Rangers at Kings
The New York Rangers are banking that the return of "The King" from a pronounced absence due to a strained hip muscle will pay dividends during their three-game trek through California. Henrik Lundqvist will watch Antti Raanta make his eighth straight start in Saturday's contest versus the Los Angeles Kings before the former Vezina Trophy winner returns to the crease the following night against the Anaheim Ducks.
New York has dropped two in a row and five of seven contests (2-3-2) since the 35-year-old Lundqvist sustained his injury while making 43 saves in a 5-2 victory over Florida on March 7. While the Rangers have a secure hold on the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Kings find themselves eight points behind Nashville for the final berth in the West. "We have to win our games first. Whatever happens on the other side, for the wild-card race, is going to happen," captain Anze Kopitar (team-leading 35 assists) said. "But we have to make sure we're on our game, and making sure we're getting the two points every night." The 29-year-old picked up two points in his last outing with a goal and an assist in Thursday's 5-2 victory over Winnipeg, increasing his point total to 13 (five goals, eight assists) in his last 13 games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus (New York), FSN West (Los Angeles), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE RANGERS (45-25-4): Mats Zuccarello's impressive season is showing no signs of slowing down, as the 29-year-old Norwegian scored a power-play goal and recorded a team-high six shots on goal in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders. Zuccarello (team-leading 37 assists), who also tallied a 3-2 win over the Kings on Jan. 23, pulled into a tie in points with fellow forward J.T. Miller (52) after scoring three goals and setting up as many in his last six contests. Speaking of Miller, the 24-year-old has mustered just six points (two goals, four assists) in his last 18 games.
ABOUT THE KINGS (35-31-7): Reigning Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty and fellow defenseman Jake Muzzin continue to chip in offensively as each scored a goal on Thursday, giving the former seven points (one goal, six assists) in his last 10 while the latter has eight (two goals, six assists) in his last 12. Former Ranger forward Marian Gaborik joined Kopitar and Doughty by converting with the man advantage, marking the second time in the last eight outings that Los Angeles' 12th-ranked power play has scored three goals. "Special teams this time of year are very important," Kopitar said. "That was the difference."
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles C Tyler Toffoli set up a pair of tallies on Thursday to surpass the 30-point mark for the third time in his career, with six of those points (two goals, four assists) coming in the past seven contests.
2. New York D Dan Girardi was nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which goes to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
3. The Rangers have scored at least one power-play goal in five of their last seven games, going 7-for-21 in that span.