Surging Rangers return home to face Jets

NEW YORK -- For two-plus weeks, the New York Rangers knew trades would happen and were waiting to see who would be leaving the team.

As the buildup to the deadline occurred, the losses piled up.

Then a funny thing started happening after the deadline -- the Rangers began winning again and inching closer in the playoff race.

After an unlikely three-game sweep through western Canada, the Rangers host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The last time the Rangers took the ice at home was Feb. 25 when they dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Detroit Red Wings. It was their seventh straight defeat and occurred hours after Rick Nash was traded to Boston.

The next day, Ryan McDonagh was traded to Tampa Bay, capping a week where Nick Holden was dealt to Boston and Michael Grabner was traded to New Jersey. It was part of a rebuild the team essentially made official in a letter to season ticket-holders on Feb. 8.

However, since the trades, the Rangers (30-30-6) are five points behind Columbus for the second wild-card spot. They opened the trip with a 6-5 overtime win in Vancouver on Tuesday that was followed with a 3-1 victory at Calgary on Friday and a 3-2 win at Edmonton on Saturday.

It is New York's first three-game winning streak since Dec. 15-19. The Rangers followed that three-game streak by going 8-18-3 in their next 27 games.

"For weeks, I think a lot of us were waiting for a big (trade deadline) day, especially me," Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist told reporters. "It's tough to be in the right mindset. It is what it is now, and you try to make the most (of the situation). You try to have fun, as well. It's been a few weeks where it's been tough, and no fun at all."

Lundqvist stopped 100 of 106 shots in the wins over Vancouver and Calgary and then watched rookie Alexandar Georgiev make 35 saves Saturday.

Lundqvist will likely return to the nets in his first home appearance since turning 36 on Thursday. He has allowed 20 goals in his last five home appearances while the Rangers are 4-7-1 in their last 12 home games.

This week could also go a long way toward determining if the Rangers can make the playoffs. After facing the third-best team in the West, the Rangers visit league-leading Tampa Bay, Florida before hosting Carolina and Pittsburgh next week.

"You know it's a long shot," New York defenseman Marc Staal told reporters. "I think what the (road trip) does is give us some confidence, lets us enjoy coming to the rink knowing that we can compete in some games with the guys we have now, knowing we can win some games. And now, we just see where it goes."

First, the Rangers must figure out how to stop Patrik Laine, who has three multi-goal games in his last four games and enters with an eight-game point streak. He has 10 goals and six assists in those games after getting two goals and an assist in Sunday's 3-2 win at Carolina.

The Jets are 6-2 during Laine's streak, which continued when he scored early in the first and second periods and set up Paul Stastny's goal midway through the third.

"I think I just tried to work hard every shift and I think when you work hard you're going to get rewarded," Laine told reporters. "I've been working really hard and now I'm just getting rewarded. Things are going great."

Things would be going better for the Jets if Nashville started losing. Laine's point streak coincides with the Predators' eight-game winning streak and the Jets are six games out of first place in the Central Division and Western Conference.

The Jets also are 4-0-1 in their last five road games and 9-3-1 when Laine gets a multi-point game this season.

The 19-year-old enters Tuesday with 35 goals this season and 71 for his career, which is the sixth-highest total by a teenager in NHL history. He passed Steve Yzerman on Sunday and is four points shy of Sidney Crosby in a category where the record is held by Jimmy Carson, who scored 92 times in his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings.

Besides Laine others are hot for the Jets, who can get their 40th win Tuesday.

Blake Wheeler has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in his last 12 games, Mark Scheifele has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his last nine games. Nikolaj Ehlers has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his last eight.

The Rangers took the first meeting 3-1 on Feb. 11 in Winnipeg when Jimmy Vesey scored in the third period. New York is 10-5-1 in the series since the Jets moved from Atlanta after the 2010-11 season.