Panthers at Rangers preview

PANTHERS (9-12-2) at RANGERS (13-9-2)
7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, MSG, FS-F, NHL.TV

The Rangers have won eight in a row at home for the first time since winning nine straight from Oct. 19-Nov. 23, 2015.
Goalie James Reimer is expected to make his first start for the Panthers since Nov. 18 after Roberto Luongo made 23 saves in a 3-2 win at the New Jersey Devils on Monday. Reimer, who skated with the Panthers extras Tuesday, is 0-3-1 in his past five starts.

Players to watch

Panthers center Vincent Trocheck has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past 12 games.
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist will make his 13th straight start. He is 10-2-0 with a 2.28 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and one shutout during that span.

They said it

"The one thing we haven't done this season is we haven't gotten on a huge roll yet. We're playing a tough team who hasn't lost at home in quite a long time against a great goalie. We can't get too high. This is one win, let's forget about it and let's get ready for tomorrow." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner after the game Monday
"There's no doubt we are playing with more confidence at home and a pretty good swagger on our game here. Florida will be a good test for us. It should be a hard game for us and a good game for us." -- Rangers coach Alain Vigneault

Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov --
Denis Malgin
Jamie McGinn -- Vincent Trocheck -- Nick Bjugstad
Henrik Haapala
-- Jared McCann -- Dryden Hunt
Micheal Haley -- Derek MacKenzie -- Colton Sceviour
Keith Yandle -- Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson -- MacKenzie Weegar
Mark Pysyk -- Alexander Petrovic
James Reimer
Roberto Luongo
Scratched:Connor Brickley, Ian McCoshen
Injured:Radim Vrbata (face), Evgenii Dadonov (upper body)

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Vesey -- Kevin Hayes -- Rick Nash
Michael Grabner -- J.T. Miller -- Mats Zuccarello
Paul Carey -- Boo Nieves -- Jesper Fast
Brady Skjei -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Brendan Smith -- Nick Holden
Marc Staal -- Steven Kampfer
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched:David Desharnais
Injured: Ryan McDonagh (abdominal strain)

Status report

The Panthers did not hold a morning skate. … McDonagh could return against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. He skated on his own Monday and with the Rangers on Tuesday. "It's starting to feel strong on the ice and [I've been] able to do the things I need to do," he said. Vigneault said he'll have a better idea of McDonagh's availability after practice Thursday. … Nieves will play after missing one game with a hip pointer.

Stat pack

The Panthers rank 29th in the League on the penalty kill (74.3 percent) but are 6-for-6 in their past three games. Their five shorthanded goals are tied with the Minnesota Wild for first. … The Rangers have earned at least one point in 12 of 13 games against Florida since the start of the 2013-14 season (10-1-2)