Preview - Flames vs. Rangers

RANGERS (10-4-0) VS. FLAMES (5-9-1)
BROADCAST: 8:00 PM MT; CBC and Sportsnet One (TV), Sportsnet 960 The FAN (radio)
SEASON SERIES: Saturday's game is the first meeting between the Calgary Flames and New York Rangers in the 2016-17 season. The clubs will wrap up their two-game season series on Feb. 5, 2017 in New York. Last year, the Flames went 1-1-0 against the Rangers, with their win coming on Dec. 12, 2015 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. On that night, they picked up a 5-4 victory in overtime with defenceman TJ Brodie scoring the game-winner at 2:29 in the extra frame. Johnny Gaudreau led all skaters in scoring in the 2015-16 season series with two goals and four points in two games against New York.

RANGERS TEAM SCOPE:A strong start to the season has the Rangers leading the Metropolitan Division with a 10-4-0 record and 20 points. They boast a plus-24 goal differential and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games. The Blueshirts are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, which snapped their five-game winning streak. Pavel Buchnevich, Rick Nash and Mika Zibanejad found the back of the net and Antti Raanta and Henrik Lundqvist both saw time in the setback. Raanta started and finished the game but Lundqvist took over for 6:19 when Raanta was pulled after an NHL concussion spotter told the Rangers he needed to be tested after being hit by Markus Granlund. Saturday's game is the start of a four-game road swing for the Rangers, which will take them through Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Columbus.
FLAMES TEAM SCOPE: The Flames are looking to close out their brief two-game homestand on a positive note after dropping Thursday's game against the Dallas Stars by a score of 4-2. Calgary has lost their last three games and are sixth in the Pacific Division with a 5-9-1 record and 11 points. Saturday's game is the second of just five home skates for the Flames in the month of November. 11 of the Flames' 15 games this month are on the road. Injuries have plagued the team in recent games and Calgary has recalled forwards Hunter Shinkaruk and Linden Vey in response to the maladies suffered by Kris Versteeg (groin), Lance Bouma (upper body) and Matthew Tkachuk (hand). Gaudreau and Michael Frolik are tied for the team lead in scoring with 10 points each. Dougie Hamilton leads all Calgary defencemen with two goals and six points in 15 games.