Rangers at Flames preview

RANGERS (28-30-6) at FLAMES (32-24-9)
9 p.m. ET; SNW, MSG 2, NHL.TV

Calgary, 2-4-1 in its past seven games after going 5-2-0 in its previous seven, is one point behind the Anaheim Ducks for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West. The Flames also are four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division.
The Rangers, 1-6-1 in their past eight games, are seven points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Rangers forward Ryan Spooner has five assists in two games since being acquired in a trade with the Boston Bruins on Monday.
Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past eight games.

They said it

"We've got a lot of young guys stepping in right now, our [defense] corps especially. All the young guys have been playing really well." -- Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei
"Now it's getting down to, we have to accumulate points. It doesn't matter how we do it. Night in and night out, teams that we don't want to win are getting points. With the parity in the League nowadays, you have to be able to get your points." -- Flames forward Troy Brouwer

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Vesey -- Vladislav Namestnikov -- Mats Zuccarello
Ryan Spooner -- Kevin Hayes -- Jesper Fast
Paul Carey -- Peter Holland -- Cody McLeod
Brady Skjei -- Neal Pionk
Marc Staal -- Rob O'Gara
John Gilmour -- Tony DeAngelo
Henrik Lundqvist
Alexandar Georgiev
Scratched: David Desharnais
Injured:Kevin Shattenkirk (knee), Ondrej Pavelec (knee), Steven Kampfer (hand)

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Sam Bennett
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik
Chris Stewart -- Mark Jankowski -- Troy Brouwer
Tanner Glass -- Matt Stajan -- Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie -- Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak -- Michael Stone
Jon Gillies
David Rittich
Scratched:Matt Bartkowski, Curtis Lazar, Nicholas Shore
Injured:Micheal Ferland (upper body), Marek Hrivik (upper body), Mike Smith (lower body), Kris Versteeg (hip)

Status report

The Rangers did not have a morning skate Friday. … Flames coach Glen Gulutzan did not confirm a starting goaltender, and said there could be some game-time lineup decisions.

Stat pack

Hayes has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his past 10 games. … Namestnikov had a goal and an assist in his Rangers debut, a 6-5 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. … Hamilton has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past eight games. … Gaudreau has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his past 15 games. … Gillies is 2-1-0 with a 1.69 goals-against average and .946 save percentage in his past three starts.