Florida (30-22-8) at NY Rangers (31-23-8), 7:00 pm EST
NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Defenseman Wade Redden snapped a 57-game
goal-scoring slump in John Tortorella's debut with the New York
Rangers. Captain Chris Drury hopes its his turn this time.
Drury will attempt to end a career-long, 16-game drought when
the Rangers host the Florida Panthers on Thursday in a battle of
Eastern Conference teams looking to hold onto a playoff spot.
The 32-year-old Drury assisted on Redden's first goal in over
four months, but New York suffered a 2-1 shootout loss to the
Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday in the conclusion of a
home-and-home series.
It marked the first game behind the Rangers' bench for
Tortorella, who replaced fired Tom Renney on Monday.
New York has lost 11 of its last 13 contests (2-7-4). As a
result, the Rangers have slipped to sixth place in the Eastern
Conference - two points in front of the seventh-place Panthers.
Florida is coming off Tuesday's 6-1 thrashing by the Boston
Bruins. Kamil Kreps netted the lone goal for the Panthers, who
own the second-worst power-play unit in the East - ahead of only
the Rangers.