Wild Warmup: Minnesota at New York Rangers

The essentials

The opponent

The New York Rangers have lost five consecutive games since a 3-2 loss to Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center last Tuesday.
The Rangers are 2-9-0 in 11 games this month and are in the process of shopping some of their top talent ahead of Monday's trade deadline. New York dealt leading goal scorer Michael Grabner to New Jersey on Thursday and held second-leading goal scorer Rick Nash out of the lineup Thursday in Montreal because a deal for him could be close.
New York lost 3-1 against the Canadiens, falling behind 2-0 into the third before Kevin Hayes got the Rangers within a goal with three minutes left in regulation. Montreal added a late goal to ice the win.
The tough stretch has dropped the Rangers six points back of Columbus and the New York Islanders for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Last week in St. Paul, the Wild got first-period goals from Eric Staal, Zach Parise and Marcus Foligno 3:08 apart to build a three-goal lead in an eventual 3-2 victory. Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, Friday's projected starter, made 32 saves in the first game to earn the victory.
With Grabner gone and Nash potentially out, Hayes (15 goals) and Mika Zibanejad (17 goals) will be counted on to provide offense. Mats Zuccarello leads the team with 43 points.
Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist should get the start. He's 23-21-4 this season with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.

Connections

• Wild forward Matt Cullen recorded 41 points (16-25=41) in 80 contests with the Rangers in 2006-07.
• Wild forward Eric Staal skated in 20 games with New York during the 2015-16 campaign, totaling six points (3-3=6). He is the older brother of Rangers defenseman Marc Staal.
• Rangers forward Vinni Lettieri is from Excelsior and played collegiately at the University of Minnesota.
• Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh hails from St. Paul and played at the University of Wisconsin.
• Rangers defenseman Neal Pionk is from Hermantown and played at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
• Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei was raised in Lakeville and is a former Golden Gopher.
• Rangers defenseman Steven Kampfer appeared in 13 games with the Wild (2011-12).

Light that lamp

Minnesota has scored 14 goals in its three wins all time at Madison Square Garden and just 12 goals in its seven losses.
Related:
- Wild shows off depth in victory over New Jersey - Wild-Rangers a celebration of Minnesotan NHLers