Rangers vs. Islanders 12.2.15: Pregame Notes
NEW YORK RANGERS at NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, 8:00 p.m. ET
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
Rangers: 17-6-2 (36 pts)
Islanders: 13-8-4 (30 pts)
TONIGHT'S GAME
The
Rangers play their 26th game of the 2015-16 season and begin a
back-to-back set tonight, Dec. 2, against the New York Islanders in a
Metropolitan Division matchup at Barclays Center (8:00 p.m. ET - TV:
NBCSN; Radio: ESPN 1050 AM). New York has posted a 14-4-2 record in its
last 20 games, including a 12-4-0 record in its last 16 games. In
addition, the Rangers have won 14 of their last 19 games (14-4-1). The
Blueshirts enter the contest with a 17-6-2 record this season, following
a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 30 at Madison Square
Garden.
RANGERS VS. ISLANDERS
· 2015-16:
Tonight's game is the first of four meetings between the Rangers and
Islanders, and the first of two meetings between the two teams in
Brooklyn. Following tonight's game, the Rangers and Islanders will play
against each other on the following dates: Jan. 14 (at Brooklyn), Mar. 6
(at MSG), Apr. 7 (at MSG).
· 2014-15:
The Rangers posted a 2-3-0 record (0-2-0 at home; 2-1-0 on the road)
against the Islanders. Rick Nash tied for first among all skaters - and
led the Rangers - with three goals in the season series, and he also led
the Rangers with four points. Ryan McDonagh recorded two goals in the
season series, while Derick Brassard and Chris Kreider each tallied
three points (one goal, two assists).
· HELLO BROOKLYN - The
Rangers will play their first regular season game in Brooklyn in
franchise history tonight. Prior to tonight's contest, the Rangers have
only played one regular season road game against the Islanders which did
not take place at Nassau Coliseum (Jan. 29, 2014 at Yankee Stadium;
Rangers won the game, 2-1).
· The
Blueshirts have registered at least one point in 14 of their last 19
games against the Islanders, dating back to Nov. 15, 2011 (12-5-2).
· The
Rangers have earned at least one point in eight of their last nine road
games against the Islanders, dating back to Nov. 15, 2011 (7-1-1). The
Rangers have posted a 15-5-1 record in their last 21 road games against
the Islanders, dating back to Mar. 6, 2008.
RANGERS-ISLANDERS CONNECTIONS
· Islanders Senior
Advisor to the General Manager and Assistant Coach Doug Weight played
118 regular season games and eight playoff games over parts of three
seasons with the Rangers (1990-91 - 1992-93).
· Marek Zidlicky was selected by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
· Viktor Stalberg, Mikhail Grabovski, and Nikolay Kulemin were teammates with the Maple Leafs for part of one season (2009-10).
· Mats
Zuccarello and Nikolay Kulemin were teammates with Metallurg
Magnitogorsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for one season
(2012-13).
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. ISLANDERS
· Henrik
Lundqvist - 50 GP, 29-15-5, 2.22 GAA, .921 SV%, 5 SO - In his last five
road games against the Islanders, Lundqvist has posted a 4-1-0 record,
along with a 1.58 GAA, a .950 SV%, and 1 SO.
· Rick Nash - 22 GP, 10-8-18 - Nash has registered 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his last 12 games against the Islanders.
· Derick
Brassard - 16 GP, 2-8-10 - Since he joined the Rangers, Brassard has
recorded seven points (two goals, five assists) in 11 games against the
Islanders.
· Chris Kreider - 11 GP, 3-6-9 - Kreider has tallied at least one point in six of 11 career games against the Islanders.
POINT TAKEN
In
their last 82 regular season games (since Dec. 8, 2014), the Rangers
have posted a 59-18-5 record (123 points; .750 points percentage). In
addition, the Rangers have posted a .729 points percentage since Jan. 1,
2015 (50-17-5 record). New York has posted the best record in the NHL
since Jan. 1, 2014 (95-40-13 in 148 games; .686 points percentage).
ROAD WARRIORS
The
Rangers lead the NHL in road wins (59) and road points (123) since
2013-14. Dating back to 2014-15, the Blueshirts have won 21 of their
last 28 road games (21-5-2), including 16 of their last 21 road games
(16-4-1).
TAKING THE METRO
The
Blueshirts have posted a 5-1-2 record against teams in the Metropolitan
Division this season. The Rangers have earned at least one point in 31
of their last 36 games against Metropolitan Division opponents (28-5-3)
and have won 25 of their last 32 intra-division games (25-5-2).
GOALS GALORE
The
Rangers have recorded three or more goals in four of the last six
games, in eight of the last 12 contests, and in 16 of 25 games this
season. In addition, the Blueshirts have registered four or more goals
in 11 contests in 2015-16. New York ranks seventh in the NHL in goals
per game (2.92) this season.
HIGH FIVE
The
Blueshirts lead the NHL in goal differential during 5-on-5 play this
season (plus-25). New York leads the NHL in both goals for at 5-on-5
(55) and goals against at 5-on-5 (30) this season.
WHAT A LINE
In
the 13 games Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, and Mats Zuccarello have all
played since their line was reunited on Oct. 30, the trio has registered
40 points (18 goals, 22 assists). Zuccarello has tallied 15 points
(seven goals, eight assists), Nash has recorded 13 points (seven goals,
six assists), and Brassard has notched 12 points (four goals, eight
assists) over the span. One of the three players has recorded at least
one point in 10 of the 13 games during the stretch.
TWO GOOD
The
Blueshirts have allowed two goals or fewer in 12 of their last 20 games
and in 15 of 25 games this season. New York leads the NHL in games with
two or fewer goals allowed since the start of the 2013-14 season (109).
The Rangers lead the NHL in goals against per game in 2015-16 (2.08).
AV SQUAD
Alain
Vigneault enters tonight's contest five games away from 1,000 games
coached as an NHL head coach (995 games coached; 537-347-35-76 record).
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only head coach who earned
more wins through his first 1,000 games than Vigneault has earned thus
far in his career is Scotty Bowman (598)*. Vigneault leads all Rangers
head coaches in points percentage (min. 100 games coached - .648;
115-59-15) in franchise history. He also leads all NHL head coaches in
wins (428) since the start of the 2006-07 season. Since 2009-10,
Vigneault's team has posted a 46-18-6 record in games in December. In
addition, since the start of the 2009-10 season, Vigneault's team has
posted a 213-88-35 record in games played from Dec. 1 until the end of
the regular season.
*Note: Mike Babcock has earned 535 career NHL wins through his first 974 games coached in the league
KING HENRIK
Henrik
Lundqvist leads the NHL in saves (605), ranks second in wins (13) and
SV% (.935), ranks third in even strength SV% (.947), is tied for fifth
in shutouts (two), and ranks ninth in GAA (2.10) this season. Lundqvist
enters the contest with 301 career wins in either regulation or a
five-minute overtime period, which is one win shy of establishing the
franchise record for wins not earned in a shootout (he is
currently tied with Mike Richter). Lundqvist has been selected as one of
the game's Three Stars in 14 of his 20 appearances thus far this
season.
NHL ALL-TIME WINS LEADERS
|
NHL ALL-TIME SHUTOUTS LEADERS
|
17. Rogie Vachon – 355
|
T-18. John Ross Roach – 58
|
18. Evgeni Nabokov – 353
|
T-18. Clint Benedict – 58
|
19. Henrik Lundqvist – 352
|
20. Henrik Lundqvist – 57
|
RICK ROLLING
Rick
Nash has registered six goals/points in the last six games and has
notched 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in his last 17 games.
Nash is tied for the NHL lead in goals since Nov. 21 (six).
BRASS BONANZA
Derick
Brassard has registered 15 points (six goals, nine assists) and has
posted a plus-nine rating in the last 19 games. Brassard ranks second on
the Rangers in points this season (17), and 16 of his 17 points have
either been a goal or the primary assist on a goal. He also is tied for
the team lead in primary assists in 2015-16 (nine).
WELCOME MATS
Mats
Zuccarello has tallied 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in the last 24
games, including 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in the last 19
games and 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in the last 15 contests.
He leads the Rangers in goals (11) and points (22) this season.
TOO HOT TO YANDLE
Keith
Yandle leads the Rangers in assists (12), power play assists (six), and
power play points (seven) in 2015-16. He also leads team defensemen in
points this season (13). Yandle is tied for 11th among NHL defensemen in
assists, power play assists, and power play points this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power Play:
· The Rangers were 2-for-4 (2:57) on Nov. 30 vs. Carolina.
· The Blueshirts are tied for fifth in the NHL on the power play (21.5%; 14-for-65).
· New
York has tallied a PPG in five of the last six games (6-for-20; 30.0%),
in seven of the last 10 games (8-for-28; 28.6%), in nine of the last 13
games (10-for-36; 27.8%), and in 12 of the last 19 games (13-for-49;
26.5%).
· Over the last 19 games, the Rangers are tied for third in the NHL on the power play.
Penalty Kill:
· The Rangers were 3-for-3 (4:40) on Nov. 30 vs. Carolina.
· New York ranks fifth in the NHL in penalty kill efficiency in 2015-16 (84.5%; 71-for-84).
· The Blueshirts have not allowed a PPG in 14 of the last 21 games (59-for-68; 86.8%).
UPCOMING MILESTONES
· Chris Kreider - 3 points away from 100 in his NHL career; 6 games away from 200 in his NHL career
· Alain Vigneault - 5 games away from 1,000 games coached in his NHL career
INJURIES (6 Man-Games Lost to Injury)
· Derek Stepan (broken ribs; suffered on Nov. 27) - 4-to-6 weeks
· Kevin Klein (strained oblique; suffered on Nov. 30) - 2-to-3 weeks
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
· Nov. 30 - Recalled Jayson Megna from Hartford (AHL)
· Dec. 1 - Assigned Jayson Megna to Hartford (AHL)
- On Glass being called up, "Emerson didn't practice yesterday, wasn't feeling well and didn't turn the corner so we need another forward and we thought that today's game, Glasser would be a good fit. He is playing well in Hartford so we decided to call him up."
- On Glass being called up because the game could get out of control, "I would say that is a big statement. I don't expect anything out of control but I do agree that the Isles have a physical team and play a hard game and Glasser helps in that area. In looking at the different options, and we had some options, with the way Glasser was playing we thought it was the right thing to do."
- Anything past tonight for Glass, "no, well, we will play tonight and then tomorrow."
- Is he the guy for Western Canada, "we are all going to take a look at that on Friday. We will go through these two games and then take a look at where we go from there."
- On the defense for tonight, "At this time I think we will start with the three pairs and see how they play. This is a good team, four balanced lines, they come at you hard and their D is a big part of their team, we will see how our guys are doing. We are going to have to handle the puck well tonight, get out of our end and through the neutral zone and if we do that it should be a good game."
- On John Tavares, "those top end players, you can't stop them. They are going to get looks and they are going to get chances and they are elite players, the best in the league, why fans come to the games and we will try to do our best against such a great player who plays the game hard at both ends of the ice."
- On the Isles fourth line, "we know them well and they are up and down and play the body. We will have to take some hits to make some plays and when we get an opportunity to play the man we have to do the same."
- Is Tanner here for the skate, "no, we just found out about Emerson and that he didn't turn the corner this morning."
- On Brooklyn, "It's hard to get a feel, haven't been behind the bench, I was down the elevator. It looks real nice. For us, as coaches, our room is a lot bigger than that closet we had in the past. Looks like a nice place."
- Is it tough to prepare for a building you haven't played in, "no, at the end of the day the ice is 200 x 85, same thing everywhere. Same thing, same game."
- On a road game so close to MSG, "still quite a hike this morning. A good 45 minutes and we found our way to get here."
- Is this a big game, "no doubt. Our first game against them this year, our first game against them in their new building. Two competitive teams and a good rivalry. Both teams should look at it like a big game."
New York Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton announced today that the team has recalled forward Tanner Glass from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Glass, 32, has skated in two games with the Rangers this season, posting a plus-one rating and recording four penalty minutes. Glass has also recorded 11 hits in his two games with the Blueshirts this season, and he led the team in hits in each contest.
In addition, the 6-1, 213-pounder has skated in 17 games with the Wolf Pack this season, registering two goals and three assists for five points, along with 23 penalty minutes. Glass has recorded three points (two goals, one assist) in his last eight games with the Wolf Pack, including two points (one goal, one assist) in his last five contests.
Emerson Etem is under the weather and will not play tonight against the Islanders. (NYR)
The Rangers found out for sure this morning that Etem wouldn't be able to play.
Dylan McIlrath will step into a regular role in the Rangers top six with the announcement that Kevin Klein would miss 2-3 weeks with an oblique strain.
Alain Vigneault said that McIlrath is going to get the opportunity over the next 2-3 weeks to show that he is NHL ready and that he can contribute. (NY Post)
McIlrath said that he is focusing on making sure that he prepares for a role in the top six "the right way." (The Record)
He said that his role on the ice is to be physical and to make sure that the other team knows that he is out there. (Ranger Rants)
On the season, McIlrath has played in six games, has 24 PIM, 6 shots on goal, 16 hits, 3 blocked shots, 1 giveaway and 2 fights in 13:22 per game. When McIlrath is on the ice at 5 on 5, The Rangers have had 66 shot attempts for and 68 shot attempts against, with 42 shots on goal for, 38 shots on goal against and 2 goals for and 2 goals against. (Natural Stat Trick)
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