New York @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 14, 2018 ) Arizona 4, NY Rangers 3

The one constant for the New York Rangers for more than the past decade has been their goaltending, primarily due to the sustained excellence of Henrik Lundqvist since he joined the club in 2005-06. The Rangers are in need of a strong performance from Lundqvist when they continue a three-game road trip Sunday afternoon at the Arizona Coyotes.

Lundqvist was pierced for six goals by Pittsburgh in his first start of the new year and backup Alexandar Georgiev surrendered the same total in Friday's drubbing at Colorado, a game in which the Avalanche had a staggering 10 power plays. "... You have zero chance to win a hockey game that way," New York coach David Quinn told reporters. "I've never been part of a game where you take (10) penalties and have to kill over 20 minutes of penalties in a game." The Coyotes dropped their third game in a row Friday, falling 3-2 in a shootout to New Jersey as their offensive woes continued. "They've worked hard the last two games, I don't care what anybody says. They've tried," coach Rick Tocchet told reporters after Arizona was limited to two goals or fewer for the seventh time in 10 games.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FS Arizona

ABOUT THE RANGERS (17-16-7): Center Kevin Hayes, who had a nine-game point streak snapped in a 2-1 victory at St. Louis on New Year's Eve, sat out Friday's loss due to an upper-body injury and was termed day-to-day by Quinn. Hayes scored one goal and set up another in last month's 4-3 overtime loss to the Coyotes, a game in which the Rangers squandered a three-goal lead to end their nine-game winning streak in the series. Although Lundqvist was victimized for four goals in last month's matchup, he has dominated Arizona in 10 career starts, posting an 8-1-1 record and 2.14 goals-against average

ABOUT THE COYOTES (17-21-3): Arizona has dropped 11 of its last 15 (4-10-1) since ripping off four straight wins as November turned into December and Tocchet pointed to a injuries as the main culprit. "When we were healthy we were playing well," Tocchet told reporters. "Obviously this rash of injuries (arrives) and then all of a sudden people get played in different positions and stuff like that. ... You can tell the skill level wasn't there sometimes, so we're just grinding away." Leading scorer Clayton Keller, the team's lone selection for the All-Star Game, is mired in a 16-game goal-scoring drought dating to Dec. 1.

OVERTIME

1. The Rangers have won in their last four visits to Arizona.

2. Ex-Ranger Derek Stepan had a goal and an assist against New York last month, matching his output in his last 10 games.

3. New York is 9-6-3 against the Western Conference this season.

PREDICTION: Rangers 3, Coyotes 2