Panthers Aim To Get Over .500 Vs Rangers
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SUNRISE (SportsDirect Inc) -- The New York Rangers will try to avoid getting swept on their trip to the Sunshine State when they visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
The Rangers saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-1 loss at Tampa Bay on Thursday after giving up a late shorthanded tally and look to earn their seventh straight victory over the Panthers.
"It doesn't matter how many you win, you want to win every game," New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist told reporters. "And the way we lost is extremely frustrating."
The Rangers lead the league in goals against per game (1.7) by a wide margin and Florida must get its offense going again after managing one tally in each of the last two games while being outshot 80-45.
The Panthers have split the first two on a five-game homestand.
"We know we have it in us, we just haven't shown it much the past two games," Florida center Nick Bjugstad told the Miami Herald. "We have to play smarter defensively, win puck battles."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New York), FSN Florida
ABOUT THE RANGERS (14-3-2): New York has allowed 15 goals over the last 10 games and was second in the league in penalty killing (86.9 percent) entering Friday. Mats Zuccarello was blanked in the game at Tampa Bay, but has 12 points over the last nine games overall and leads the team with 18. Keith Yandle is two games from reaching 600 and tops the blue line with 10 points for the Rangers while veteran offensive defenseman Dan Boyle, who started his career with the Panthers, has managed only three in 15 games.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (8-8-3): Center Aleksander Barkov notched a goal Thursday in his second game back after missing 10 with a hand injury and was reunited with linemates Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau. Jagr tops the Panthers with 15 points and boasts 729 career goals – two behind Marcel Dionne for fourth in NHL history – and Huberdeau owns a team-best nine assists. Florida needs more from Bjugstad, who was held to one shot on net in the last two contests and has only one multi-point game this season.
OVERTIME
1. Florida G Roberto Luongo is the NHL's active leader with 69 shutouts, including one Monday against Tampa Bay, and Lundqvist is second with 56.
2. New York C Derick Brassard is second on the team with 13 points and needs two to reach 300 in his career.
3. Florida D Dmitry Kulikov (knee) will avoid surgery, but is expected to miss 2-to-4 weeks.
