Wild 4 - 5 Rangers
Final
  for this game

Wild aim for 3rd straight win vs. Rangers

Oct 27, 2014 - 4:20 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Minnesota Wild will shoot for their first three-game winning streak of the season when they visit the New York Rangers for Monday's clash at Madison Square Garden.

The Wild have won four of six games to begin the season. Mike Yeo's club started 2-0, then lost two straight in regulation before notching recent home victories over Arizona and Tampa Bay.

Minnesota improved to 3-0 on home ice with Saturday's impressive rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jason Zucker netted two goals to help the Wild cruise past the Bolts, 7-2. The Wild hope to carry the momentum into tonight's test on the road, but the club is just 1-2-0 as the visiting team this season.

The Wild scored four times on eight shots in the first period and had six different players -- Zucker, Zach Parise, Marco Scandella, Mikko Koivu, Erik Haula and Jared Spurgeon -- light the lamp.

"We have a good team here. Good chemistry," Scandella said. "We just have to keep it going."

Darcy Kuemper, fresh off his third shutout of the season in Thursday's 2-0 win over Arizona, only needed to make 17 saves in the blowout victory. Kuemper expects to start tonight and won his only career outing against the Rangers, stopping 29-of-30 shots in a 2-1 home victory on March 13.

Wild defensemen Keith Ballard and Christian Folin missed Saturday's test with flu-like symptoms and also will sit out tonight.

Minnesota is playing two straight on the road beginning tonight and will visit the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

The Rangers hope to get back in the win column Monday after having their longest winning streak of the season snapped on Saturday. New York had won three in a row before dropping a 3-1 decision in Montreal, as the Canadiens exacted a small measure of revenge for last spring's loss in the Eastern Conference finals.

In the first meeting between Montreal and the Rangers since last year's Eastern Conference finals, Carey Price turned away 34-of-35 shots to anchor his Canadiens in victory. Price, of course, sustained a knee injury in Game 1 of the 2014 East finals and missed the remainder of the series.

Only Carl Hagelin was able to beat Price on Saturday, scoring a first-period goal to tie the score at 1-1. Meanwhile, Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist couldn't match Price's performance, finishing with 27 saves.

"As far as the goalies are concerned, their's was better than ours," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault remarked. "We didn't have a second chance to score against Price."

Lundqvist and the Rangers hopes to bounce back this evening in NYC. The club's star goaltender expects to start tonight and is 3-3-0 with a 2.76 goals against average in six career games versus Minnesota.

The Rangers begin a home-heavy portion of their schedule tonight, as the club is scheduled to play four straight and seven of their next eight at MSG. New York has 2-2-0 records at both home and on the road in 2014-15.

Minnesota halted a two-game skid against the Rangers last March, but New York has won three of the past five encounters. The Blueshirts also have claimed three of the last four meetings in the Big Apple.






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