The Lightning swept the two games against the Buffalo Sabres and play at home for the first time since Oct. 26. Sixteen of their next 22 games are on home ice. The Rangers are 5-1-1 in their past seven games, including a 4-1 win against the Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 29.
Players to watch
Lightning center Steven Stamkos needs two goals to reach 400 in the NHL. He has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past four games against the Rangers. Rangers forward Artemi Panarin has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in a nine-game point streak.
They said it
"I think the way that we played structured hockey, skating for one another, played physical. It makes it kind of easy on the entire group when everyone's doing their job to the best of their abilities. We had a detailed game. We're going to need to play the same way if we want to come out of here with a win." -- Rangers forward Chris Kreider "It's easy for us to say that we've come off this long road trip and the first game is always tough. That's an excuse. I think we're itching to play now. We haven't played for a few days. We had a couple days off to get some rest." -- Lightning center Steven Stamkos
New York had about 10 skaters and Lundqvist on the ice for an optional morning skate. … Zibanejad did not travel with the Rangers for their two-game road trip that ends at the Florida Panthers on Saturday. … Coburn will be a healthy scratch for the fourth time in five games.
Stat pack
Tampa Bay is 5-1-1 against New York since the start of the 2017-18 season. … Georgiev is 1-0-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in three games against the Lightning. He made 29 saves in the win Oct. 29.
