The Rangers are back at it tonight when they host the Blues at 33rd and 7th. They look to rebound from a tough 1-0 shootout loss to Winnipeg, who ironically shutout Chicago in regulation Sunday. The Jets took 7 of 8 on their road trip. Go figure.Be that as it may, New York faces a physical St. Louis team hell bent on revenge. The Blueshirts defeated them 3-2 in the season opener. Rick Nash got the winner with 1:50 left in regulation.

Both clubs are struggling offensively. Each has played 10 games. Remarkably, the Rangers have scored 2 more goals (27-25) than their opponent. Nash easily paces them with nine goals. He’s the only player with more than two. Chris Kreider, Martin St. Louis and Mats Zuccarello are off to disappointing starts. They’ve combined for just five goals. Zuccarello didn’t take the morning skate due to an injury and is a “game-time decision.” Recently waived Ryan Malone actually practiced on the second power play unit with Conor Allen. Malone cleared waivers and might be in if Zuccarello can’t go.

Meanwhile, Derek Stepan took the morning skate full contact a day after wearing the yellow no-contact jersey. As badly as the offense has looked, they shouldn’t rush him. Maybe he returns for Detroit Wednesday. We’ll see. They can certainly use Stepan’s playmaking and strong two-way play. He’s the number one center for a reason. Don’t forget they’re 5-4-1 with basically one offensive pivot. So far, they’ve survived. Can they tread water without Ryan McDonagh for at least a month? How much will Alain Vigneault play Conor Allen and Dylan McIlrath? Probably the bare minimum. I’ll put the over/under at 12 shifts and 10 minutes.

For the Blues, Vladimir Tarashenko leads them with six goals followed by Jaden Schwartz (5). Five of Tarashenko’s six have come in two games during a current St. Louis four-game win streak. That was highlighted by his first hat trick in a 4-3 overtime win over Dallas on Oct. 29. No other Blue has more than two goals including captain David Backes and Alex Steen. They’re without Paul Stastny, who was placed on the injured reserve with a shoulder injury. He’s only played in four games. Team USA shootout ace T.J. Oshie is out with a concussion and didn’t travel on a road trip that includes a stop at New Jersey tomorrow.

St. Louis also boasts defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo is one of the best in the league while Shattenkirk is lethal offensively. Jori Lehtera is by far their best faceoff man entering with an 84-and-56 mark. Maxim Lapierre is also strong going 42-and-27. The Blues have gotten good goaltending from duo Brian Elliott and Jake Allen. Elliott is 4-2-1 with a 1.96 goals-against-average and .919 save percentage. Allen is 2-1-0 with a 1.34 GAA and .944 save percentage.

Considering that they have a back-to-back, it wouldn’t surprise me if Allen got the call. Cam Talbot is starting for the Rangers. It’ll be his second start of the season and first since a 5-2 drubbing on Oct. 11 at Columbus. He allowed four goals on 23 shots. In what was a forgettable home opener the following night, he also replaced Henrik Lundqvist stopping all 12 shots in relief. It would be nice to see Talbot give a strong performance. He wasn’t sharp in preseason and it carried over in his one start. The schedule has allowed Vigneault to play Lundqvist the vast majority. That’ll change. They’re gonna need Talbot.