'NHL on NBC': 5 Storylines

The NHL's top team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, will try for a two-game sweep of their trip to the New York metropolitan area when they play the New York Rangers (8 p.m. ET; NBC) in one of two regional "NHL on NBC" games airing Saturday. Other viewers in the United States will see the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; NBC) in a game matching two teams coming off road games on Friday.

Here are 5 storylines to keep an eye on:

'Killer Z's' powering Rangers

This is a rebuilding season for the Rangers, but at 22-21-7 they are within eight points of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. New York is 4-1-0 in its past five games, largely because forwards Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello have been on a roll offensively. Zibanejad has 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in his past five games and has scored the winning goal in each of New York's victories during that span. He's the first member of the Rangers to score four winning goals in a five-game span since Rod Gilbert from Dec. 7-17, 1966. Zuccarello has four goals and eight assists during a six-game point streak; that includes assists on each of Zibanejad's three goals in a 4-3 road win against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

Lightning struggling to score

Tampa Bay (38-11-2, 78 points) is comfortably on top of the NHL standings and leads the League with 196 goals. But the Lightning are just 3-3-0 in their past six games, largely because the offense has cooled off. They're coming off a 1-0 shootout victory at the New York Islanders on Friday but have scored more than two goals once in their past six games and were shut out for the first time this season by the Islanders. Forward Nikita Kucherov, the NHL's top scorer with 79 points (22 goals, 57 assists), has four points (all assists) and is minus-2 in the past six games. The offense that was making life miserable for opposing goaltenders during the first three months of the season has to start producing again.

Kane is bright spot for Blackhawks

The Blackhawks may well miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season, but not because of Patrick Kane. The 30-year-old right wing, who has 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists) in 51 games, moved into second place in the NHL scoring race on Friday with two goals and two assists in Chicago's 7-3 road victory against the Buffalo Sabres. Kane's 30th goal of the season was also his 900th NHL point, all with the Blackhawks. He's the fifth player in Chicago history to reach 900 points, and he's reached the 30-goal mark for the third time in the past four seasons. Kane has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his past five games and 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) during a 10-game point streak. He's had good success against the Wild during his career with 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 48 games.

Chicago's not out of playoff race

At 19-24-9, the Blackhawks are last in the Central Division and 14th in the 15-team Western Conference. But three straight wins have moved them at least onto the periphery of the playoff race. Chicago begins Saturday five points behind the Colorado Avalanche, who hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the West. The Blackhawks have gotten a lift from rookie goalie Collin Delia, who has a .923 save percentage in his nine starts. The offense has climbed to 10th in the NHL with 162 goals; if the defense (192 goals allowed) can tighten up, the Blackhawks could make up more ground in a playoff race that has seven teams within five points of the final spot.

Wild ready for grind

Minnesota (26-22-3) enters Saturday holding the first wild card in the West despite a 3-1 road loss to the Dallas Stars on Friday. Minnesota won its last three games before the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend and its mandatory five-day break but looked rusty against the Stars and had a chance to win only because goalie Devan Dubnyk allowed two goals on 31 shots. The loss to the Stars was the first of 14 games in 26 days for the Wild, including three sets of back-to-backs. The loss at Dallas and a schedule that has them playing four games in six days in four cities next week make a win at home on Saturday even more important as they try to keep above the pack of teams chasing the two wild cards in the West.