Rangers at Devils
The New York Rangers appeared to get back on track by winning three of their final four games entering the All-Star break and hope to continue the momentum when they visit the Metropolitan Division-rival New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. It will mark the first of three meetings over the next three weeks between the Rangers and Devils.
New York had gone almost two months between winning consecutive games before beating Vancouver and Carolina on Jan. 19 and 22. Forward Rick Nash, injured in the win over the Hurricanes, did not practice again Monday and will sit out Tuesday's game. New Jersey had rattled off four consecutive victories before a 2-0 loss at Pittsburgh to end the first half. “The last game against Pittsburgh didn't sit well with us,” Devils right wing Lee Stempniak said. "So, we parked that and moved on, but it's the final stretch now, so, for us, it's a big game against the Rangers."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG2 (New York), MSG-Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (27-17-5): Nash, who is third on New York with 33 points, underwent a CT on his knee Monday that did not reveal any additional damage beyond a bad bone bruise that coach Alain Vigneault said is taking longer to heal than the team anticipated. “Rick Nash, he’s kind of a quiet leader in our group here,” Derek Stepan said. “He leads by example and he brings it every night he comes. He’s a top-six forward that’s gonna be badly missed, but at the same time injuries happen." Stepan was heating up before the break with a goal and five assists in his last six games.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (25-20-5): New Jersey with be without a key play of its own after leading scorer Michael Cammalleri aggravated a hand injury versus Pittsburgh and was placed on injured reserve Monday, retroactive to Jan. 26. “It started acting up on him again, so we've got to shut him down here for a little bit and give him a little bit of time and see how quickly he can get back,” Devils coach John Hynes said. Hynes also is uncertain of the status of defensemen John Moore, prompting Monday's recall of Joe Blandisi and defenseman Seth Helgeson from Albany of the American Hockey League.
OVERTIME
1. Stempniak, a former Ranger, has four goals in his last four contests and netted the game-winner in OT in New Jersey's 2-1 win at New York on Oct. 18.
2. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist is 5-0-1 in his last six versus the Devils and has won his last three at New Jersey.
3. The Devils were 3-5-0 in eight games missed by Cammalleri last month.