Rangers at Wild
Martin St. Louis is expected to return to the lineup as the New York Rangers conclude their brief two-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. "I'm not used to not being part of (the lineup)," the 39-year-old St. Louis told reporters regarding his eight-game absence due to an MCL sprain.
Henrik Lundqvist will make his third start in four contests for the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers, who posted a 3-2 victory over Winnipeg on Tuesday for their seventh win in eight road games and 25th of the season away from Madison Square Garden - matching the franchise record set in 2013-14. While New York holds a comfortable lead in the Metropolitan Division, well-rested Minnesota looks to strengthen its hold on the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Devan Dubnyk, who will make his 35th consecutive start for the Wild, followed up his honor of being named First Star of the Month for February by claiming the Third Star for March. Dubnyk led the league with 11 wins and boasted a slim 1.78 goals-against average and .942 save percentage last month.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FSN North, FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (48-21-7): Derick Brassard scored a goal and set up another versus the Jets and joined Mats Zuccarello by collecting one tally and two assists in a 5-4 win over the Wild on Oct. 27. Brassard has recorded a career-high 40 assists and his 17th goal moved him within one of his personal-best mark that was set last season. Zuccarello also scored against Winnipeg and has registered three goals and five assists in his last seven games.
ABOUT THE WILD (44-25-7): Captain Mikko Koivu joined Nino Niederreiter by netting a pair of goals in Minnesota's 4-1 triumph over Los Angeles on Saturday. Koivu needs a goal or an assist to become the first 500-point scorer in Wild history. Defenseman Nate Prosser, who scored in the first meeting with New York, returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time since spraining his MCL on March 14.
OVERTIME
1. New York LW Chris Kreider, who scored the go-ahead goal versus Winnipeg, was ejected in the first meeting with Minnesota after boarding D Jonas Brodin.
2. Wild C Kyle Brodziak is expected to return to the lineup after a three-game absence due to an upper-body injury.
3. The Rangers agreed to terms with D Brady Skjei on an entry-level contract on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Skjei was a first-round pick in the 2012 draft.