Bobby Bevilacqua

The Rangers will take on the Calgary Flames for the first time this season, The Flames are in the midst of a five game losing streak, and the Rangers have won their last three games. Photo courtesy of the New York Rangers.

The Rangers (14-10-4) will look to extend their win streak to four games when they take on the recently struggling Calgary Flames (17-13-2), who have dropped their last five games.

The Rangers have not won more than three in a row this season, and they have only won that many consecutive games twice this season. Extending the streak to four games would help the Rangers start to establish the consistency that they are searching for.

New York will be playing their third game in four days, after beating the Canucks on Saturday and shutting out the Oilers on Sunday. Henrik Lundqvist started both games, and now has 12 wins this season. He also tied the league lead for shutouts with five.

The Rangers will also be without their second leading scorer in Derick Brassard, who is still out with the mumps. Brassard is the second Ranger to come down with the mumps, and is out for an indefinite amount of time.

The Rangers top line centerand second leading scorer, Derick Brassard, will miss his second consecutive game due to the mumps. There is no timetable for his return. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

During their three game win streak, the Rangers have scored 11 goals coming from nine different players. Only JT Miller and Mats Zuccarello have scored more than one goal. Four of the goals have come from defensemen, with Kevin Klein, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi all scoring once.

Matt Hunwick will be the only change in the Rangers lineup, and he will replace John Moore, who has started the last three games.

The Flames are coming off of a disheartening 2-1 loss in Chicago, wrapping up a four game road trip where they went 0-4-0. Calgary is tied for the most goals in the Western Conference with 95, but have scored just eight goals during their losing streak.

The Flames rookie Johnny Gaudreau is off to a great start, already racking up 23 points this season. gaudreau is also a good friend of Kevin Hayes, who will play agains his former BC teammate for the first time.

The player to watch for Calgary is Johnny Gaudreau, the rookie from Boston College. Gaudreau played with Rangers rookie Kevin Hayes last year, and beat Hayes for the Hobie Baker Award. Gaudreau is off to a great start, already racking up 23 points (6-17-23) in just 31 games.

Mark Giordano, the captain of the Calgary Flames, has been a big surprise this season. He has always been capable on offense, but he currently leads all NHL defensemen in scoring with 30 points (8-22-30).

For the Rangers, Kevin Hayes is one of the players to watch. Hayes will be playing against his good buddy Gaudreau for the first time, and is currently in the midst of a five-game point streak. Hayes has improved as the season has gone on, and has solidified his role as the third-line center.

Martin St. Louis is another player to watch for the Rangers. St. Louis is the third leading scorer for New York with 22 points (10-12-22). St. Louis also started his career in Calgary. The Flames signed him as an undrafted rookie for the 1998-1999 season, where he had a goal and an assist in 13 games. The next season, he played 56 games and scored three goals and 18 points.

The Rangers and the Flames will play at 9 PM at the Scotiabank Saddledome in their first of two meetings this year. The game will be broadcasted on MSG Network.

EXPECTED LINES

Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Martin St. Louis

Rick Nash-JT Miller-Mats Zuccarello

Carl Hagelin-Kevin Hayes-Lee Stempniak

Tanner Glass-Dominic Moore-Jesper Fast

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi

Marc Staal-Dan Boyle

Matt Hunwick-Kevin Klein

Henrik Lundqvist