miller each recorded two points for the Golden Knights in the loss as they kicked off a six-game road trip.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet One, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas), MSG (New York)

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (8-2-0): Maxime Lagace made NHL debut when he came on for Dansk, allowing four goals on 11 shots, and Vegas might need to sign another netminder if Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) is not ready to return. Tuch, the 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft by Minnesota who was acquired in the offseason, has recorded three goals and a pair of assists in six games since being recalled from the minors. James Neal has been kept off the scoresheet in three of his last four games but still leads the team in goals (seven) and points (10) while registering a plus-5 rating.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (3-7-2): Mika Zibanejad (seven goals, 10 points) and J.T. Miller (eight assists, 10 points) have had their moments in the first 12 games, but many of the team's other key players have gotten off to slow starts. Rick Nash leads the club in shots (45) while managing just two goals, Jimmy Vesey has scored once, McDonagh is not making a major impact on a struggling blue line and Mats Zuccarello owns a minus-9 rating in the early going while netting only two tallies. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, New York's big offseason acquisition, has registered nine points but is minus-7.

OVERTIME

1. Vegas C Oscar Lindberg, who spent parts of the previous three seasons with the Rangers, has recorded four goals and a plus-3 rating.

2. New York RW Pavel Buchnevich has posted three goals, an assist and a plus-4 rating in his last three games.

3. The Golden Knights are 7-for-23 on the power play over their last five games after going 1-for-21 in the first five contests.
Poll

Who will win this game?

Odds
SpreadMoneylineMoneyTotal
New York RangersRangers+1 12  -350-240
6.50
o -180u 130
Vegas Golden KnightsGolden Knights-1 12  225160
Moneyline Consensus: New York Rangers: 0%     Vegas Golden Knights: 0%
Vegas Prediction: NY Rangers: 3 (Loss)    Vegas: 4 (Win)
Season Series
NY RangersStatsVegas
1-1-0Vs1-1-0
7Goals6
10.4Shot %8.8
28.6Power Play %0.0
56.3Faceoff %43.8