Tonight at 6 p.m. ET, the New York Rangers (19-11-4, 42 points) and Florida Panthers (16-9-9, 41 points) take the ice to close out 2014 with their first of three meetings this season live from the BB&T Center in Florida. The game can be live streamed here. New York fans can hear all of the action on 98.7 WEPN while Florida fans can do the same on WFLA 970.
New York has been on a role lately, but it had its eight-game winning streak snapped last time out while Florida has won two of its last three games.
This is an important game in the standings as the Rangers own the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference while the Panthers are just one point behind them.
New York is coming off of a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Monday and will look to begin a new winning streak.
"It was a hard game," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault told NHL.com. "Both teams battled hard. Both teams had some great looks. I think what probably made the difference a little bit is our inability to get through the neutral zone or their ability to stop us from getting through."
Rangers forward Rick Nash is second in the NHL with 23 goals and paces New York with 36 points. Derick Brassard is second on the team with 27 points off of eight tallies and 19 assists while Martin St. Louis has found the twine 11 times and added 15 helpers for 26 points.
The Panthers play their second match in as many nights and are coming off of a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Jonathan Huberdeau's sister, Josiane, sang "O Canada" before the game.
"It was a good moment," Huberdeau told NHL.com. "I'm proud of her and it was just nice to see her on the ice too."
Nick Bjugstad leads the Panthers with 21 points off of 13 goals and eight assists while Aaron Ekblad has lit the lamp five times and added 15 helpers for 20 points. Jussi Jokinen has four markers and 15 helpers for 19 points.
In net, Florida is slated to turn to Al Montoya and the backup is 2-2-2 this season with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.
New York will likely counter with Henrik Lundqvist and he is 16-8-3 with a 2.41 GAA and a .931 save percentage.
The Rangers and Panthers close out their 2014s with a New Year's Eve slate live from the BB&T Center in Florida.
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