Panthers at Rangers
Although Henrik Lundqvist holds the franchise record for wins and shutouts by a goaltender, the New York Rangers haven't missed a beat since he was felled by a vascular injury. After enjoying a rare night off, workhorse goaltender Cam Talbot will get the nod as the Rangers vie for their fifth straight win when they host the Florida Panthers on Sunday. Talbot, who is 12-2-3 since the Swedish Olympian has been sidelined, has yielded just five goals in his last five starts and owns a 7-1-1 mark with a slim 1.54 goals-against average in his last nine.
Talbot was a spectator on Saturday, however, and watched as Mackenzie Skapski stopped all 20 shots he faced to record his first career shutout in a 2-0 decision over the Buffalo Sabres. While the Rangers have enjoyed a 13-1-2 run to open a three-point lead over the second-place New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division, Florida has also received some good goaltending of its own. Dan Ellis turned aside 27 shots in a 2-0 triumph over Carolina on Saturday, improving to 3-0-1 since being recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on March 4.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Florida, MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (31-23-14): A three-game winning streak hasn't enabled Florida to cut into its six-point deficit in the race for the second wild-card in the Eastern Conference. "You can do all the different calculations, but we know we have to do well against Boston (and Washington) and win the games in front of us," forward Nick Bjugstad told the Miami Herald. "We can't control how the other teams do, but we can control our game." Bjugstad has recorded three goals and two assists in his last seven contests, but has just one tally in seven career meetings with the Rangers.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (43-17-7): Pumping his fist, Keith Yandle could hardly contain himself after scoring his first goal since being acquired from Arizona prior to the trade deadline. The point was a welcome one for the offensive-minded defenseman, who had a pair of assists in the Coyotes' 2-1 win over Florida on Oct. 25 and set up a goal in a 2-1 setback to the Panthers five days later. Martin St. Louis scored and set up a goal versus the Sabres and joined Chris Kreider in collecting a tally and an assist in New York's 5-2 win over Florida on Dec. 31.
OVERTIME
1. Florida Cs Brandon Pirri and Dave Bolland each scored versus the Hurricanes and also tallied in the team's 6-3 setback to New York on Feb. 2.
2. New York is 0-for-12 on the power play in the last four games.
3. The Panthers agreed to a two-year contract extension with D Steven Kampfer on Saturday.