The New York Rangers saw a 10-game point streak ended as they were outbattled by the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
However, they will be confident of bouncing back when the Carolina Hurricanes visit on Tuesday night, with the Canes struggling for consistency.
The Rangers sit three points outside the Wild Card places thanks to a miserable run of form earlier in the season, but they looked to have put that behind them as they put together a 7-0-3 streak prior to facing Colorado.
They showed plenty of heart in that game, coming back from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits, only for Artturi Lehkonen to seal it for the visitors with 15 seconds remaining in regulation time.
That should have them eager to put things right and there is no doubting their home form having already beaten the Senators 5-0 and Flyers 6-1 at Madison Square Garden during their current home stand.
Tuesday's visitors Carolina are comfortably in the playoff structure but are seven points behind Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference leaders Washington and need to find some consistency if they are to put any pressure on the Capitals.
Road form has been a particular concern for Rod Brind'Amour's side, they squandered a 2-0 lead to the New York Islanders before losing in overtime to start their current trip.
They are 4-4-2 in their last 10 on the road and while they have won both clashes with their division-rival Rangers this season, those meetings both came when the Blueshirts were in the midst of their lull.
Alexis Lafreniere hasn't quite worked out as expected for a first overall draft pick, but he registered 28 regular-season goals for the Rangers last season and added eight more in 16 playoff games.
The 23-year-old has found his form lately, putting together a four-game points streak (two goals, three assists) and looks a decent play to keep that run going.
Lafreniere has failed to make an offensive contribution in only four of his last 11 appearances and scored twice in a narrow 5-4 loss to Dallas earlier this month.
The winger plays on the top line along with 21-goal scorer Artemi Panarin and has also registered two points on the powerplay in his last three games, so should get plenty of opportunities given the Rangers red-hot offense.
Mikko Rantanen made his first appearance for the Hurricanes in the OT loss to the Islanders.
The winger was the biggest part of a huge three-way trade between the Hurricanes, Blackhawks and Rantanen's former team the Colorado Avalanche which saw the Canes part ways with their leading pointscorer Martin Necas.
The Finn was kept off the scoresheet in that game, but he saw almost 19 minutes of ice-time and registered five shots on goal against the Islanders.
Rantanen should feel much more at home after that experience and can be expected to be a huge danger for the Canes again when they face the Rangers.
That was the third time in his last six games that Rantanen had put at least five shots on net, and he looks worth backing to have four or more shots on goal on Tuesday night.
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Carolina Hurricanes | -140 ML |
New York Rangers | +120 ML |
Puck Line | CAR -1.5 (+175) |
Total | O/U 6.0 |
Mikko Rantanen (CAR Hurricanes) | +135 |
Sebastian Aho (CAR Hurricanes) | +165 |
Artemi Panarin (NY Rangers) | +190 |
Chris Kreider (NY Rangers) | +210 |
Vincent Trocheck (NY Rangers) | +260 |
Andrei Svechnikov (CAR Hurricanes) | +275 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.