Adam Williams presents his prediction for the NHL match.
During the time the Toronto Maple Leafs have had off, they have lost their lead in the Atlantic Division. The New York Rangers have been on a similar break but managed to move up one spot and are now just outside the wild-card zone.
New York Rangers
In their previous game against the New York Islanders (5:1), the Rangers lost two key players – defenceman Adam Fox and forward J.T. Miller. Fox will be out until at least 5 March, while Miller might return for this game. Fox managed to score a point in the unfinished match and has been the Rangers' top scorer in the last six games (2+4). Miller, who recently joined the Rangers, had started to pick up points (2+2) in his last three appearances. Losing both could significantly impact the offensive output of the Rangers.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs also won their recent game, beating the Boston Bruins (5:4 OT), but they too had some key losses. Veteran defenceman Christopher Tanev, who sustained an upper-body injury early in the game, will definitely miss this matchup. William Nylander, the second top scorer for the Leafs, played most of the game without scoring but also picked up an injury. His status for the Madison Square Garden game is uncertain. The team managed to come back from a 0:3 deficit in the middle of the game, eventually winning in overtime thanks to the duo of Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner.
New York Rangers vs Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction
The Rangers' losses are more significant than the Maple Leafs'. Additionally, the Rangers are already without star forward Chris Kreider, who has been sidelined since 23 February. With the duo of Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner to turn things around, the Maple Leafs have a strong chance to at least force overtime again.
