Rangers at Lightning preview

RANGERS (30-31-6) at LIGHTNING (46-17-4)
7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SUN, MSG, NHL.TV

Miller has five points (two goals, three assists) since joining the Lightning. Namestnikov has a goal and an assist with the Rangers. McDonagh (hand) has not played for the Lightning and will not play Thursday.
The Lightning have won three in a row, are 7-0-1 in their past eight games and have the best record in the NHL. They lead the Atlantic Division with 96 points, six more than the second-place Boston Bruins. Each of Tampa Bay's last six games has been decided in overtime or a shootout; according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the NHL record for consecutive OT games is seven, set by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2003-04 and matched by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008-09.
The Rangers are 3-1-0 in their past four games. New York is seven points behind Columbus for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Rangers center Ryan Spooner has seven points (goal, six assists) in his past five games.
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games.

They said it

"It's something new ... the change. It's an opportunity for me to show what I can do on a young team. I just have to move forward and enjoy it." -- Rangers forward Vladislav Namestnikov on embracing the trade that sent him to New York
"I tried not to think about it until today. Obviously I saw some of the guys last night. It's going to be weird for sure. We're all human here and I've got some good friends over there. I have to put that aside and come ready to play" -- Lightning forward J.T. Miller on facing the Rangers

Rangers projected lineup

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

Lightning projected lineup

Alex Killorn -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Yanni Gourde -- Brayden Point -- J.T. Miller
Cory Conacher -- Tyler Johnson -- Adam Erne
Ryan Callahan --
Anthony Cirelli
-- Chris Kunitz
Victor Hedman -- Jake Dotchin
Mikhail Sergachev -- Anton Stralman
Slater Koekkoek -- Dan Girardi
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched:Andrej Sustr, Braydon Coburn, Cedric Paquette
Injured:Ondrej Palat (lower body), Ryan McDonagh (hand), Peter Budaj (lower body)

Status report

Zibanejad will play after missing a 3-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday with the flu. ... Dotchin has been a healthy scratch for the past six games and Koekkoek for the past four.

Stat pack

Hayes has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in his past 13 games. … Kucherov has 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in his past 12 games.