Rangers at Flyers
The New York Rangers appear to be back on track following a listless three-game skid and will go for their third consecutive victory when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night. New York had scored only twice during a 0-2-1 stretch but bounced back by posting a pair of impressive wins against Western Conference foes Anaheim and Arizona.
The Flyers are coming off their best offensive performance of the season, erasing a two-goal deficit in the third period en route to a 5-4 victory at Boston on Wednesday. The victory came at a price, though, as goaltender Michal Neuvirth suffered an upper-body injury and center Sean Couturier was wiped out on a high check to the head from ex-teammate Zac Rinaldo, who escaped punishment from the league. "I thought it was an irresponsible hit," Philadelphia general manager Ron Hextall said. "I thought there would be something (disciplinary), but that's not my job." New York has won 14 of 19 against the Flyers, although the teams have split the last 10 meetings in Philadelphia.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE RANGERS (5-2-1): New York spotted Arizona an early goal before responding with four unanswered tallies, with forward Mats Zuccarello picking up a pair of assists to boost his team-high point total to six. “We’ve found out over the last couple of seasons how feisty he is defensively." Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh said. "He’s come a long way since we first started the Rangers together and it’s great to see him have so much confidence.” Forward Derek Stepan was still sore Friday after having a wisdom tooth extracted and two screws removed from his jaw.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (3-2-1): Couturier and Neuvirth are both expected to be sidelined Saturday due to upper-body injuries, but reports out of Philadelphia indicate that each player is dealing with a concussion. Sam Gagner centered Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds for the final two periods after Couturier was hurt and the line acquitted itself well. "He plays a little bit of a different style, obviously, than Coots," said Simmonds, who notched his first goal of the season. "I played with Gaggy a little bit in the preseason and I thought we had a little bit of chemistry."
OVERTIME
1. Over the past four games, New York is 13-for-13 on the penalty kill while Philadelphia is 15-of-16.
2. Flyers G Steve Mason takes a 5-3-1 mark with a 2.46 goals-against average versus the Rangers into Saturday's matchup.
3. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist is 28-13-3 with four career shutouts against the Flyers.