Stars at Rangers
The New York Rangers got off to a rough start at home this season, losing three of their first five, but have been unstoppable ever since. The Rangers seek their sixth straight win at Madison Square Garden when they continue their three-game homestand Monday against the Dallas Stars.
Chris Kreider helped lead New York to its fifth home triumph in a row on Saturday, recording a goal and two assists in a 4-2 victory over Florida. The 27-year-old left wing, who was drafted 19th overall in 2009, has registered four tallies and three assists during his four-game point streak and has been kept off the scoresheet in only three of his last nine contests - notching seven goals and four assists in that span. Dallas kicked off its three-game road trip in strong fashion Sunday as it skated to a 6-2 victory over the New York Islanders behind three-point performances from each member of its top line. Alexander Radulov scored two goals and set up another, Tyler Seguin recorded a tally and two assists and captain Jamie Benn set up three scores as the Stars produced their highest output of the season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southwest Plus (Dallas), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE STARS (11-7-2): Sunday was a day of firsts for Dallas' roster as 22-year-old Finnish left wing Roope Hintz scored his initial NHL goal and 24-year-old defenseman Gavin Bayreuther recorded his first point with an assist in his second career game. Blue-liner Esa Lindell also got in on the act, as the Finn registered his first two-goal performance in the NHL. Defenseman Ben Gleason, who was recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League along with Hintz on Saturday, was in the lineup against the Islanders while center Tyler Pitlick sat out due to an illness.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (10-8-2): Henrik Lundqvist continued his climb up the all-time wins chart on Saturday, registering the 438th of his career to pass Jacques Plante for seventh place. The 36-year-old Swede, who notched his 24th assist in the victory to pull within one of John Vanbiesbrouck for most by a goaltender in franchise history, is seven victories away from tying Terry Sawchuk for sixth all-time in the NHL. Ryan Strome made his team debut on Saturday after being acquired from Edmonton a day earlier and saw 16 minutes, 42 seconds of ice time on 21 shifts.
OVERTIME
1. Kreider has scored only three of his team-leading 11 goals this season at home.
2. Dallas C Jason Spezza notched two assists on Sunday, with the first being his 900th career point.
3. The Rangers assigned F Vinni Lettieri, who failed to notch a point in 14 games this season, to Hartford of the American Hockey League.