Rangers at Oilers preview

RANGERS (28-28-12) at OILERS (30-31-7)
9 p.m. ET; SNW, MSG, ESPN+, NHL.TV

Goalie Mikko Koskinen will start for the Oilers, who are 6-2-1 in their past nine games and are seven points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the playoffs from Western Conference; Minnesota hosts the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
Goalie Alexandar Georgiev will start for the Rangers, who begin a four-game road trip. They are 1-2-4 in their past seven games and 11 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Rangers forward Ryan Strome will play at Edmonton for the first time since he was traded for forward Ryan Spooner on Nov. 16. Strome has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past 14 games, including two goals and an assist in a 4-2 win against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Oilers center Leon Draisaitl has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in a 13-game point streak, the longest active streak in the NHL. He has 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists) in his past 20 games.

They said it

"We need to put the right foot in front of us these last 14 games. They're going to be huge going into next year for building confidence and to see what kind of players can play where and who can play and who can't. You're always being evaluated in this business." -- Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux
"We feel like we have a chance, there is belief in here. We're happy with the way we're playing for the most part and it's just a matter of stringing wins together." -- Oilers forward Sam Gagner

Rangers projected lineup

Vladislav Namestnikov -- Mika Zibanejad -- Jimmy Vesey
Chris Kreider -- Ryan Strome -- Jesper Fast
Brendan Lemieux -- Brett Howden -- Pavel Buchnevich
Boo Nieves -- Lias Andersson -- Filip Chytil
Kevin Shattenkirk -- Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei -- Brendan Smith
Marc Staal -- Neal Pionk
Alexandar Georgiev
Henrik Lundqvist
Scratched:Connor Brickley, Fredrik Claesson
Injured:Libor Hajek (shoulder)

Oilers projected lineup

Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
Jujhar Khaira -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Sam Gagner
Tobias Rieder -- Colby Cave -- Alex Chiasson
Brad Malone -- Kyle Brodziak -- Josh Currie
Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse -- Kris Russell
Andrej Sekera -- Matt Benning
Mikko Koskinen
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched:Kevin Gravel, Ty Rattie, Alexander Petrovic
Injured: Jesse Puljujarvi (lower body), Milan Lucic (undisclosed)

Status report

The Rangers held an optional morning skate. … Lucic will miss his second straight game.

Stat pack

Zibanejad has two assists in his past five games after having 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in his previous 14. … Buchnevich has three goals in his past four games. … McDavid has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in a personal eight-game point streak.