Rangers Close Trip With Matchup With Stars in Dallas

Rangers (25-22-5, 55 pts) at Stars (30-19-4, 64 pts)

8:30 pm, American Airlines Center, Dallas

MSG Network; ESPN 98.7 FM

The Rangers dropped the first and only meeting between the two teams back on Dec. 11, a 2-1 Dallas victory in a shootout. Ondrej Pavelec made 44 saves that night to secure a point for the Blueshirts.
The Stars enter tonight's game in the first wild card spot in the Western Conference with 64 points, though they're just three points behind St. Louis for the third spot in the Central Division thanks to a stretch of 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
Dallas is coming off a 6-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. That high-powered offense has scored 165 goals in 53 games, the third-most in the Western Conference.
Alexander Radulov leads the team with 50 points, followed by the resurgent John Klingberg's 50, including 44 assists. Tyler Seguin leads the team with 25 goals, one of three players - including captain Jamie Benn - to reach the 20-goal plateau this season.
Ben Bishop is expected to get the start for Dallas, and he's 21-14-3 with a .917 SV% and four shutouts during his first season with the Stars.

Players to Watch

Rick Nash has registered seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last four games against the Stars, and he has also recorded 29 points (17 goals, 12 assists) in his last 28 contests against Dallas.
Klingberg has been one of the best offensive-defensemen in the NHL since he debuted for the 2014-15 season, and is having the best season of his young career. The 25-year-old followed up his 40-point rookie campaign with 58 as a sophomore before dipping down to 49 a year ago. His 50 points in 53 games are his best point-per game ratio yet, and barring an injury, he'll set new career-highs in assists and points.

Inside the Numbers

The Rangers have won three of their last five games against Dallas and have earned at least one point in five of the last six meetings between the two teams (3-1-2 record). The Blueshirts have earned at least one point in nine of their last 12 contests against the Stars, dating back to Jan. 6, 2010 (7-3-2 record).