RANGERS AT WILD GAME DAY PREVIEW 2/13

ROAD TRIP CONTINUES AS RANGERS HEAD INTO MINNESOTA

New York Rangers (27-24-5) vs Minnesota Wild (30-19-6)

TONIGHT 8:00 PM TV: MSG RADIO: ESPN NY 98.7 FM

Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, MN

Tonight the Rangers visit Minnesota for the first time this season to take on the Central Division 5th Place Wild. New York is in the midst of a four game road trip that started in Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon and ends in Ottawa on Saturday before heading home for the second of back  to back games on Sunday, taking on the Flyers at MSG.

This is the first of two meetings between the Rangers and Wild this season with the second just 10 days away at MSG on Fenruary 23rd.

The Rangers opened the road trip winning their second game in a row after dropping  five. Mats Zuccarello, Jimmy Vesey and Michael Grabner put up the offense in the 3-1 win over the Jets while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 38 shots on goal.

The Rangers currently sit in last place of the Metropolitan Division just one point behind the Islanders and Columbus and two points behind Carolina for the last wild card spot.

The Rangers list of walking wounded gained another name yesterday as they announced that defenseman Steven Kampfer will be sidelined 4-6 weeks with a fractured hand. New York recalled defenseman Ryan Sproul from Harford of the AHL to fill Kampfer’s spot. The 6’4” 205lb 25 year old D-Man has 9 goals and 9 assists in 36 games, a minus 11 rating, 26 PIM and 92 shots on goal with the Wolf Pack this season. Sproul has played 28 games in the NHL and he was a second round pick of Detroit in 2011. Sproul was acquired in October from Detroit in exchange for forward Matt Puempel. Including rookies John Gilmour and Neal Pionk. Where he slots in on the defense will be determined today once the Rangers hold practice, possibly alongside Brady Skjei who was paired with Kampfer,

Minnesota comes into tonight’s contest off a 3-0 home shutout win over the Blackhawks on Sunday and have won 3 of their last five games. The Wild are led by former Ranger Eric Staal who has 24 goals and 50 points on the season. Ryan Suter leads the team with 29 assists. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk leads the goaltending tandem with a record of 22-10-4 with a GAA of 2.60 and a .010 save percentage.

TEAM LEADERS

Rangers

POINTS: Mats Zuccarello 40

GOALS: Michael Grabner 22

ASSISTS: Mats Zuccarello 31

Wild

POINTS: Eric Staal 50

GOALS: Eric Staal 24

ASSISTS: Ryan Suter 29

Rangers Possible Lineup vs Minnesota

Forwards

Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, JT Miller
Jimmy Vesey, David Desharnais, Jesper Fast
Cody McLeod, Peter Holland, Vinni Lettieri

Defense
Brady Skjei, Ryan Sproul

Nick Holden, Tony DeAngelo

John Gilmour, Neal Pionk

Starter:

Henrik Lundqvist

Backup:

Alexander Georgiev

Scratches: Paul Carey

Rangers Injuries: Kevin Shattenkirk (knee surgery), Chris Kreider (blood clot), Ryan McDonagh (upper body), Pavel Buchnevich (concussion), Marc Staal (cervical strain), Steven Kampfer (fracured hand)