Preview: Rangers Finish Road Trip in Minnesota Against Wild

The Rangers (27-24-5, 59 pts) at Wild (30-19-6, 66 pts)

8 pm; Xcel Energy Center, Minnesota

MSG Network; ESPN 98.7 FM

Tuesday's meeting between the Rangers and Wild is the first of two this season, with the squads reconvening on Feb. 23 at The Garden.
Minnesota enters play 6-2-2 in their last 10, and one point up on Los Angeles for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The Wild have points in three straight, including a 6-2 win over St. Louis on Tuesday and a 3-0 shutout Saturday night against the Chicago Blackhawks that sandwiched a 4-3 overtime defeat against Arizona.
Former Ranger Eric Staal leads the club with 24 goals and 50 points, followed by Mikael Granlund's 43 points in 50 games. Defenseman Ryan Suter leads the club with 29 assists.
Goaltender Devan Dubnyk is 22-10-4 with a 2.60 GAA and a .919 SV% with four shutouts. He was named the NHL's third star of the week on Monday.

Players to Watch

Mats Zuccarello scored New York's first goal in the first period Sunday, snapping a long goal drought in the process. Zuccarello is riding a three-game assist/ point streak against the Wild with six helpers and a plus-five rating over that span.
Forward Zach Parise's season did not begin until Jan. 2, and the former Devil is now just beginning to find his stride with the Wild. He enters Tuesday's tilt with the Rangers on a three-game assist streak.

Say What?

"It's something that you want to cherish and take it all in. I'm so pumped about it." - Vinni Lettieri on playing in Minnesota for first time in NHL.

Inside the Numbers

The Rangers have won six of their last nine games against Minnesota, dating back to Mar. 27, 2012 (6-3-0 record over the span).