Flames at Rangers
The Calgary Flames, who looked as though they were fading out of the playoff picture a few weeks ago, can extend their winning streak to four games when they visit the New York Rangers on Sunday. The Flames lost six of seven (1-5-1) before earning a 3-2 overtime victory over Ottawa before the All-Star break and followed up with wins over Minnesota and New Jersey.
“We’re trying to grow and evolve,” Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters after Friday’s 4-3 overtime victory in Newark, N.J. “I thought we stuck with it. We’re trying to create belief - we talked about that last week. We’re playing a certain way and we weren’t getting the result a couple weeks ago. But we still have to believe in ourselves.” Gaining that fourth straight win won’t be easy against the Rangers, who edged Buffalo 2-1 in overtime Thursday to snap a two-game slide. New York, which owns the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference comfortably, opens a four-game homestand against all Western Conference squads. The Rangers are 7-1-1 in the last nine meetings, including a 4-1 victory at Calgary on Nov. 12.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, Sportsnet 360 (Calgary), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (27-24-3): Center Mikael Backlund scored the game-winning goal Friday and leads a balanced offense with 35 points while All-Star Johnny Gaudreau (34) is beginning to pick it up with three assists in two contests. Center Sean Monahan is one of the keys during the current streak with four goals in three games to push his career total to 99. Defenseman T.J. Brodie had four assists Friday, giving him five in the past two outings, and Brian Elliott played between the pipes for every game during the streak – turning aside 79 of the 85 shots he faced.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (32-18-1): Goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 36 saves Thursday and appears to be turning his season around with a .942 save percentage over the last five contests. “Hank is one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever been around at a rink,” forward J.T. Miller told the New York Post. “When he makes a quality save, the whole bench feels it. … Believe me, no one in here is worried about Henrik.” Power forward Chris Kreider recorded the winning goal Thursday and scored in back-to-back games to reach 20 for the third straight season.
OVERTIME
1. New York RW Mats Zuccarello scored his 10th goal Thursday and leads a balanced offense with 39 points.
2. Calgary F Micheal Ferland boasts two goals and an assist during a three-game point streak.
3. The Rangers are 5-1 in overtime and the shootout this season - winning the last five.