Music: {allcanada} JETS (12-12-4) at RANGERS (14-13-0)

Sunday, December 1, 2013

{allcanada} JETS (12-12-4) at RANGERS (14-13-0)

All I Want for Christmas

JETS (12-12-4) at RANGERS (14-13-0)

TV: TSN-JETS, MSG

Last 10: Winnipeg 5-3-2; New York 5-5-0

Season series: This is the first of two games. The Winnipeg Jets were 2-1-0 against the New York Rangers in the 2012-13 series.

Big story: Jets left wing Evander Kane (lower-body injury) was absent from practice Saturday and Sunday, and coach Claude Noel said Kane's status for Monday is questionable. Rangers forward Brad Richards looks to continue his strong performance against the Winnipeg franchise, as the alternate captain has 57 points in 53 career games versus the Atlanta Thrashers and Jets teams.

Team Scope:

Jets: Noel shook things up Saturday as he held practice at an outdoor rink in New York's Central Park, but it was back to business Sunday with a traditional indoor session. While the players took in the unique views of skating outside with the New York City skyline in the background, the back-to-back practices were much needed as the Jets tried to straighten out following a 2-1 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. Winnipeg had just two shots through the first period and was 0-for-6 on the power play.

Monday is the fourth of a six-game road trip for the Jets, who are 2-1-0 on the swing.

"It's nice to have a day like this to forget about everything for a day and just have some fun on the ice," Jets captain Andrew Ladd said of the outdoor practice.

Rangers: New York will have played exactly one-third of the 2013-14 schedule Monday and, so far, the theme for this season has been inconsistency. The Rangers achieved a three-game winning streak just twice and are 1-3-0 in their past four home games. Coach Alain Vigneault will look to build upon the performance Saturday in a 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks and former Rangers coach John Tortorella. Rookie goalie Cam Talbot made his first career start at Madison Square Garden and remained a perfect 6-0-0 in games started (6-1-0 overall), while Chris Kreider had the first hat trick of his NHL career.

The Rangers can benefit from the support of their hometown fans, who were into it from the get go Saturday.

"The crowd went crazy as soon as Kreider buried that first one," Talbot said. "They're our seventh man, we feed off their energy."

Who's Hot: Bryan Little has seven points (one goal, six assists) in the past seven games for Winnipeg. ... Kreider has three goals and an assist in his past three games for the Rangers.

Injury Report: Kane particpated in off-ice drills Sunday, while defenseman Tobias Enstrom (maintenance) skated in a portion of the full team practice. Defenseman Paul Postma (blood clot) and forward Jim Slater (surgery for sports hernia) are out indefinitely. Defensemen Zach Bogosian (groin) is on injured reserve. ... The Rangers had no injuries to report as of Sunday.

Team Stats