Rangers Open Road Trip in Colorado Against Avalanche

Rangers (24-17-5, 53 pts) at Avalanche (25-16-3, 53 pts)

3 pm; Pepsi Center, Denver

MSG Network; ESPN 98.7 FM

The Avalanche took the first and only meeting between the two teams back on opening night, and have since been one of the surprise teams of the season. After finishing last in the NHL a year ago, Colorado finds itself holding the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
A big reason for the team's success has been Nathan MacKinnon, who is in the MVP discussion with 22 goals and 57 points through 44 games. Twenty-one-year-old Mikko Rantanen is having a strong season as well with 44 points in 44 games, followed by captain Gabriel Landeskog with 34.
Goaltender Jonathan Bernie has been holding down the fort in Semyon Varlamov's absence. The netminder is undefeated in five starts since Varlamov went down earlier this month with a lower body injury, and has made 30 or more saves in four of those games, including a 45-save performance Thursday against San Jose. Overall he's 12-7-1 on the year.

Players to Watch

DeAngelo will get another crack at sticking with the Rangers after appearing in eight games earlier this year before he was assigned to Hartford. Vigneault said the report was he's been playing his best hockey since he joined the Wolf Pack and has excelled on the power play. DeAngelo practiced on the second unit on Thursday.
MacKinnon has been one of the best forwards in the NHL all year, but especially so at home at the Pepsi Center. The 22-year-old former first overall pick has 17 of his 22 goals and home, and 44 points in 25 games in Denver. His 57 points overall are his highest since his rookie campaign when he notched 63, but did so in 82 games, giving him 38 games to go to set a new high-water mark.

Rangers Projected Lineup

Rick Nash - Mika Zibanejad - Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Vesey - J.T. Miller - Mats Zuccarello
Paul Carey - David Desharnais - Vinni Lettieri
Michael Grabner - Peter Holland - Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh - Nick Holden
Brady Skjei - Steve Kampfer
Brendan Smith - Tony DeAngelo

Inside the Numbers

The Rangers have earned at least one point in seven of their last nine games against Colorado, dating back to Feb. 4, 2014 (5-2-2 record over the span).