New York Rangers
Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

The Rangers look to earn their fifth-straight win in their first game of a back-to-back.

Leen Amin

The New York Rangers are one of the best and hottest teams in the NHL. They’ve been unstoppable in all situations and are a challenge to play against. They’ll be looking get their fifth win in a row on Friday against another hot team, the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks have won three in a row and are seeing their offense really coming alive, as of late.

The Rangers are superior to the Sharks in every aspect aside from the penalty kill, so they’ll be the favorites in this one. However, the Sharks have been scoring a lot of goals lately and have some seasoned veterans that should keep the Rangers on their toes.

Even-strength offense, which was a major issue for the Rangers until quite recently, is going to be New York’s key to the game.

It’s also likely that Igor Shesterkin will face many shots, so the Rangers will need him to be on top of his game. That shouldn’t be a problem for arguably the best goalie in the NHL.

Sharks players to watch:

RW Timo Meier

Last 5 games: 5 G, 9 PTS
This season: 18 GP, 11 G, 24 PTS

RHD Erik Karlsson

Last 5 games: 2 G, 5 PTS
This season: 17 GP, 5 G, 13 PTS

C Logan Couture

Last 5 games: 1 G, 6 PTS
This season: 22 GP, 7 G, 20 PTS
Career vs. NYR: 13 GP, 8 G, 11 PTS

RHD Brent Burns

Career vs. NYR: 21 GP, 4 G, 17 PTS

C Tomáš Hertl

Career vs. NYR: 12 GP, 7 G, 13 PTS

Rangers players to watch:

LW Chris Kreider

This season: 21 GP, 16 G, 19 PTS
Career vs. SJS: 12 GP, 4 G, 10 PTS

RW Kaapo Kakko

Last 5 games: 1 G, 5 PTS

LW Artemiy Panarin

Last 5 games: 2 G, 7 PTS
This season: 21 GP, 6 G, 23 PTS
Career vs. SJS: 11 GP, 6 G, 14 PTS

C Ryan Strome

Last 5 games: 1 G, 5 PTS

RHD Adam Fox

Last 5 games: 6 A
This season: 21 GP, 4 G, 22 PTS

G Igor Shesterkin

This season: 17 GP, .935 SV%, 2.15 GAA

Leen has written about the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and international soccer. She is currently the primary NHL writer for ESNY. Leen's work has been featured on Bleacher Report and she was formerly a contributor for FanSided's New York Mets blog, Rising Apple. She is a co-host of the Yankees-Mets Express podcast.