The Vegas Golden Knights face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2025, in a 7 p.m. ET matchup broadcast on SCRIPPS, NHLN and MSG. Both teams enter with solid records, the Rangers at 15-12-3 and the Golden Knights at 13-6-8, amid injury challenges and lineup adjustments. Projected lineups highlight stars like Artemi Panarin for New York and Jack Eichel for Vegas.
Game Overview
The New York Rangers host the Vegas Golden Knights in a pivotal NHL contest on December 7, 2025, at Madison Square Garden. This back-to-back game for the Rangers follows their 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on December 6. The Golden Knights come off a 3-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils on December 5. With the Rangers holding points in six of their last seven games (5-1-1) and three of their last four at home (2-0-1), the matchup promises intensity.
Rangers Projected Lineup and Notes
New York's forward lines include Artemi Panarin with Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere on the top unit, followed by Conor Sheary, Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller. The third line features Will Cuylle, Noah Laba and Brett Berard, while Jonny Brodzinski, Sam Carrick and Taylor Raddysh round out the forwards. Defense pairs are Vladislav Gavrikov with Braden Schneider, Carson Soucy with Will Borgen, and Matthew Robertson with Scott Morrow. Goalies are Jonathan Quick and Igor Shesterkin, with Quick potentially starting his first game since November 22.
Scratches include Urho Vaakanainen and Jaroslav Chmelar, who was recalled from Hartford. Injured players are Adam Fox (upper body), Matt Rempe (upper body) and Adam Edstrom (lower body). The Rangers lead the league with a 53.8% faceoff win percentage and rank fifth in goals against per game at 2.60. Artemi Panarin leads with 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists), including 10 points in his last six games. Mika Zibanejad has 22 points (10 goals), with six power-play goals tying for ninth league-wide. J.T. Miller approaches his 900th NHL game, ranking first on the team in faceoff wins (246). Will Cuylle leads in hits (101), fifth in the NHL.
Igor Shesterkin boasts a .917 save percentage since 2021-22, tied for second among goalies with 100+ games.
Golden Knights Projected Lineup and Notes
Vegas's forwards feature Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Branden Bowman up top, with Mitch Marner, Brett Howden and Mark Stone on the second line. Brandon Saad, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev form the third, and Cole Reinhardt, Colton Sissons and Keegan Kolesar close it out. Defense includes Brayden McNabb with Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin with Zach Whitecloud, and Ben Hutton with Kaedan Korczak. Goalies are Carter Hart and Akira Schmid, with Hart a possible starter.
Scratches are Alexander Holtz, Jaycob Megna and Reilly Smith. Injured are Adin Hill (lower body), Jeremy Lauzon (undisclosed) and William Karlsson (lower body). Sissons and Hutton are game-time decisions due to illness; Reilly Smith and Megna could replace them.
Connections and Context
Notable ties include Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick, who won a Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2022-23 (5-2-2 record), and Vegas forward Reilly Smith, who played 58 games for New York in 2024-25 (29 points). Brett Howden spent three seasons with the Rangers from 2018-21. The Rangers have allowed the fewest second-period goals (18) and lead in hits (780).