Rangers at Panthers preview

RANGERS (13-12-3) at PANTHERS (11-11-5)
7 p.m. ET; FS-F, MSG 2, NHL.TV

The Rangers will be playing for the first time since Sunday when they dropped a 4-3 shootout decision against the Winnipeg Jets. They are 1-4-1 in the past six games.
Forward Vladislav Namestnikov is expected back in the lineup after missing three games with a concussion.
The Panthers are wrapping up an eight-game homestand. They're 3-2-2 so far, the latest game a 5-2 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. The Panthers have alternated wins and losses since the beginning of the homestand.
This will be the third and final meeting of the season. The Rangers won the first two games in New York, 5-2 on Oct. 23 and 4-2 on Nov. 17.

Players to watch

Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad has one goal and five assists in the past four games.
Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau has 14 points (three goals and 11 assists) in the past seven games.

They said it

"You have to make sure you keep the intensity high and your focus really high, but we also had a couple guys out, so it's good timing." - Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist on the team's five-day span between games
"It's a team we're familiar with, but it's going to be more about how we're going to start, how we're going to play. I thought the three starts before last game were all strong. I didn't like last game's start, so tonight has to be a little bit of a rebound from that." - Panthers coach Bob Boughner

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Kevin Hayes
Jimmy Vesey -- Ryan Strome -- Filip Chytil
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Brett Howden -- Jesper Fast
Matt Beleskey
-- Lias Andersson --
Steven Fogarty
Marc Staal -- Neal Pionk
Brady Skjei -- Brendan Smith
Fredrik Claesson -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Henrik Lundqvist
Dustin Tokarski
Scratched:Tony DeAngelo, Cole Schneider
Injured: Adam McQuaid (lower body), Pavel Buchnevich (broken thumb), Cody McLeod (fractured left hand), Mats Zuccarello (groin)

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Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Mike Hoffman
Frank Vatrano -- Jared McCann -- Evgenii Dadonov
Dryden Hunt -- Denis Malgin -- Troy Brouwer
Micheal Haley -- Juho Lammikko -- Colton Sceviour
Keith Yandle -- Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson -- Mark Pysyk
Bogdan Kiselevich -- MacKenzie Weegar
Roberto Luongo
James Reimer
Scratched: Alexander Petrovic
Injured: Nick Bjugstad (upper body), Vincent Trocheck (ankle), Derek MacKenzie (shoulder), Jamie McGinn (back)

Status report

The Rangers recalled forward Cole Schneider from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Saturday afternoon. … Zuccarello is day-to-day and on the two-game road trip. … Bjugstad is day-to-day. … Malgin will play for the first time in eight games after missing four games with an upper-body injury and being a healthy scratch three times.

Stat pack

Kreider has three goals and five assists during his current four-game point streak against the Panthers. … Florida has a power-play goal in seven consecutive games and 17 of the past 18 games.