Rangers at Flyers
Less than 24 hours after racking up 19 giveaways in a home loss to Buffalo, the New York Rangers hope to be less generous when they visit the Metropolitan Division-rival Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. New York captain Ryan McDonagh was responsible for five giveaways as the team suffered its second loss in three home games - a 4-1 defeat that halted its three-game overall winning streak.
Defenseman Nick Holden hopes to remain hot as he scored his fourth goal in as many contests on Tuesday, doubling his season total in that span and moving within two of his career high of 10 set in 2013-14 with Colorado. Philadelphia returns home from a disappointing 0-3-1 road trip that concluded with a shootout loss in Anaheim on Sunday and included shutout defeats in New Jersey and San Jose. The Flyers have been playing well at home, however, as they have gone 7-0-1 at Wells Fargo Center since dropping a 3-2 decision to New York on Nov. 25. Wayne Simmonds leads Philadelphia with 17 goals but has scored just once in his last seven contests.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TVAS
ABOUT THE RANGERS (26-13-1): Chris Kreider was kept off the scoresheet on Tuesday - one day after being named the NHL's Second Star of the Week. The 25-year-old left wing, who leads New York with 15 goals and trails Derek Stepan (30) by one point for first on the team, registered four tallies and an assist in three games en route to the honor. Forward Nicklas Jensen, who was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Monday, recorded three shots and blocked one in 10 minutes, 27 seconds of ice time against the Sabres in his fifth appearance of the season for the Rangers.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (20-14-5): Michal Neuvirth, who hasn't played since Nov. 12 due to a lower-body injury, finally was activated from injured reserve on Tuesday. "It was a great test for me, practicing with the team for eight days now," the 28-year-old goaltender told the team's website. "(Anthony Stolarz and I) were sharing nets, but today, the majority of the time was for me, and it was another test I passed. My body feels good." The 22-year-old Stolarz, who went 2-0-0 with one shutout and a 1.79 goals-against average in his first four games in the NHL, was assigned to Lehigh Valley of the AHL.
OVERTIME
1. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault needs one victory to tie John Tortorella (171) for fourth place on the franchise list.
2. Flyers RW Jakub Voracek leds the team with 35 points but is mired in a four-game drought and has gone nine contests without a goal.
3. New York G Henrik Lundqvist has appeared in 712 games with the club, the fourth-highest total with one franchise by a goaltender in NHL history.