Hurricanes at Rangers
The New York Rangers vie for their third consecutive victory on Saturday, when they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to Madison Square Garden. Henrik Lundqvist returned to form after a shaky start to the season by turning aside 29 shots for his 47th career shutout in New York's 2-0 triumph over woeful Buffalo on Thursday. The Swede was on the other end of a 2-0 decision against Montreal on Monday after missing two games with an undisclosed injury.
The Rangers have won three of their last four as they enter the second contest of a four-game homestand. Carolina is careening in the other direction as it dropped its fourth straight decision, a 3-0 setback to Tampa Bay on Friday. The Hurricanes' offense has mustered just four goals during the losing streak.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN (Carolina), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (4-6-3): Captain Eric Staal (three goals, five assists, minus-10) knows he's struggling but insists that offense will come. "I feel pressure every year. Nothing changes," he said after Friday's game. "... It's not going for me right now, but I'm going to continue to work and come ready to play (Saturday) night." Justin Peters finished with 29 saves and still is searching for his first win since Cam Ward was sidelined with a lower-body injury.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (5-7-0): After being a healthy scratch last week in Philadelphia, Mats Zuccarello is giving coach Alain Vigneault no choice but to play him. The 26-year-old Norwegian scored his first goal in Detroit last Saturday before notching an assist Tuesday versus the Islanders and another two days later against Buffalo. "I have to keep it simple, make the simple, easy plays, and not put so much pressure on myself like I was in the beginning," Zuccarello told the New York Daily News earlier this week.
OVERTIME
1. New York, which went 3-for-7 on the power play in the last two games, was a paltry 5-for-32 with the man advantage prior to this stretch.
2. Carolina C Manny Malhotra, who began his career with the Rangers, won 15-of-20 faceoffs while logging nearly nine minutes of ice time in his first game of the season.
3. Rangers captain Ryan Callahan (broken thumb) wore a contact jersey in practice Friday but is still 7-10 days away from returning to game action.