The Ducks game was the Rangers at their best. Sean Durzi scored 78 seconds in, New York scored 3 more in the 2nd to go up 4-0, and Garand made 29 saves before Anaheim's 2 late goals made the final look closer than the game was. The Rangers are still unbeaten at MSG, but that streak doesn't come with them to Toronto. What does come with them is a team that has scored early and then let its goalie close the game out.
Toronto's start has been ugly. Going into the San Jose game the Leafs were 3-4-2 and had lost 3 straight, and their last loss was the first time all season they were held under 2 goals. Auston Matthews has scored 14 goals in 16 career games against the Sharks, so the Monday night game was the obvious chance to get the offense going. Whether that worked, and what Columbus does to them the next night, is the form story for this game, and it hasn't been written yet.
Both teams are missing a key player. John Tavares is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, which takes a center and a power-play regular out of a lineup that already can't score, and Chris Tanev's injury has the front office looking for help on defense. Toronto also traded for Aatu Räty from Vancouver to add center depth. The Rangers are going with a goalie who wasn't in their plans a month ago. Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET, and the board isn't up yet, so the picks will open once this is the next game on both schedules.