Rangers vs. Penguins 3.27.16: Pregame Notes
NEW YORK RANGERS vs. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Sunday, Mar. 27, 2016, 7:30 p.m. ET
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Rangers: 43-24-8 (94 pts)
Penguins: 41-25-8 (90 pts)
TONIGHT'S GAME
The
Rangers play their 76th game of the 2015-16 season and conclude a
back-to-back set tonight, Mar. 27, against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a
Metropolitan Division matchup at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET -
TV: NBCSN; Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Blueshirts enter the contest with a
three-game winning streak. New York has earned at least one point in 11
of its last 15 games (9-4-2), including five of its last six contests
(4-1-1). The Blueshirts have won 11 of their last 18 games (11-5-2), 16
of their last 25 games (16-6-3), and 19 of their last 30 games (19-8-3).
The Rangers have also earned at least one point in 28 of their last 40
games (24-12-4), including 27 of their last 38 games (23-11-4) and 26 of
their last 36 games (22-10-4). The Blueshirts enter the contest with a
43-24-8 record this season (94 points).
RANGERS VS. PENGUINS
- All-Time: 124-107-23-11 (69-51-9-4 at home; 55-56-14-7 on the road)
- 2015-16: Tonight's game is the fourth of four meetings between the Rangers and Penguins, and the second of two meetings between the two teams at MSG. The Rangers have posted a 1-2-0 record (0-1-0 at home; 1-1-0 on the road) against Pittsburgh. The Blueshirts were defeated by the Penguins, 5-3, in the last meeting between the two teams on Mar. 13 at MSG. Derek Stepan leads all skaters with three assists and is tied for first among all skaters with three points in the season series.
- The Blueshirts have earned at least one point in 10 of their last 13 contests against the Penguins, dating back to Apr. 3, 2013 (7-3-3).
RANGERS-PENGUINS CONNECTIONS
- Glen Sather played parts of two seasons with the Penguins (1969-70 - 1970-71).
- Mike Sullivan served as an Assistant Coach with the Rangers for four seasons (2009-10 - 2012-13). Sullivan was also selected by the Rangers in the fourth round (69th overall) of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.
- Ulf Samuelsson played parts of five seasons with the Penguins (1990-91 - 1994-95) and won the Stanley Cup twice with Pittsburgh (1990-91 and 1991-92).
- Tanner Glass played two seasons with Pittsburgh (2012-13 - 2013-14).
- Dominic Moore played part of one season with the Penguins (2006-07).
- The Penguins list two former Rangers on their roster: Matt Cullen (2006-07) and Carl Hagelin (2011-12 - 2014-15).
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. PENGUINS
- Henrik Lundqvist - 58 GP, 29-21-8, 2.41 GAA, .916 SV%, 4 SO - Lundqvist's 58 career appearances against the Penguins are the most he has made against one opponent in his career. He has posted a 7-3-3 record, along with a 2.15 GAA, a .930 SV%, and 2 SO in his last 13 appearances against Pittsburgh.
- Eric Staal - 48 GP, 19-27-46 - Staal has tallied a point in 10 of his last 17 games against the Penguins, recording 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in those contests.
- Rick Nash - 23 GP, 11-8-19 - Nash has recorded a point in four of his last five games against Pittsburgh (four goals, three assists).
FINAL COUNTDOWN
Including
tonight's game, the Rangers have seven games remaining in the regular
season in 2015-16. All seven games are against Eastern Conference teams,
and five of the seven contests will be played at MSG.
WINNING WAYS
The
Rangers have earned at least 40 wins and 90 points in nine of the last
11 seasons (2005-06 - 2008-09; 2010-11 - 2011-12; 2013-14 - 2015-16).
BACK-TO-BACK
The
Blueshirts conclude their 16th back-to-back set of the 2015-16 season
tonight. The Rangers have posted an 8-5-2 record in the second game of
back-to-back sets this season. The Blueshirts have posted an 18-6-3
record in the second contest of their last 27 back-to-back sets. In
addition, the Rangers have posted a 27-12-3 record in the second game of
back-to-back sets since the start of the 2013-14 season and a 52-23-5
record in the second game of back-to-back sets since the start of the
2010-11 season.
HOME COOKING
The
Rangers have registered at least 25 home wins in two consecutive
seasons for the first time since 2007-08 and 2008-09. The Blueshirts
have earned at least one point in 16 of their last 20 home games
(14-4-2), including 14 of their last 17 home games (12-3-2). The
Rangers have earned at least one point in 28 of 36 home games in 2015-16
(25-8-3). The Blueshirts rank second in the NHL in wins (25) and points
(53) at home this season. The Rangers lead the NHL in goals per game at
home this season (3.28).
ON POINT
At
least one Blueshirts defenseman has registered a point on 33 of the
team's last 47 goals. Rangers defensemen have recorded 153 points (36
goals, 117 assists) in 2015-16 and have tallied 96 points (24 goals, 72
assists) in the last 46 games.
GOALS GALORE
The
Rangers have tallied four or more goals in each of the last three games
(14 goals), and eight different Blueshirts have recorded at least one
goal in those contests. New York ranks fifth in the NHL in goals per
game this season (2.85).
HIGH FIVE
The
Blueshirts rank second in the NHL in goal differential at 5-on-5 in
2015-16 (plus-34; 149 goals for, 115 goals against - Washington leads
the NHL; plus-36).
TWO GOOD
The
Rangers have won each of the last 24 games in which they have allowed
two goals or fewer, dating back to Dec. 15, 2015 vs. Edmonton. The
Blueshirts have allowed two goals or fewer in regulation and the five-minute overtime period in
16 of the last 25 games, in 23 of the last 40 games, and in 44 games
this season. New York has posted a 38-3-3 record when allowing two goals
or fewer in regulation/the five-minute overtime period in 2015-16. The Rangers have allowed two goals or fewer in at least half of their games in every season since 2005-06.
AV SQUAD
Alain
Vigneault enters tonight's contest with 141 regular season wins as the
Rangers’ Head Coach. He is one win away from passing Roger Neilson for
sixth place on the franchise’s all-time wins list among head coaches.
KING HENRIK
Henrik
Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in 19 of his last 31
appearances, including 16 of his last 25 appearances. He has posted a
15-8-2 record, along with a 2.23 GAA, a .928 SV%, and 2 SO in his last
25 appearances. Lundqvist has been selected as one of the game's Three
Stars (27 times), as well as the game's First Star (14 times), more
times than any other NHL player this season. Lundqvist enters the
contest with 372 career NHL wins and is tied with Andy Moog for 15th
place on the league's all-time wins list.
FINE KLEIN
Kevin
Klein enters the contest with a three-game assist/point streak (four
assists). He has recorded a point in seven of the last nine games (two
goals, seven assists), including six of the last seven games (two goals,
six assists). He is tied for first among NHL defensemen in points
(nine), is tied for second among NHL defensemen in assists (seven), and
is tied for third among NHL defensemen in plus/minus rating (plus-eight)
since Mar. 8.
WELCOME MATS
Mats
Zuccarello has notched 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in the last 25
games, including nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last
nine games. He has tallied all of his career-high 24 goals and 51 of his
57 points this season when the Rangers have either led by one goal,
trailed by one goal, or were tied in the contest. In addition, 49 of
Zuccarello's 57 points in 2015-16 have been a goal or a primary assist.
STEP-AN UP
Derek
Stepan enters the contest with a three-game point streak (two goals,
four assists). Since he returned to the Rangers' lineup on Dec. 18,
Stepan ranks second on the team in points (32) and is tied for second in
assists (20). He has notched a point in eight of the last 11 games
(four goals, nine assists), as well as 10 of the last 14 games (five
goals, 10 assists). Stepan has tallied 22 points (nine goals, 13
assists) in the last 22 games, as well as 29 points (10 goals, 19
assists) in the last 32 contests. The Rangers have posted a 40-19-6
record in games which Stepan has played this season, including a 26-4-3
record in games which he has notched a point in 2015-16.
BRASS BONANZA
Derick
Brassard enters the contest with a four-game point streak (two goals,
four assists). Brassard ranks second in the NHL (min. 10 games played)
in P/60 (3.82) and is tied for fourth in G/60 (1.91) at home this
season. He has tallied a point in 26 of 35 games at MSG this season,
recording 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists).
TOO HOT TO YANDLE
Keith
Yandle is the first Rangers defenseman to tally at least 38 assists in
one season since Brian Leetch in 2001-02. He ranks third among NHL
defensemen in primary assists this season (24). Yandle has registered a
point in 40 games in 2015-16, and he leads the Rangers in games with a
point this season.
CAPTAIN MAC
Ryan
McDonagh is one of two NHL defensemen who have recorded at least 30
points and a plus-25 rating in 2015-16 (along with Colton Parayko). He
has posted a plus/minus rating of even or better in each of the 15 games
he has played since returning from injury on Feb. 25, registering a
plus-15 rating over the span, and he leads NHL defensemen in plus/minus
rating in 2015-16 (plus-28).
KREID-ING HIGH
Chris
Kreider tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the Rangers’
win tonight against Montreal, and he has recorded six points (four
goals, two assists) in the last eight contests.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power Play:
- The Rangers were 2-for-3 (2:46) tonight at Montreal.
- New York has notched a PPG in each of the last three games (5-for-11; 45.5%), eight of the last 11 games (10-for-31; 32.3%), and in 13 of the last 21 games (16-for-53; 30.2%).
Penalty Kill:
- The Rangers were 6-for-6 (11:54) tonight at Montreal.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
- Mats Zuccarello - 1 point away from 200 in his NHL career; 3 games away from 300 in his NHL career
- Derek Stepan - 4 points away from 300 in his NHL career
INJURIES (87 Man-Games Lost to Injury)
· Dylan McIlrath (knee; injury suffered on Mar. 6) - day-to-day
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
· None
THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY
· Mar.
27, 2006 – The Rangers rallied from a 4-2 deficit at the start of the
third period to defeat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-4, in a shootout. Henrik
Lundqvist stopped all eight shots he faced in relief to earn the win,
and Jaromir Jagr registered his 52nd goal of the 2005-06 season in the
third period, tying Adam Graves’ single-season franchise record for
goals.
Mar 27 - 8:51am by MattCalamia
W2W4: Rangers vs. Penguins 3.27.16
Who: New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Sunday night at 7:30 PM
Watch: NBCSN
Listen: ESPN-98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
The Skinny:
The battle for second place in the Metropolitan Division kicks into high gear Sunday night at Madison Square Garden as the second-place Rangers (43-24-8, 94 pts) host the surging third-place Pittsburgh Penguins (41-25-8, 90 pts). New York's lead is four points and Pittsburgh owns one game in hand, making this an extremely important late-season match up, especially considering that the Penguins are at the same time trying to hold off the fourth-place Islanders who are only a point out of third. Both teams come in after holding serve and winning convincingly on the road Saturday--the Rangers beat the Canadiens 5-2 up in Montreal while the Penguins skated past the Red Wings 7-2 in Detroit. The Rangers have now won three in a row, outscoring the opposition 14-6, and are 16-6-2 since February 4. Their defensive work and goaltending has been solid this past week, their power play has scored five times in 11 opportunities in the three victories, and the Rangers top offensive players are producing. Derick Brassard has points in four straight games (2-4-6) and both Derek Stepan (2-4-6), Rick Nash (2-1-3) and Mats Zuccarello (2-2-4) have points in three straight. Keith Yandle has notched four assists in the past two games, and now has a team-high 39 on the season; and Chris Kreider scored twice and added an assist in Saturday's win. Henrik Lundqvist, who watched Antti Raanta backstop the win in Montreal, starts in goal Sunday for the Rangers, likely against Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury. Both No. 1 goalies have 33 wins on the season, while Lundqvist has a slightly better save percentage and Fleury an edge in GAA. The Penguins have won seven of their last eight games, getting back on the winning track Saturday after being shutout by Devils rookie Scott Wedgewood, 3-0, on Thursday. A season-best six-game winning streak preceded that loss to New Jersey. The Penguins hope to off set New York's strong home play, where they are 25-8-3 at MSG this season, with their current four-game road winning streak that has upped their road mark to 18-14-4 this year. Pittsburgh will be without injured star forward Evgeni Malkin and one of its top defenseman in Olli Maata, though Sidney Crosby is healthy and playing terrific hockey with points in 13 of his last 14 games and averaging better than a point per game this season (77 points in 73 games) to lead the Penguins. Crosby, who played in his 700th career game Saturday, is currently the NHL's third leading scorer, and his 31 goals are ninth most in the league.
Head To Head:
For the third time this month, and fourth and final time this regular season, the Rangers will face off with the Penguins on Sunday night. The Rangers have lost two of the three games played so far in this season series, including two straight after shutting out the Penguins 3-0 back on February 10 at the CONSOL Energy Center. Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 34 shots he faced in that contest, while Kevin Hayes, Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast (empty net) all scored for New York. Pittsburgh skated to a home ice victory in the next meeting on March 3, beating the Rangers 4-1 in a game that will be remembered for Lundqvist suffering neck spasms and also for his shoving the net into the back boards to show his displeasure with the officials. Chris Kreider scored New York’s only goal in that contest, while Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists. Two weeks ago in a Sunday matinee at Madison Square Garden Pittsburgh scored twice late in the third period to come away with a 5-3 victory. The Rangers battled back three times from one-goal deficits to tie the contest—the last time coming on a Ryan McDonagh goal 5:04 into the third period—but never were able to hold a lead in the game. Matt Cullen’s goal off the skate of New York’s Marc Staal at 11:09 of the third proved to be the game winner. Kreider and Derick Brassard also scored for the Blueshirts. Derek Stepan had two assists in the game and he leads the Rangers with three points (0-3-3) in this season series, while Sidney Crosby also has three points (2-1-3) for the Penguins.
Players to Watch:
Rangers-Chris Kreider: He hadn't scored a goal or recorded a single point in the previous five games, but Chris Kreider broke out in a big way Saturday night, producing a season-high three points, which included the second two-goal game of his season, in a 5-2 road win in Montreal. His offensive skill set was on full view as he showcased his shot with a wicked one timer from the right circle for a second-period power play goal, and then displayed his tremendous speed and power with a highlight-reel breakaway goal a couple of minutes later. Kreider now has 18 goals, three shy of his career-best set a year ago, though not quite at the level foreseen by head coach Alain Vigneault who believed 2015-16 would be Kreider's breakout season offensively. Still, Kreider has been more consistent with his scoring in the season's second half, and has largely shaken off his rough start where he scored only three goals through the first 24 games of the season. Seven of his goals have come in the past 15 games, and 12 of his 18 have been scored since January 16, meaning his production is heating up heading into the playoffs where he typically plays his strongest and best hockey. Saturday Kreider played on a line with Derick Brassard and Rick Nash as Vigneault continued to tweak his lines, and after such a productive performance by Kreider--and Brassard, who also had three points--it would reason that's where Kreider will be again Sunday against the Penguins.
Penguins-Phil Kessel: After being traded from Toronto to Pittsburgh last summer, 5-time 30-goal scorer Phil Kessel had to believe this season had the makings to be one of his best ever, given the opportunity to play with world-class talent in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Things have not quite worked out that way for Kessel, who has not exactly ingratiated himself with Penguin fans with his uneven play this year. However Kessel is still a tremendous offensive talent, and he proved that Saturday with a career-high five-point performance against the Detroit Red Wings. This should give opposing teams pause because a hot Phil Kessel, especially here in the stretch run and into the playoffs, could very well be a game changer for the Penguins. Kessel now has 22 goals, 30 assists and 52 points in 74 games, certainly respectable numbers, but not what was expected from a 28 year-old elite scorer in his prime, just liberated from a grim situation in Toronto. Kessel can score in bunches, however, and when he’s on he poses major problems for the opposition. He now has ten multiple-point games on the season; and his four assists on Saturday pushed his career total over 300, to 303. He now has 572 points in 742 career games; and Kessel will likely have the chance—perhaps against the Rangers—to play some big post-season games for the first time since 2012-13 and for only the fourth time in his career. Though he has only 22 games of playoff experience, Kessel does have 13 goals and 21 points in those 22 career games, not to mention six goals and ten points spread out over 12 games in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics while playing for Team USA. Pittsburgh may soon be seeing the true value of having acquired Phil Kessel prior to this season.
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Sunday night at 7:30 PM
Watch: NBCSN
Listen: ESPN-98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
The Skinny:
The battle for second place in the Metropolitan Division kicks into high gear Sunday night at Madison Square Garden as the second-place Rangers (43-24-8, 94 pts) host the surging third-place Pittsburgh Penguins (41-25-8, 90 pts). New York's lead is four points and Pittsburgh owns one game in hand, making this an extremely important late-season match up, especially considering that the Penguins are at the same time trying to hold off the fourth-place Islanders who are only a point out of third. Both teams come in after holding serve and winning convincingly on the road Saturday--the Rangers beat the Canadiens 5-2 up in Montreal while the Penguins skated past the Red Wings 7-2 in Detroit. The Rangers have now won three in a row, outscoring the opposition 14-6, and are 16-6-2 since February 4. Their defensive work and goaltending has been solid this past week, their power play has scored five times in 11 opportunities in the three victories, and the Rangers top offensive players are producing. Derick Brassard has points in four straight games (2-4-6) and both Derek Stepan (2-4-6), Rick Nash (2-1-3) and Mats Zuccarello (2-2-4) have points in three straight. Keith Yandle has notched four assists in the past two games, and now has a team-high 39 on the season; and Chris Kreider scored twice and added an assist in Saturday's win. Henrik Lundqvist, who watched Antti Raanta backstop the win in Montreal, starts in goal Sunday for the Rangers, likely against Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury. Both No. 1 goalies have 33 wins on the season, while Lundqvist has a slightly better save percentage and Fleury an edge in GAA. The Penguins have won seven of their last eight games, getting back on the winning track Saturday after being shutout by Devils rookie Scott Wedgewood, 3-0, on Thursday. A season-best six-game winning streak preceded that loss to New Jersey. The Penguins hope to off set New York's strong home play, where they are 25-8-3 at MSG this season, with their current four-game road winning streak that has upped their road mark to 18-14-4 this year. Pittsburgh will be without injured star forward Evgeni Malkin and one of its top defenseman in Olli Maata, though Sidney Crosby is healthy and playing terrific hockey with points in 13 of his last 14 games and averaging better than a point per game this season (77 points in 73 games) to lead the Penguins. Crosby, who played in his 700th career game Saturday, is currently the NHL's third leading scorer, and his 31 goals are ninth most in the league.
Head To Head:
For the third time this month, and fourth and final time this regular season, the Rangers will face off with the Penguins on Sunday night. The Rangers have lost two of the three games played so far in this season series, including two straight after shutting out the Penguins 3-0 back on February 10 at the CONSOL Energy Center. Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 34 shots he faced in that contest, while Kevin Hayes, Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast (empty net) all scored for New York. Pittsburgh skated to a home ice victory in the next meeting on March 3, beating the Rangers 4-1 in a game that will be remembered for Lundqvist suffering neck spasms and also for his shoving the net into the back boards to show his displeasure with the officials. Chris Kreider scored New York’s only goal in that contest, while Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists. Two weeks ago in a Sunday matinee at Madison Square Garden Pittsburgh scored twice late in the third period to come away with a 5-3 victory. The Rangers battled back three times from one-goal deficits to tie the contest—the last time coming on a Ryan McDonagh goal 5:04 into the third period—but never were able to hold a lead in the game. Matt Cullen’s goal off the skate of New York’s Marc Staal at 11:09 of the third proved to be the game winner. Kreider and Derick Brassard also scored for the Blueshirts. Derek Stepan had two assists in the game and he leads the Rangers with three points (0-3-3) in this season series, while Sidney Crosby also has three points (2-1-3) for the Penguins.
Players to Watch:
Rangers-Chris Kreider: He hadn't scored a goal or recorded a single point in the previous five games, but Chris Kreider broke out in a big way Saturday night, producing a season-high three points, which included the second two-goal game of his season, in a 5-2 road win in Montreal. His offensive skill set was on full view as he showcased his shot with a wicked one timer from the right circle for a second-period power play goal, and then displayed his tremendous speed and power with a highlight-reel breakaway goal a couple of minutes later. Kreider now has 18 goals, three shy of his career-best set a year ago, though not quite at the level foreseen by head coach Alain Vigneault who believed 2015-16 would be Kreider's breakout season offensively. Still, Kreider has been more consistent with his scoring in the season's second half, and has largely shaken off his rough start where he scored only three goals through the first 24 games of the season. Seven of his goals have come in the past 15 games, and 12 of his 18 have been scored since January 16, meaning his production is heating up heading into the playoffs where he typically plays his strongest and best hockey. Saturday Kreider played on a line with Derick Brassard and Rick Nash as Vigneault continued to tweak his lines, and after such a productive performance by Kreider--and Brassard, who also had three points--it would reason that's where Kreider will be again Sunday against the Penguins.
Penguins-Phil Kessel: After being traded from Toronto to Pittsburgh last summer, 5-time 30-goal scorer Phil Kessel had to believe this season had the makings to be one of his best ever, given the opportunity to play with world-class talent in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Things have not quite worked out that way for Kessel, who has not exactly ingratiated himself with Penguin fans with his uneven play this year. However Kessel is still a tremendous offensive talent, and he proved that Saturday with a career-high five-point performance against the Detroit Red Wings. This should give opposing teams pause because a hot Phil Kessel, especially here in the stretch run and into the playoffs, could very well be a game changer for the Penguins. Kessel now has 22 goals, 30 assists and 52 points in 74 games, certainly respectable numbers, but not what was expected from a 28 year-old elite scorer in his prime, just liberated from a grim situation in Toronto. Kessel can score in bunches, however, and when he’s on he poses major problems for the opposition. He now has ten multiple-point games on the season; and his four assists on Saturday pushed his career total over 300, to 303. He now has 572 points in 742 career games; and Kessel will likely have the chance—perhaps against the Rangers—to play some big post-season games for the first time since 2012-13 and for only the fourth time in his career. Though he has only 22 games of playoff experience, Kessel does have 13 goals and 21 points in those 22 career games, not to mention six goals and ten points spread out over 12 games in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics while playing for Team USA. Pittsburgh may soon be seeing the true value of having acquired Phil Kessel prior to this season.
Mar 27 - 8:52am by MattCalamia
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