New York and St. Louis meet for non-conference showdown
St. Louis Blues (41-27-8, third in the Central Division) vs. New York Rangers (29-34-13, seventh in the Metropolitan Division)
New York; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: New York faces St. Louis at Madison Square Garden in a non-conference matchup.
The Rangers are 17-13-8 on their home ice. New York serves 10.2 penalty minutes per game, the most in the league. Brendan Smith leads the team serving 61 total minutes.
The Blues have gone 20-12-6 away from home. St. Louis has converted on 20.5 percent of power-play opportunities, recording 46 power-play goals. In their last matchup on Dec. 31, New York won 2-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mika Zibanejad leads the Rangers with 30 goals, adding 40 assists and totaling 70 points. Pavel Buchnevich has totaled five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for New York.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blues: 6-2-2, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.9 assists, 2.4 penalties and 5.4 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game with a .936 save percentage.
Rangers: 2-6-2, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.7 assists, 4.3 penalties and 11.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with a .905 save percentage.
Rangers Injuries: Chris Kreider: day to day (lower body), Marc Staal: day to day (lower body), Jesper Fast: out for season (upper body).
Blues Injuries: Sammy Blais: out (undisclosed), Joel Edmundson: out (lower body).
