NEW YORK RANGERS (20-9-1) CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (18-8-4)
Madison Square Garden, NYC 7:00 PM TV: NBCSN, MSG2 RADIO: WEPN 98.7 FM NY
Entering tonight's game with a three game win streak the Rangers take on the Blackhawks for the second time in five days. In the previous game Antti Raanta shutout his former team 1-0 in a goaltending battle between himself and the Hawks Scott Darling. Raanta is also coming off a 5-0 shutout of the NJ devils in which 5 different Rangers scored in the contest.
The big question tonight is who will be in net for the Rangers. Head coach Alain Vigneault said after Sunday's game that he knew who his goaltender would be, but would not divulge that information before he spoke to both his netminders. While Raanta is the hot hand and just defeated his old team, Henrik Lundqvist is 6-2-2 with a .925 SV% and a 2.19 GAA. He's allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his 10 career starts against the Blackhawks.
No other lineup changes are expected tonight for the Rangers.
Rick Nash was to resume skating yesterday on his own while rehabbing a groin injury.
NYR PREGAME TEAM STATS:
NYR TEAM LEADERS:
GOALS: MICHAEL GRABNER 13
ASSISTS: RYAN McDONAGH, DEREK STEPAN 16
POINTS: J.T. MILLER 22
+/-: MICHAEL GRABNER +19
GWG: DAN GIRARDI, BRANDON PIRRI, JIMMY VESEY, KEVIN HAYES 3
PPG: RICK NASH 4
PPP: RICK NASH, DEREK STEPAN, CHRIS KREIDER 6
GOALIE STATS:
HENRIK LUNDQVIST 12-8-1 GAA: 2.55 SV%: .912
ANTTI RAANTA 8-1-0 GAA: 1.65 SV%: .943
NYR TEAM STATS
20-9-1
2nd Overall NHL
1st Metropolitan Division
POINTS: 41 (Rank #2)
WIN%: 0.683 (Rank #2)
GOALS FOR: 105 (Rank #1)
GOALS AGAINST: 69 (Rank #7)
POWER PLAY GOALS: 21 (Rank #5)
SHORT HANDED GOALS: 4 (Rank #2)
POWER PLAY GOALS AGAINST: 11 (Rank #2)
POWER PLAY RANK: 22.58 (Rank #5)
PENALTY KILL: 85.90 (Rank #4)
SHUTOUTS: 3 (Rank #3)
EMPTY NET GOALS: 5
SHOOTOUTS: 0/1
NEW YORK RANGERS BIRTHDAY
KEVIN KLEIN Defense #8
Born: December 13, 1984; Birthplace: Kitchener, ON, CAN
NYR Alumni Birthdays December 13:
Don Johns D (1960-61,1962-65) Leo Wharton D (1944-1945)
Today in NYR History December 13:
1991 - Mark Messier recorded a hat trick and Brian Leetch registered three assists as the Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals, 5-3, in Washington.
1992: After 67 years and 535 games against Montreal, the New York Rangers finally hit double figures in a 10-5 win against the Canadiens at Madison Square Garden. New York's Doug Weight and Sergei Nemchinov each score twice against goaltender Andre Racicot, and rookie Alexei Kovalev has a goal and three assists.
1996: Wayne Gretzky tallies two assists, and Mike Richter makes 30 saves for the 15th regular season shutout of his career as the Rangers defeat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-0.
2005 - Petr Prucha tied a Rangers rookie record by registering a goal for the sixth consecutive game. Prucha registered two goals against the Vancouver Canucks at MSG,
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