Rangers at Stars
The New York Rangers attempt to snap out of their funk and remain close in the race for the postseason in the Eastern Conference when they visit the Dallas Stars on Monday. New York is within reach of both a wild card and one of the three playoff berths in the Metropolitan Division despite having lost five of its last six games.
Four of those defeats have come on the road, including Saturday's 5-2 setback at Nashville in which Mats Zuccarello registered his 300th career point with an assist. The 30-year-old Norwegian leads the Rangers with 38 points and has landed on the scoresheet in five of his last six contests, collecting six assists in that span. Dallas has followed a pair of losses in which it scored a total of one goal by outscoring its opponents 10-2 in two victories. Tyler Seguin led the way in Saturday's 6-1 triumph over Minnesota, recording his team-leading 25th goal and two assists to give him six points over his last five games.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network, MSG (New York), FS Southwest Plus (Dallas)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (25-22-5): New York could be without Jim Vesey and defenseman Marc Staal as both exited Saturday's loss with upper-body injuries. Captain Ryan McDonagh recorded his second two-point performance in three games with a pair of assists against the Predators. The 28-year-old defenseman has collected two goals and six assists over his last nine contests.
ABOUT THE STARS (30-19-4): Kari Lehtonen could make his third consecutive start as Ben Bishop recovers from facial swelling. The 34-year-old Lehtonen is 7-2-0 with a 1.77 goals-against average over his last nine starts. Defenseman John Klingberg notched an assist on Saturday, giving him 21 of his team-leading 44 in his last 19 contests and putting him within three points of 200 for his career.
OVERTIME
1. Stars RW Alexander Radulov is five goals away from matching the career high of 26 he set in 2007-08 while with Nashville.
2. New York recalled F Vinni Lettieri, who recorded a goal and three assists over 10 games earlier this season during his first stint in the NHL, from Hartford of the American Hockey League.
3. Dallas acquired D Andrew O'Brien from Nashville for C Mark McNeill and assigned him to Texas of the AHL.