courtesy blueshirts united
Who: New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Monday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: ESPN-98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
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The Skinny:
The opportunity to piece together a nice run is right in front of the Rangers (29-18-5, 63 pts), who host the New Jersey Devils (26-20-7, 59 pts) Monday night at Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts have won two straight and five of their previous seven games overall, and now play four of their next five games at The Garden where they've already won 19 times so far this season, tied for the second most home victories among all NHL teams to date, a year after winning 25 times at The Garden last season. New York is 6-0-1 in its last seven at MSG, and has lost just once in regulation on home ice since December 6 (8-1-1). Saturday's 3-2 come-from-behind 3-2 shootout win over the Flyers down in Philadelphia--hot on the heels of Thursday's 4-2 comeback victory over the Minnesota Wild at MSG--gives the Rangers consecutive victories for only the second time since late November. They have not won three straight since a nine-game winning streak which ended on November 15. Whether or not they will try to extend their winning streak without team captain Ryan McDonagh is in question, however. McDonagh was knocked out of Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury following an altercation with the Flyers Wayne Simmonds in the first period and did not return. After the game head coach Alain Vigneault said holding McDonagh out was "precautionary", but nothing was said about the captain's possible availability against the Devils. In his absence Saturday the Rangers survived a 20-shot Flyers barrage in the second period to hold Philly to one shot on goal through the final 25 minutes of the third period and overtime. Four defensemen played 24 or more minutes, with Keith Yandle leading the way at 27:33, and Dan Girardi blocked six shots while Dan Boyle--who had a critical assist on Yandle's game-tying goal in the final seconds of regulation--recorded four blocks. Kevin Klein returned after missing only one game due to a fractured thumb and played just under 20 minutes. Rick Nash sat out his fifth consecutive game with a bone bruise in his left leg and is not expected to play Monday against a Devils team that has lost twice in the shootout since beating the Rangers last Tuesday, 3-2, in New Jersey. The Devils let a third period lead slip away Saturday at home in an eventual 3-2 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals after also dropping a 3-2 shootout decision in Toronto on Thursday. Despite that loss in Toronto the Devils have played well on the road this season, posting a 14-10-3 mark away from the Prudential Center. New Jersey is expected to be without its second leading scorer again as Michael Cammalleri (36 points) remains on IR with an upper body injury.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Devils clash for the second time in the span of a week when the Hudson River rivals face off Monday at The Garden. Last Tuesday, in the first game after the All Star break, the Rangers let a 2-1 third-period lead slip away in a 3-2 defeat in New Jersey. J.T. Miller scored both of New York's goals, but the Rangers allowed the Devils a pair of power play goals and lost despite outshooting New Jersey 33-25. The Rangers are 0-1-1 against the Devils so far this season since they also dropped a 2-1 overtime decision back on October 18 at MSG. The Rangers also scored first in that contest--Derek Stepan just 3:12 into play--only to eventually see the Devils win anyway. Devils goalie Cory Schneider has faced 60 shots in the two games and stopped 57 of them; and the Rangers are a combined 0-for-5 on the power play so far in the season series, which will conclude later this month when the teams hook up again in New Jersey on February 23.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Keith Yandle: Coming off a clutch tour-de-force performance Saturday afternoon against the Flyers, defenseman Keith Yandle will look to follow it up against a Devils team that he's had good success throughout his NHL career. Yandle played a season-high 27 minutes 33 seconds on Saturday, gaining more ice time after Ryan McDonagh was knocked out of the game in the first period and with the Rangers desperately trying to tie the game for much of the third period. Yandle recorded four shots on goal, led New York with 13 shot attempts, and scored the game-tying goal with just 12.9 seconds remaining in regulation on a tracer past Steve Mason. It was clearly Yandle's signature performance so far this season and came when the Rangers needed it most. However his steady production this season should not be overlooked. While it is true the team's power play--where Yandle is expected to excel--has been a major disappointment, Yandle still has managed to lead all Rangers players with 24 assists this season and he tops the team's defensemen with 28 points, which is fifth overall on the Blueshirts. Yandle is tied for third among all NHL defensemen with his 24 assists, while his 28 points rank him tied for 20th among the league's defenders. A three-time 50-point scorer, Yandle seems on his way to a sixth 40-point campaign. In 11 career games against the Devils Yandle has notched nine points (1-8-9) including an assist in two contests this year.
Devils-Adam Henrique: Though he has not quite become the star many imagined he'd become after his stellar 16-goal, 51-point rookie campaign back in 2011-12, Adam Henrique remains a solid offensive threat for the Devils and one of the cornerstones of the team. Henrique scored his 17th goal of the season in Saturday's shootout loss to the Capitals, and it was a clutch goal at the time, giving the Devils a 2-1 lead under 8 minutes into the third period. The 26 year-old Ontario native is second on the team in goals scored and is the Devils fourth leading scorer with 33 points, though he has scored only twice in the past ten games. He does have three points (1-2-3) in two games this season against the Rangers; and, of course, all Blueshirts fans remember it was Henrique's Game Six game-winning goal in overtime which eliminated New York from the 2012 Eastern Conference Final. He scored a career-high 25 goals in 2013-14 and seems set to record the second 20-goal campaign of his career this year, and with a strong finish could manage to challenge his season-best total, as well.
NYR: Brassard 18
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Monday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: ESPN-98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
****************************************
The Skinny:
The opportunity to piece together a nice run is right in front of the Rangers (29-18-5, 63 pts), who host the New Jersey Devils (26-20-7, 59 pts) Monday night at Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts have won two straight and five of their previous seven games overall, and now play four of their next five games at The Garden where they've already won 19 times so far this season, tied for the second most home victories among all NHL teams to date, a year after winning 25 times at The Garden last season. New York is 6-0-1 in its last seven at MSG, and has lost just once in regulation on home ice since December 6 (8-1-1). Saturday's 3-2 come-from-behind 3-2 shootout win over the Flyers down in Philadelphia--hot on the heels of Thursday's 4-2 comeback victory over the Minnesota Wild at MSG--gives the Rangers consecutive victories for only the second time since late November. They have not won three straight since a nine-game winning streak which ended on November 15. Whether or not they will try to extend their winning streak without team captain Ryan McDonagh is in question, however. McDonagh was knocked out of Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury following an altercation with the Flyers Wayne Simmonds in the first period and did not return. After the game head coach Alain Vigneault said holding McDonagh out was "precautionary", but nothing was said about the captain's possible availability against the Devils. In his absence Saturday the Rangers survived a 20-shot Flyers barrage in the second period to hold Philly to one shot on goal through the final 25 minutes of the third period and overtime. Four defensemen played 24 or more minutes, with Keith Yandle leading the way at 27:33, and Dan Girardi blocked six shots while Dan Boyle--who had a critical assist on Yandle's game-tying goal in the final seconds of regulation--recorded four blocks. Kevin Klein returned after missing only one game due to a fractured thumb and played just under 20 minutes. Rick Nash sat out his fifth consecutive game with a bone bruise in his left leg and is not expected to play Monday against a Devils team that has lost twice in the shootout since beating the Rangers last Tuesday, 3-2, in New Jersey. The Devils let a third period lead slip away Saturday at home in an eventual 3-2 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals after also dropping a 3-2 shootout decision in Toronto on Thursday. Despite that loss in Toronto the Devils have played well on the road this season, posting a 14-10-3 mark away from the Prudential Center. New Jersey is expected to be without its second leading scorer again as Michael Cammalleri (36 points) remains on IR with an upper body injury.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Devils clash for the second time in the span of a week when the Hudson River rivals face off Monday at The Garden. Last Tuesday, in the first game after the All Star break, the Rangers let a 2-1 third-period lead slip away in a 3-2 defeat in New Jersey. J.T. Miller scored both of New York's goals, but the Rangers allowed the Devils a pair of power play goals and lost despite outshooting New Jersey 33-25. The Rangers are 0-1-1 against the Devils so far this season since they also dropped a 2-1 overtime decision back on October 18 at MSG. The Rangers also scored first in that contest--Derek Stepan just 3:12 into play--only to eventually see the Devils win anyway. Devils goalie Cory Schneider has faced 60 shots in the two games and stopped 57 of them; and the Rangers are a combined 0-for-5 on the power play so far in the season series, which will conclude later this month when the teams hook up again in New Jersey on February 23.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Keith Yandle: Coming off a clutch tour-de-force performance Saturday afternoon against the Flyers, defenseman Keith Yandle will look to follow it up against a Devils team that he's had good success throughout his NHL career. Yandle played a season-high 27 minutes 33 seconds on Saturday, gaining more ice time after Ryan McDonagh was knocked out of the game in the first period and with the Rangers desperately trying to tie the game for much of the third period. Yandle recorded four shots on goal, led New York with 13 shot attempts, and scored the game-tying goal with just 12.9 seconds remaining in regulation on a tracer past Steve Mason. It was clearly Yandle's signature performance so far this season and came when the Rangers needed it most. However his steady production this season should not be overlooked. While it is true the team's power play--where Yandle is expected to excel--has been a major disappointment, Yandle still has managed to lead all Rangers players with 24 assists this season and he tops the team's defensemen with 28 points, which is fifth overall on the Blueshirts. Yandle is tied for third among all NHL defensemen with his 24 assists, while his 28 points rank him tied for 20th among the league's defenders. A three-time 50-point scorer, Yandle seems on his way to a sixth 40-point campaign. In 11 career games against the Devils Yandle has notched nine points (1-8-9) including an assist in two contests this year.
Devils-Adam Henrique: Though he has not quite become the star many imagined he'd become after his stellar 16-goal, 51-point rookie campaign back in 2011-12, Adam Henrique remains a solid offensive threat for the Devils and one of the cornerstones of the team. Henrique scored his 17th goal of the season in Saturday's shootout loss to the Capitals, and it was a clutch goal at the time, giving the Devils a 2-1 lead under 8 minutes into the third period. The 26 year-old Ontario native is second on the team in goals scored and is the Devils fourth leading scorer with 33 points, though he has scored only twice in the past ten games. He does have three points (1-2-3) in two games this season against the Rangers; and, of course, all Blueshirts fans remember it was Henrique's Game Six game-winning goal in overtime which eliminated New York from the 2012 Eastern Conference Final. He scored a career-high 25 goals in 2013-14 and seems set to record the second 20-goal campaign of his career this year, and with a strong finish could manage to challenge his season-best total, as well.
Team Leaders
Goals:
NJD: Palmieri 20
NYR: Zuccarello
Shots:
NJD: Palmieri 128
Hits:
Assists:
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