A pair of one-goal defeats have left the Rangers on a two-game losing streak. You have to go back to Jan. 17 to find the last time the Rangers suffered a third consecutive loss.

The Rangers are 17 points better than the Kings, who are all but eliminated from the playoffs. New York has a plus 40 goal differential while the Kings are minus three.

The Kings are home and backup Anti Raanta will be in goal again for New York. But the Rangers shouldn't be an underdog.

Raanta is one of the better backups and the Kings rank 25th in goals per game. The Kings had gone five straight games of scoring fewer than three goals before breaking out in a 5-2 home win against Winnipeg two days ago. I'm not impressed as the Jets have the second-worst defense in the league.

The Rangers have the best road mark in the NHL at 26-9-1. They are 16-5 the past 21 times on the road when facing an opponent with a winning home record.