Today at 5:00 p.m. ET, the New York Rangers (19-19-2, 40 points) and Florida Panthers (15-20-5, 35 points) go head-to-head live from the BB&T Center in Florida in the third and final meeting against each other this season. The game can be live streamed here. New York fans can hear all of the action by adjusting their radios to 98.7 WEPN while Florida fans can do the same on 560 WQAM.
New York enters play looking for a sweep through Florida after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday while Florida enters play having won six of its last 10 games. The Rangers will go for the season sweep after beating the Panthers 4-3 in New York on Nov. 10 and 5-2 in Florida on Nov. 27.
The Rangers hope to get a spark on defense when Marc Staal returns after a six-game concussion that sidelined him for the last 10 games.
"I talked to [coach Alain Vigneault] and said I wanted to play, and he said I'm in," Staal said per NHL.com. "[Missing time stinks]. It's frustrating. You want to be out there helping the team win games. I'm excited to just get back out there and be a part of it on the ice again."
Sean Bergenheim was one of four goal scorers to light the lamp for the Panthers in their most recent 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens Sunday after he missed all of last season with a barrage of injuries.
"In the beginning of the season, the first 10 games, you can basically forget,'' Bergenheim told the Miami Herald. "My skating wasn't there, but it got a little bit better. I still have a ways to go, still feel my first few steps could be stronger. But I've come a long way. The training staff has been great. It's only going to get better.''
Florida has been paced by Tomas Fleischmann, who has 20 points off of five goals and 15 assists while Brian Campbell has 19 points off of five tallies and 14 helpers.
Mats Zuccarello leads New York in points with 28 off of nine goals and 19 assists while Brad Richards has nine markers and 18 helpers for 25 points and Derek Stepan has lit the lamp seven times and added 17 assists for 34 points.
Henrik Lundqvist has struggled a bit this season but was sharp in the Rangers' 4-3 win over the Lighting Sunday night.
"I take every start now as an opportunity for me to turn this around," Lundqvist said via NHL.com. "I know it's going to take more than one game, but I have to stay positive."
Lundqvist is 11-15-2 with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He'll likely be countered by Tim Thomas, who is 9-10-1 with a 2.75 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season.
The Rangers look for to sweep the series against the Panthers while the Panthers hope for their seventh win in 11 tries when the teams hit the ice at the BB&T Center tonight in Florida.
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