Jets at Rangers
THE STORY: The New York Rangers will look to pad their lead atop the Atlantic Division and regain the overall lead in the Eastern Conference when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. The Rangers are tied with the Boston Bruins at 64 points, but the Bruins lead the Conference by virtue of one more win. The Philadelphia Flyers are challenging the Rangers for the division and in the conference with 60 points, and with six straight wins, the Pittsburgh Penguins can’t be overlooked with 58 points. The Rangers have won the first two of four meetings this season. New York won 2-1 on Oct. 24 in Winnipeg and 3-0 on Nov. 6 at home. In the latest, Derek Stepan scored the game-winner, while backup goaltender Martin Biron made 23 saves.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN (Jets), MSG2 (New York)
ABOUT THE JETS (22-21-6): At a time when wins are critical, Winnipeg has won only twice in its last eight games. The Jets also have the second fewest road wins (seven) in the Eastern Conference. Most recently, the Jets fell 2-1 at Carolina. Kyle Wellwood’s ninth goal of the season was the only offensive highlight despite outshooting the Hurricanes 30-16. The Jets previously lost 4-3 in a shootout at home to the Florida Panthers.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (30-12-4): New York, 14-5-2 at home this season, is coming off a 3-2 overtime victory over the visiting Bruins. Marian Gaborik, who had gone seven games without a goal, scored twice against Boston including the overtime winner with four seconds remaining. Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves to improve to 21-10-4 on the season. The Rangers are finding ways to win without an effective power play as they are only 4 for 48 with the man advantage in their last 19 games.
OVERTIME:
1. Rookie Carl Hagelin leads the Rangers with two short-handed goals.
2. Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi leads the NHL in ice time at 27:23 minutes per game.
3. Winnipeg forward Nik Antropov has three goals and three assists in his last four games.