Rangers at Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks have not won consecutive games on the same homestand since February, a feat they will try to match when they host the New York Rangers on Thursday night. After suffering a pair of lopsided victories at United Center, Chicago forward Patrick Kane made playing better at home a point of emphasis prior to Tuesday's 3-1 win over Anaheim.
Kane scored the tiebreaking goal -- his team-high eighth of the season -- against the Ducks after exhorting his teammates to "get a win for the fans here and start rolling here, because it’s a great place to play and we can really use it to our advantage.” Kane, who leads the Blackhawks with 13 points through nine games, has four goals and seven assists in 14 matchups against the Rangers. New York was awful away from Madison Square Garden last season and remains in search of its first win away from home as it begins a four-game road trip in Chicago. The Rangers halted another drought in an impressive 5-2 victory over visiting Florida on Tuesday night, marking their first regulation win of the season.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), NBCS Chicago
ABOUT THE RANGERS (3-5-1): Mika Zibanejad, a 27-game goal scorer last season, has heated up after a slow start by scoring five times in the past five games and tying a career high with a four-point effort against Florida. "I knew he was a good player before I got this job, I didn't know he was this good," first-year coach David Quinn said. "This is a guy that does a little bit of everything. He's got skill, he's tough, he can skate. We are lucky to have him." Mats Zuccarello boosted his point total to eight after scoring his first two goals.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (5-2-2): Chicago has been among the worst defensive teams in the league, allowing 3.7 goals per game, although it has permitted one tally in each of the past two contests. “I thought limiting what we gave up defensively was what we were trying to get to, and we were at our best (compared with) any point in any game this year with what we gave up,” coach Joel Quenneville said after holding Anaheim to 25 shots. Brandon Saad, a 31-goal scorer in 2015-16, scored his first two goals Tuesday and had a season-high seven shots on net.
OVERTIME
1. The Rangers are 6-for-18 on the power play in the past four games.
2. Blackhawks G Corey Crawford is 3-3-1 with a 2.46 goals-against average versus New York.
3. Zibanejad scored in both matchups versus Chicago last season and has four goals in seven meetings.