When we last discussed the Rangers, they lost in overtime to the Mammoth on Monday to remain at 46 points, which dropped them to seventh in the Metropolitan Division. It’s still where they are as they return to home ice with the resurgent Sabres visiting Madison Square Garden later tonight.

The game three days ago proved to be costly with Rangers’ stars Igor Shesterkin (left leg) and Adam Fox (lower-body) suffering injuries that will keep them out of action for a while. Shesterkin was hurt on a play in the first period when he fell awkwardly due to minimal contact with Mammoth forward J.J. Peterka with seven minutes left. He had to be helped off the ice.

Fox must’ve gotten banged up at some point later on because he played over 23 minutes before missing the first two shifts of overtime. Without him, the Rangers gave up the winner to Jordan Spence on a nice backdoor feed from Nick Schmaltz. On Tuesday, Fox was again placed on the long-term injured reserve, which means he must miss at least the next 10 games. That same day, Shesterkin was put on the injured reserve.

The Rangers recalled 30-year-old journeyman goalie Spencer Martin and defense prospect Scott Morrow from Hartford. Martin will serve as the backup for tonight’s game behind Jonathan Quick, who’ll get most of the workload until further notice. It should be a lot for the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer to handle. Especially given the current state of the roster, which will be without their best defenseman for probably the rest of the month.

Out of the 10 games they’ll play, six will come against teams they’re battling with in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres enter play with 48 points in 41 games, which is three less than the Rangers. Due to winning 11 of their last 12, Buffalo trails Pittsburgh by a point for the second wild card. The Pens are in action against the Devils, who have been a train wreck lately. They’re tied in points with the Rangers but have played one fewer game. For them to actually give themselves a realistic chance at the postseason, the Rangers have to start winning consistently. They only have 13 regulation wins, which are the second least in the East.

After the Sabres, they visit the Bruins for a Saturday matinee on ABC. During the upcoming stretch, they’ll play Boston twice, Ottawa, Philadelphia, and then have a home-and-home with the Islanders, who currently sit in second behind Carolina. If Fox only misses 10 games, he would be eligible to come off the LTIR on Jan. 29 for the home part of the back-to-back against their bitter rival.

Right now, that’s a long way off. There are lot of games that’ll be played between now and then. There are four games out of conference with the Kraken visiting MSG on Jan. 12. After they visit the Flyers on Jan. 17, they’ll head to the Pacific Coast to face Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose between Jan. 19-23.

Miller Returns to Lineup

After missing seven games due to an upper-body injury he sustained on Dec. 20 against the Flyers, J.T. Miller returns to the lineup.

The Rangers only won twice (2-3-2) without him. Those two wins came in games when they scored at least three goals or more in blowouts over the Caps and Panthers. For an offensively challenged team, they do pretty well when they get three or better, with a 17-2-1 record. Five of the 17 wins came in overtime or a shootout.

When asked by Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic about why he prefers to use Miller on the wing instead of at center, Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan indicated that he likes having different options on faceoffs while also feeling that he and Vincent Trocheck have chemistry.

If they went more conventional due to Noah Laba being out, a top three of Mika Zibanejad, Miller, and Trocheck would make them much stronger down the middle. Instead, they’re using Justin Dowling as one center while Sam Carrick takes his usual place between Anton Blidh and Matt Rempe.

Considering how thin they are after the top two lines, it doesn’t make much sense. Neither does having Gabe Perreault penciled in with Dowling and Taylor Raddysh. What kind of offense will he be able to create playing about a dozen minutes with less skilled players? Will Cuylle has been ice cold, and is much better suited to play on a checking line with Trocheck.

Morrow should be back in over Urho Vaakanainen, who stayed on late with the extras. It never made sense to play Vaakanainen over Matthew Robertson in the last game. The third pair will probably have Robertson and Morrow back together. Hopefully, they don’t get pinned in their end against the dangerous Sabres, who are a quick transition team.

Zac Jones Won’t Face Rangers

Former Ranger Zac Jones was recalled by the Sabres yesterday. However, he won’t get the chance to face the team that selected him in the third round in 2019. In 115 NHL games, Jones had four goals and 24 assists for 28 points and a minus-10 rating while playing parts of four years in Manhattan.

Jones leads Rochester in scoring with 30 points (2-28-30) this season. That’s a dozen more than leading Wolf Pack scorer Trey Fix-Wolansky (10-8-18). Speaking to how anemic the Hartford offense is, Perreault’s 17 points are still the second most.

Centennial Theme Features Fan Favorites

Faceoff could be delayed due to it being another Centennial night. The Rangers will honor fan favorites prior to the game. Adam Graves will definitely be one of the players featured. That should be fun.

The Rangers have only won once in their centennial jerseys.