New Jersey @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 31, 2019 ) NY Rangers 4, New Jersey 3

The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils sit in seventh and eight place, respectively, in the Metropolitan Division and that lowly status is why both clubs expect to see some roster turnover by Monday's NHL trade deadline. The Devils will play for the only time away from home in a seven-game stretch when they make a short trek to visit the Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

New Jersey has won three of four to pull within four points of New York, which is 5-6-1 in its last 12 and has not posted consecutive wins since the All-Star break. The Rangers are expected to part with at least one of their two impending free agents, forwards Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes, before the deadline. "As I stand here now, guys that are on the roster will be in the lineup until I'm told differently," New York coach David Quinn said Friday. The Devils have taken a different tact, sitting top trade targets Marcus Johansson and defenseman Ben Lovejoy for Thursday's game, and are expected to hold them out Saturday.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus, MSG

ABOUT THE DEVILS (24-29-8): Goaltender Cory Schneider continued his improbable revival by making 30 saves for his first shutout of the season in Thursday's 4-0 win over Ottawa and has turned aside 79 of 80 shots in winning his last three appearances following a 21-game winless drought. Johansson, who has collected seven points in his last six games, and Lovejoy both practiced Friday and will accompany the team to Madison Square Garden. “It’s a weird spot. I’ve never been in this situation before and just going to take it for what it is,” Johansson said. “I don’t know how to put it into words."

ABOUT THE RANGERS (26-26-8): The line of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Zuccarello has been the most productive for New York, but Quinn decided to change things up in Thursday's 4-1 home loss to Minnesota, sliding Jimmy Vesey into Kreider's spot in an effort to jump-start the offense. "I was looking for something different," Quinn said. "The way things were going for most of our lines, and our game in general, I just thought, we'll try something different." Rookie netminder Alexandar Georgiev, who had his three-start winning streak snapped in Sunday's loss at Pittsburgh, will get the nod against the Devils.

OVERTIME

1. Rangers F Pavel Buchnevich has three goals in the last five games.

2. Devils F Jesper Bratt has two goals and five assists during a five-game point streak.

3. Georgiev is 5-2-0 with a 1.78 goals-against average at Madison Square Garden.

PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Devils 3