Goalie Antti Raanta will make his fourth consecutive start for the New York Rangers, meaning Henrik Lundqvist will be a backup for the fourth consecutive game for the first time in his NHL career, which began in the 2005-06 season. "It's as simple as Antti deserves to play," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. Raanta has an active shutout streak of 151:04, and is 3-0-0 with a 0.33 GAA and .984 save percentage in his past three games. He made 26 saves in a 1-0 overtime win against the Blackhawks at United Center on Friday. The Rangers have allowed an average of 21 shots on goal per game in Raanta's three straight starts. They allowed 31.4 shots on goal per game in their previous nine. "Of course when you get a couple games in a row it gets a little bit easier to get to the rhythm but the whole team has been helping me a lot," Raanta said. "If I can make the first save usually they are there helping me. It's usually try to do my thing, keep it simple and enjoy the game." Forward Rick Nash will miss his fourth straight game with a groin injury. Vigneault gave an optimistic outlook on Nash after watching him participate in the Rangers' morning skate Tuesday. "I think he's looking good," Vigneault said. "I would say he's very, very close [to returning]."
