Florida travels to New York for Panthers-Rangers matchup
Florida Panthers (7-4-5, fifth in the Atlantic Division) vs. New York Rangers (7-6-1, sixth in the Metropolitan Division)
New York; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Rangers host the Florida Panthers.
The Rangers are 5-4-0 against Eastern Conference opponents. New York averages 11.3 penalty minutes per game, the third-most in the NHL. Brendan Lemieux leads the team serving 26 total minutes.
The Panthers are 4-3-3 in Eastern Conference play. Florida is sixth in the league averaging 3.4 goals per game, led by Jonathan Huberdeau with nine.
The matchup Sunday is the first meeting this season for the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ryan Strome leads the Rangers with a plus-six in 14 games played this season. Pavel Buchnevich has totaled seven assists over the last 10 games for New York.
Brett Connolly leads the Panthers with a plus-3 in 16 games played this season. Aleksander Barkov Jr. has recorded 15 points over the last 10 games for Florida.
LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 5-2-3, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.1 assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while allowing 3.3 goals per game with a .889 save percentage.
Rangers: 5-4-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.6 assists, 4.5 penalties and 11.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .920 save percentage.
Rangers Injuries: Mika Zibanejad: day to day (upper body), Marc Staal: out (ankle).
Panthers Injuries: Noel Acciari: day to day (lower body), Jayce Hawryluk: out (upper body).
