At the Rink: Kings at Rangers

NEW YORK -- The Los Angeles Kings played the way they wanted to Monday in defeating the New Jersey Devils 3-1, but the two points earned merely allowed them to keep pace in the Stanley Cup Playoff race in the Western Conference because the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets also won.

The Kings are still on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. They are two points behind the Flames for third place in the Pacific Division and four points behind the Jets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.

They're trying to stay upbeat even though time is ticking and they have only 10 games remaining. They have a game in hand on the Flames and Jets.

"We have to just focus on ourselves; there's not much we can do about what other teams do," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "Obviously you kind of look at the standings this morning and see if anything happened, but besides that it's just about us winning games. If we can win every single game for the rest of this season I think we'll probably make it in. That's all we've gotta focus on doing."

The games are only getting tougher, particularly before their current five-game road trip finishes.

The Kings play the red-hot New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN). The Rangers are 17-3-3 in their past 23 games, all without goalie Henrik Lundqvist. They are first in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

The Kings also play at the New York Islanders on Thursday, at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and at the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

"We have to focus on what we do and go from there," Kings forward Marian Gaborik said. "We knew it was going to be tight and we'd have to go all the way to the end, leave our hearts out every game."

The good news for the Kings is the blueprint for what they need to do to be effective is fresh in their minds. They dominated the first period against New Jersey by winning puck battles on the boards, forechecking hard and forcing penalties, two of which resulted in a 5-on-3 goal.

They had a 2-0 lead and a 16-3 advantage in shots on goal on the Devils after 20 minutes.

"If we can play 60 minutes like that I think we'll win most games," Doughty said.

The Rangers, though, present a different challenge altogether. They're faster than the Devils and they are playing with as much confidence as any team in the League is right now.

The Rangers also beat the Kings 4-3 in Los Angeles on Jan. 8.

"Obviously this team is faster," Gaborik said. "They have good goaltending and they're playing with a lot of confidence. We did some video and … we have to try to eliminate their speed, obviously put the puck deep and go on the forecheck. We know they have fast forwards and we know how they're playing."

The last time the Rangers played the Kings at the Garden was Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Kings won that series in five games. Rangers center Derick Brassard said he still has bad thoughts when he thinks of the Kings, so clearly the bitterness of losing hasn't gone away.

"I think this game will always have a history to it, whenever the Rangers play the Kings, for a long time," Rangers forward Rick Nash said.

Nash is stuck on 39 goals because he has gone six consecutive games without scoring. Prior to this slump, Nash's longest scoring drought this season was three games (five times).

"Chances are there, just can't put the puck in right now," Nash said. "It's not going off my body and in the net like it was early on. It's coming. You just have to keep consistent with your game."

Here are the projected lineups:

KINGS

Marian Gaborik - Anze Kopitar - Justin Williams

Dwight King - Jeff Carter - Tyler Toffoli

Kyle Clifford - Mike Richards - Trevor Lewis

Jordan Nolan - Nick Shore - Dustin Brown

Jake Muzzin - Drew Doughty

Robyn Regehr - Andrej Sekera

Alec Martinez - Matt Greene

Jonathan Quick

Martin Jones

Scratched: Andy Andreoff, Jamie McBain, Brayden McNabb

Injured: Tanner Pearson (leg), Jarret Stoll (upper body)

RANGERS

Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Rick Nash

J.T. Miller - Derick Brassard - Mats Zuccarello

Carl Hagelin - Kevin Hayes - Jesper Fast

Tanner Glass - Dominic Moore - James Sheppard

Dan Girardi - Ryan McDonagh

Marc Staal - Dan Boyle

Keith Yandle - Matt Hunwick

Cam Talbot

Mackenzie Skapski

Scratched: none

Injured: Henrik Lundqvist (neck), Kevin Klein (upper body), Martin St. Louis (lower body)

Status report: The Kings morning skate was limited to the players who were scratched Monday. McNabb is expected to miss his second consecutive game after playing in 19 straight. He was replaced in the lineup by Martinez, who returned Monday after missing 18 games with a concussion.

Who's hot: Kopitar had three points on a goal and two assists against New Jersey; he has 12 points in the past 10 games. … Yandle had three assists and Stepan had two goals and an assist in New York's 7-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. … Miller and Fast have scored in back-to-back games.

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