Rangers at Penguins preview

RANGERS (25-24-8) at PENGUINS (30-21-7)
12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVAS

The Penguins lost 5-4 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday after winning their previous two games. They are 5-8-1 in their past 14 games and trail the Carolina Hurricanes by one point for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers are 7-4-1 in their past 12 games but have alternated wins and losses during their past six (3-2-1). They are 10 points behind the Hurricanes for the second wild card.

Players to watch

Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in his past eight games and 21 (13 goals, eight assists) in his past 14 games.
Penguins center Sidney Crosby has eight points (two goals, six assists) during a four-game point streak and 33 (10 goals, 23 assists) in his past 25 games.

They said it

"You just really are dialed in and going day to day. ... There a lot of times that I don't know what day it is. I don't know the date. I didn't know it was Valentine's Day the other day until I woke up in the morning." -- Rangers coach David Quinn on remaining focused
"Our approach has to be just building on the process, focusing on the process, and making sure we get better for the next game." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey -- Kevin Hayes -- Pavel Buchnevich
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Ryan Strome -- Jesper Fast
Filip Chytil -- Boo Nieves -- Connor Brickley
Marc Staal -- Neal Pionk
Fredrik Claesson -- Adam McQuaid
Brendan Smith -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Alexandar Georgiev
Henrik Lundqvist
Scratched: Tony DeAngelo
Injured: Brady Skjei (upper body), Brett Howden (MCL sprain)

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Phil Kessel -- Evgeni Malkin -- Nick Bjugstad
Teddy Blueger -- Jared McCann -- Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese -- Matt Cullen -- Garrett Wilson
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Jack Johnson -- Justin Schultz
Marcus Pettersson -- Chad Ruhwedel
Casey DeSmith
Matt Murray
Scratched: Dominik Simon, Tanner Pearson, Juuso Riikola
Injured: Olli Maatta (upper body)

Status report

Claesson is expected to play after missing 13 games with a shoulder injury. ... Quinn said Skjei would be a game-time decision. ... DeSmith could start after making seven saves in the third period Saturday. He relieved Murray, who made 19 saves on 24 shots.

Stat pack

Zuccarello has five assists during a three-game point streak and 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in his past 13 games. ... Crosby needs three goals to tie Jaromir Jagr for second most in Penguins history (439). Mario Lemieux is first with 690 goals in 915 games.