NHL Game Preview - St. Louis at NY Rangers

Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:00 PM EDT

The New York Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist will look to build off their first win of the season when they continue a heavy stretch of home games with a Tuesday contest against the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden.

Lundqvist rebounded from allowing five goals and being pulled after one period during the Rangers' 8-5 road loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday by making 34 saves in his 64th career shutout on Sunday, a 2-0 victory against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

"It was very important to bounce back for all of us and also the way we won the game," Lundqvist said. "This is how we have to play; you have to do every little thing right."

Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers against Montreal, his fourth goal of the season. He has scored in each of the team's first three games, including two in an opening-night loss against the Colorado Avalanche.

"There's no doubt that Mika knew we put a lot of faith in his play," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We signed him to a long-term deal, and we expected him to be an impact player on the team.

"The way he has started is the way that he has to continue. He has to continue to be a force on the ice -- a difference-maker -- and that's what we expect from him."

The Rangers play nine of their first 11, and 10 of their first 13, at home.

The Blues are completing the second half of a back-to-back, as they won 3-2 in a shootout against the New York Islanders in a Monday matinee at Barclays Center.

Lundqvist is expected to start for New York while Carter Hutton, who backed up Jake Allen on Monday, was announced as St. Louis' starter after the game.

Hutton appeared in 30 games for the Blues in 2016-17, posting a 13-8-2 record with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .913 save-percentage.

The Blues have won each of their first three games. Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and converted in the shootout for St. Louis against the Islanders to begin the New York swing.

"It's hard not to just sit there and be in awe of (Tarasenko's) shot," St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said.

The Blues defeated the Dallas Stars 4-2 on Saturday, and they edged the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in overtime Wednesday on opening night. Allen started each of St. Louis' first three games, stopping 107 of 115 shots, including 40 on Monday against the Islanders.

St. Louis led the Islanders 2-0 in the third period before New York scored twice in the final seven minutes of regulation to force overtime. The Blues also led the Penguins by two goals in the third before conceding twice, and they surrendered both goals against Dallas in the final 20 minutes.

"We have to make sure we're not getting caught in this cycle because, when the score is tied, or earlier in the game when both teams are pushing, that's when we play our best hockey," Yeo said. "We have to make sure that we continue to do that for 60 minutes."

The Rangers claimed forward Adam Cracknell off waivers on Monday from the Dallas Stars. Cracknell played under Rangers assistant coach Lindy Ruff in Dallas. New York scratched 18-year-old rookie forward Filip Chytil against the Canadiens, dressing 11 forwards, after Chytil appeared in the first two games of the season.