GameFlow Preview: Rangers at Panthers

LIVE COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6:30 PM ON MSG

RANGERS		PANTHERS
21-13-4	Record	21-12-4
46 Points	Points	46 Points
7-8-3 (Road)	Home/Road Record	11-6-2 (Home)
Won 1	Streak	Won 7
Mats Zuccarello (31 Points)	Leading Scorer	Jaromir Jagr (26 Points)
20.8%	Power Play %	17.8%
80.2%	Penalty Kill %	80.0%

Tonight, the Rangers conclude a three-game road trip in Florida, as they take on the Panthers at BB&T Center. This will be the second of three games the clubs will play this season and the final tilt in South Florida. The Rangers recorded a dramatic 5-4 overtime win in their first encounter back on Nov. 1. The Blueshirts begin the night with a 21-13-4 record following a 5-2 win over the Lightning Wednesday in Tampa. The red-hot Panthers are sporting a seven-game winning streak and have improved their record to 21-12-4 after Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the Canadiens.

Mats Zuccarello scored a goal in Wednesday’s win over Tampa, giving him two goals and two assists in his past four games. The Blueshirts’ leading scorer has 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) and owns a plus-5 rating in 38 games this season. No. 36 tallied a goal and two assists in the November win over the Panthers and will be looking to repeat his exploits tonight. Looking to shut him down will be the 2015 Calder Memorial Trophy winner, Aaron Ekblad. The 19-year-old defenseman collected two assists in the last game against the Rangers and picked up another helper in Florida’s win over Montreal Tuesday. The 2014 first pick overall has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) through 37 games and is an impressive plus-12.

• One might think that 39-year-old defenseman Dan Boyle has found the fountain of youth. He closed out the month the month of December with five goals and four assists in 13 games. Boyle finished off 2015 with a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s win over the Lightning and has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) through 32 games played. The veteran blueliner is also sporting a solid plus-5 rating.

• Twenty-year-old Aleksander Barkov continues to impress this season and put on another strong performance in Tuesday’s win over the Canadiens. The second pick in the 2013 NHL Draft had a hand in all three goals the Panthers scored by tallying two goals and an assist. Barkov picked up a goal and an assist in the first game earlier this season against the Blueshirts and will be attempting to do more damage tonight. The rising star has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 27 games played.