The Rangers brass has approximately 19 hours to strategize what kind of changes they are going to be making to deal with the loss of Ryan Callahan, the right-winger who has 10 goals and 23 assists so far this season.
That's the amount of time between last night's thrilling 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins and the start of tonight's matchup against the Coyotes.
As for the initial battle strategy you can expect Todd White to replace Callahan, while the Rangers executives look and see if they have any initial answers within the system. Logic dictates that White is a good short-term solution, but guys like Evgeny Grachev and Mats Zuccarello might see some time with the big club in his absence.
Regardless, those are Ranger concerns for later. As of right now they have to face a tough Coyotes team, who just got shutout 3-0 by the Devils last night.
Both teams are playing the second of back-to-back games, so there shouldn't be a decisive edge in fatigue. Still, one would have to expect the Rangers to be flying high after their win, and the Coyotes can't feel good about getting shutout by the Devils.
The game will still be a fight, however, and expect special teams to play a part. No word yet, but I have a gut feeling at Martin Biron gets the nod tonight. Either way, Henrik Lundqvist is due for a rest.