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<\/p>\nThe New York Rangers will see some familiar faces when they take the ice against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Monday night in the opener of a three-game California road trip.<\/p>\n
The Ducks, who\u2019ve won three in a row after losing nine straight games, are a second home for ex-Rangers. Center Ryan Strome and defenseman Jacob Trouba will face their former teammates, but forward Frank Vatrano is out with a broken shoulder.<\/p>\n
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Forward Chris Kreider, traded by the Rangers to Anaheim in June, missed the Ducks\u2019 two-game weekend sweep of the archrival Los Angeles Kings with an illness but said before the morning skate that he\u2019s good to go. That means he\u2019ll face his best buddy on the Rangers, center Mika Zibanejad, for the first time since No. 93 was a member of the Ottawa Senators.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. We\u2019ll see,\u201d was Kreider\u2019s answer when he was asked what it would feel like.<\/p>\n
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Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
The Ducks are trying to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017-18. They enter the week with 51 points (24-21-3), even with the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in the race for the second wild-card position in the Western Conference, though the Sharks have a game in hand on their Southern California rivals.<\/p>\n
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The Rangers, who lost 4-1 to the Ducks<\/a> at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 15, won\u2019t have to worry about shutting down Anaheim\u2019s leading scorer, forward Leo Carlsson \u2014 he\u2019s out with a thigh injury.<\/a> New York enters the game last in the Eastern Conference at 21-22-6, nine points behind the Buffalo Sabres for the second wild card.<\/p>\n 3\u00a0storylines when Rangers visit Ducks Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Can the offense keep rolling?<\/p>\n Facing the Ducks could be just what the Rangers need to build on their 6-3 road win against the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> on Saturday. Anaheim is next-to-last in the NHL defensively, allowing an average of 3.58 goals per game.<\/a> New York is 27th in scoring at 2.65 goals per game.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Artemi Panarin<\/a> and Zibanejad are riding lengthy point streaks as the Rangers begin their trip. Panarin has points in nine straight games, including two goals and assist against the Flyers. Zibanejad\u2019s point streak reached eight games when he scored three times Saturday. It was his second hat trick this month and ninth as a Ranger, tying him with Bill Cook for the team record.<\/p>\n The Ducks\u2019 penalty-killing struggles could also help Zibanejad extend the team record for power-play goals he set on Saturday, when he passed Camille Henry and Kreider with his 117th. The Ducks are 20th on the PK at 78.3 percent. Zibanejad leads the Rangers<\/a> with nine power-play goals this season.<\/p>\n Spencer Martin gets call again Kyle Ross-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Martin, a veteran journeyman goaltender, was good enough (three goals allowed on 28 shots) to beat the struggling Flyers in his first start for the Rangers. He\u2019ll be in goal against the Ducks, with Jonathan Quick likely to play against his old team, the Kings, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The 30-year-old has a 4.16 goals-against average and .852 save percentage in his three appearances with the Rangers. He won his only career start against the Ducks, an 8-5 victory on Nov. 2, 2022.<\/p>\n Goaltending has not been a strength since Igor Shesterkin went down with a lower-body injury two weeks ago. The Rangers gave up 30 goals in the five full games since Shesterkin\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n Fallout from \u201cLetter 2.0\u201d continues<\/p>\n![\"NHL:](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/45c067483a4b26f8ad499e55e3173e74.jpeg\"\/)
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