Rangers at Flyers preview

RANGERS (35-24-4) at FLYERS (36-20-7)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS, NBCSP, MSG, NHL.TV

The Rangers, 9-1-0 in their past 10 games, won their ninth consecutive road game, a 5-2 victory at the Montreal Canadiens, on Thursday and are two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The Flyers seek their fifth straight win, which would match their longest stretch this season. Philadelphia is in third place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Flyers' 22 home wins are tied for the most in the NHL with the Penguins, Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues.

Players to watch

Rangers center Mika Zibanejad has scored one goal in six straight games, tied for the longest goal streak in the NHL this season, and has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in a nine-game point streak.
Flyers center Sean Couturier has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in his past 18 gamed and is two points shy of 400 in the NHL.

They said it

"We've got to get two points. We have a chance to keep climbing here. The teams that are in front of us are losing. [The Rangers] are right there too. They're 9-1 in their last 10 so they're climbing as well." -- Flyers center Kevin Hayes
"We're a confident group in here. We believe in each other. We never think we can't come back in a game or can't hold a lead. It's been good." -- Rangers defenseman Adam Fox

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Filip Chytil
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Jesper Fast
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- Brett Howden -- Kaapo Kakko
Brendan Lemieux -- Greg McKegg -- Julien Gauthier
Brendan Smith -- Jacob Trouba
Marc Staal -- Tony DeAngelo
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
Alexandar Georgiev
Henrik Lundqvist
Scratched: None
Injured: Igor Shesterkin (rib fracture), Pavel Buchnevich (soreness), Micheal Haley (core muscle)

Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek
Scott Laughton -- Kevin Hayes -- Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk -- Derek Grant -- Tyler Pitlick
Michael Raffl -- Nate Thompson -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Ivan Provorov -- Matt Niskanen
Travis Sanheim -- Philippe Myers
Robert Hagg -- Justin Braun
Carter Hart
Brian Elliott
Scratched:Shayne Gostisbehere
Injured: Nolan Patrick (migraine disorder)

Status report

Georgiev will make his third straight start after allowing five goals on 79 shots in wins at the New York Islanders on Tuesday (4-3 in overtime) and at Montreal. … The Rangers did not hold a morning skate. … The Flyers will use the same lineup as they used in their 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Stat pack

Panarin has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in an 11-game point streak and 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) against Philadelphia in his NHL career. … The Flyers are 17-0-1 when Hayes scores a goal this season. He has 21 goals. … Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault is one coaching win from passing Pat Quinn (684) for sole possession of 10th place on the League all-time list.