WJC 2019 Prospect Report - Day 4

Here is how Rangers prospects performed in Day Four of the 2019 World Junior Championship on Wednesday:

Nico Gross recorded an assist and two penalty minutes, along with one shot on goal and a plus-1 rating in 19:17 of ice time in Switzerland’s 4-0 win over Denmark.

Nils Lundkvist recorded a minus-1 rating in 18:40 if ice time in Sweden’s 5-4 win over the USA.

K’Andre Miller recorded one shot on goal, and recorded a minus-2 rating in 17:39 of ice time in the USA’s 5-4 loss to Sweden.

Fast scores twice, Rangers beat Predators 4-3

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Jesper Fast made an immediate impact in his return to the New York lineup after missing five games due to an upper body injury.

Fast scored two goals, including the game winner, and added an assist as the Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist, Marc Stall added a score and Mika Zibanejad had a career-high four assists for the Rangers, who earned their first road win in regulation this season. Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves.

"I'm not scoring the goals, I'm just trying to set them up," said Zibanejad, who centered a line with Kreider and Fast. "We've been playing together before and it was really clicking back then. We just went back to how we played. We find each other pretty well out there. It's nice to see (Fast) come back and get a couple."

Nick Bonino scored a pair of power-play goals and Kevin Fiala also scored and had two assists for the Predators, who have lost six straight. Pekka Rinne made 18 saves.

"You can't lose six in a row," Bonino said. "Not in this league, not in this division, not with the parity there is. Just gotta get better."

The Rangers were trailing 3-2 entering the third, but Staal and Fast scored in just over a three-minute span early in the period, giving New York the lead.

Staal converted a wrist shot from the slot off of a 3-on-2 rush at 4:23, then Fast scored his second of the night off a slap shot from the slot to make it 4-3.

"There's a lot of different ways to win hockey games, and each game presents a different challenge," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "This one presented a challenge of being down 3-2, getting two goals in the third and then having to kill a penalty at a key time and doing a great job on the 6-on-5."

Lundqvist stopped a one-timer off the stick of Nashville captain Roman Josi with 23.2 remaining in the game with Rinne lifted for an extra attacker to preserve the win.

"It was definitely a battle, but it was a fun game to play," Lundqvist said. "They're a good team. They're pretty balanced - good forwards, really good D, they move the puck well."

Kreider scored the game's first goal at 2:42 of the opening period on a power play.

Above the right circle, Zibanejad faked a slap shot and then sent a pass to Kreider, who was just above the goal line to Rinne's right, where he was able to deflect the puck over the shoulder of the Finnish keeper.

Kreider's 20 goals lead the Rangers. He has scored in four consecutive games and five of his last six.

The goal came just seven seconds after Predators coach Peter Laviolette was assessed a bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Laviolette was unhappy with a hit former Predators player Cody McLeod delivered to defenseman P.K. Subban deep in the Nashville zone.

"It's a loss," Laviolette said. "It's tough. They're mounting. We've got to put an end to it. We did enough good things through the course of the game. We got ourselves a lead going into the third. I think that's what makes it a tough one to swallow because typically we're good in that situation."

Bonino tied the game at 1-all at 8:43 of the first.

From the left faceoff dot, Fiala sent a pass to Mattias Ekholm at the middle of the blue line. There, the Swedish defenseman sent a one-timer toward the Rangers net and Bonino was there to redirect the shot past Lundqvist.

New York made it 2-1 at 3:51 of the second. From behind the Nashville net, Zibanejad sent a pass to Fast, who was alone in the slot. He beat Rinne with a quick shot on the blocker side.

Fiala tied the game again at 4:44 of the second with an unassisted goal.

Driving down the right side on a 2-on-1, Fiala snapped a wrist shot low to Lundqvist's far side.

Bonino's second power-play goal of the game gave Nashville its first lead at 10:35 of the second after converting a rebound of his own shot at 10:35.

NOTES: Nashville C Kyle Turris missed the game with a lower-body injury. ...The Predators sold out all 51 home games they played at Bridgestone Arena in calendar year 2018. ... Rangers RW Kevin Hayes picked up one assist, extending his career-long point scoring streak to nine games. ... New York is 9-6-6 when scoring first this season.

UP NEXT:

Rangers: Visit St. Louis Blues on Monday.

Predators: Visit Washington Capitals on Monday.

WJC 2019 Prospect Report - Day 3

Here is how Rangers prospects performed in Day Three of the 2019 World Junior Championship on Wednesday:

Russian forward Vitali Kravtsov recorded one shot on goal in 17:42 of ice time in Russia’s 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.

American defenseman K’Andre Miller recorded an assist and five shots on goal and put up a plus-3 rating in 16:25 of ice time in Team USA’s 8-2 win over Kazakhstan.

WJC 2019 Prospect Report - Day 2

Here is how Rangers prospects performed in Day Two of the 2019 World Junior Championship on Wednesday:

Vitali Kravtsov finished his IIHF World Junior Championship debut with two points (one goal, one assist), including the GWG, drew two penalties, recorded 3 SOG, won 6 of 10 faceoffs (60.0%), and led all Russia forwards with 18:28 of ice time.

Nico Gross had a minus-1 rating, and had two penalty minutes in 18:21 of ice time for the Swiss team.

Nils Lundkvist tallied a primary assist and had one shot on goal, and a plus-1 rating in 17:22 of ice time for Sweden.

WJC 2019 Prospect Report - Day 1

Here is how Rangers prospects performed in Day One of the 2019 World Junior Championship on Wednesday:

Defenseman Nico Gross and the Swiss team lost to the Czech team in the opening game of the tournament. Gross played 16:12 in 29 shifts, and did not record any goals, assists, or shots on goal.

USA Defenseman K'Andre Miller recorded a shot on goal and skated for 16:19 in 22 shifts as the United States topped Slovakia, 3-2.
Swedish defenseman Nils Lundkvist skated for 17:00 in 30 shifts in his teams' 2-1 win over Finland. Lundkvist did not record any goals, assists, or shots on goal.

RANGERS VS BLUE JACKETS GAME DAY PREVIEW 12/23

STRUGGLING RANGERS RETURN FROM HOLIDAY BREAK TO HOST BLUE JACKETS

New York Rangers (15-14-6) vs Cloumbus Blue Jackets (21-12-3)

Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY

Tonight 7:00 PM TV: MSG2, FS-OH

Consistancy is what the Rangers lack and consistancy is what the Rangers are looking for coming off the Holiday break. Another Rangers overtime loss where both a mix of veterans and rookies seem to not be able to put together a full 60 minutes of play, most noteably when carrying a lead it seems as laspes or just plain sitting back on a lead has become the norm far too many times this season.

 The Rangers know the problem but still can't seem to find the answers to fix it. In the last game before the Holiday break the Rangers once again took a first period lead on Chris Kreider's team leading 17th goal of the season only to allow second and third period goals from Philadelphia to take the lead, Boo Nieves luckily was able to score from out in front after Lias Andersson made a nice defensive move behind the net to strip the Flyers defender and send an unobstructed backhand pass to Nieves for the tally.

The Rangers are 1-1-3 in their last five games and are 2-3-5 for the month of December.

Columbus comes into tonight's contest having won four of it's last five games and are 6-3-1 in their last 10. Their previous game befor ethe break they defeated New Jersey in Newark 3-0. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 39 shots he faced in the shootout victory. Atkinson, Bjorkstrand and Panarin talled the goals for Columbus. Panarin lead the team with 2 points (goal and an asssist)


RANGERS PROBABLE LINEUP vs COLUMBUS
Forwards:
Chytil-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Kreider-Hayes-Buchnevich
Vesey-Howden-Namestnikov
Nieves-Andersson-Strome

Defense:
Staal-Pionk
Skjei-DeAngelo
Smith-McQuaid

Goal:
Henrik Lundqvist

Backup:
Ondrej Pavelec

RANGERS TEAM LEADERS

POINTS: Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes 30

GOALS; Chris Kreider 17

ASSISTS: Kevin Hayes 20

BLUE JACKETS TEAM LEADERS

POINTS: Artemi Panarin 39

GOALS: Cam Atkinson 23

ASSISTS: Artemi Panarin 28

The Rangers lead this season's series 1-0, having won their previous game in Columbus 5-4 in a shootout win back on November 10th. Alexandar Georgiev picked up the win, stopping 34 of 38 shots and 3 of 5 in the shootout. The Rangers blew a 1-0 lead in the first, then a 3-1 lead in the second period. Jimmy Vesey scored the game tying goal with less than a minute remaing in the second and scored what would be the game winner in the shootout.

RANGERS ALL-TIME RECORD vs COLUMBUS
Overall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-14-1-1 (38 pts)
Home Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5-1-1 (18 pts)
Road Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9-0-0 (20 pts)
Goals For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Goals Against. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Shutouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/17/2017 (0-2 L, Bobrovsky)
Last Ranger win at MSG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/6/2017 (5-3)
Last Ranger win at Columbus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/10/2018 (5-4 SO)
Last Blue Jacket win at MSG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/20/2018 (2-0)
Last Blue Jacket win at Columbus. . . . . . . . . . . . 10/13/2017 (3-1)

HEAD TO HEAD 2018-2019 (Rangers lead series 1-0)
2018-11-10 NYR @ CBJ 5-4 W SO

NYR TODAY THURSDAY 12/27: Alumni Birthday, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthday 12/27:

Brad Brown D (2000-2001)

Today in NYR History 12/27: 

1932: The Rangers loan Bill Regan to the New York Americans for the remainder of the 1932-33 season for cash considerations.

1992: 19-year-old Alexei Kovalev records a hat in a 6-5 win over the Boston Bruins at MSG.

1996: Brian Leetch establishes a franchise record for points by a Rangers defenseman. 
Leetch tallies his 611th career point with an assist to pass Ron Greschner in a Rangers win over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, 3-2, at MSG.

NYR TODAY WEDNESDAY 12/26: Alumni Birthday, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthday 12/26:

Mark Heaslip RW (1976-1978)

Today in NYR History 12/26:

1985: The Rangers acquire Mike McEwen from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Steve Richmond.

1988: The Rangers trade fan favorite Don Maloney along with, Brain Lawton and Norm Maciever to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for Cery Wilson and the 1990 5th round draft pick (#99 - Lubos Rob).

1991: The New York Rangers stage the biggest comeback in their history when they turn a 6-1 deficit into an 8-6 victory against the Washington Capitals.

Washington delights the home crowd by scoring five consecutive goals to take a 6-1 lead late in the first period. Michal Pivonka scores three of the six goals for his first NHL hat trick.

But John Ogrodnick makes it 6-2 when he scores with one-tenth of a second remaining in the period. Joe Kocur scores the only goal of the second period, and the Rangers catch and pass the Capitals by scoring five times in the third. Mike Gartner's goal with just under eight minutes remaining puts the Rangers ahead 7-6, and Sergei Nemchinov puts the game away with an empty-net goal.

The Rangers are outshot 18-15 in the first period but outshoot Washington 31-7 for the rest of the game.

"I don't ever remember a team winning after being down 6-1," Rangers coach Roger Neilson says.

1991: The Rangers trade Guy Larose to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Mike Stevens.

1992: The Rangers trade Greg Millen to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for the 1992 8th round pick (#190 - Colin Schmidt).

1993: Two years after helping to start the Rangers' historic comeback against Washington, Mike Gartner becomes the sixth NHL player to score 600 goals in New York's 8-3 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden. 
Goal No. 600 comes when he beats Devils goaltender Chris Terreri 6:16 into the third period; he gets a head start toward No. 700 when he scores again 67 seconds later.

2017: Rangers Hall of Fame Goaltender Passes Away at the Age of 93 due to complications from Pneumonia.
Bower signed with the New York Rangers for the 1953-54 season and played every minute of all 70 games, finishing with a 29-31-10 record, a 2.60 GAA and five shutouts. But he lost his job to rookie Gump Worsley before the 1954-55 season and spent almost all of the next four years back in the minors, ending up with Cleveland again in 1957-58.

NYR TODAY TUESDAY 12/25: Alumni Birthday, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthday 12/25:

Larry Cahan D (1956-59,1961-65)

Today in NYR History 12/25:

1930: Bun Cook records a hat trick in a 4-1 Rangers victory over the Ottawa Senators. 

1967: The Rangers win their first game against the Flyers, defeating them, 3-1, in Philadelphia. 

1971: The Rangers defeat the Minnesota North Stars 2-1 at Met Center, improving their Christmas record to 25-11-2, the best of any NHL team. 
The contest is also one of six games on the schedule that mark the last time the NHL plays on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas

From Our Homes to Yours, We Wish a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our readers here on blogger. Thank you once again for another wonderful year of support following the New York Rangers. Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season 2018. 

LET'S GO RANGERS!

NYR TODAY MONDAY 12/24: Alumni Birthday, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthday 12/24:

George "Red" Sullivan C (1956-1961) Coach (192-1965)

Today in NYR History 12/24:

1949: In one of the best goaltending duels in NHL history, Bill Durnan of the Montreal Canadiens and Chuck Rayner of the New York Rangers match saves for 60 minutes in a 0-0 tie at the Forum.
It's the 31st NHL shutout for Durnan and the 17th for Rayner, who combine for the only 0-0 tie in League history to be played on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

1966: Two former Canadiens, Bernie Geoffrion and Don Marshall, spoil Christmas Eve for their old team and help the Rangers win 4-3 at the Forum. 
Geoffrion scores twice in the second period, and Marshall wins the game by beating Charlie Hodge with 33 seconds remaining in the third period.

1972:Ed Giacomin ties Dave Kerr's Rangers record with his 40th NHL shutout.
Pete Stemkowski has four assists in a 5-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden.

1987: Kelly Kisio becomes the 21st captain in Rangers history.

RANGERS VS FLYERS POST GAME WRAP UP 12/23

Rangers Pick Up Point in Shootout Loss to Philly

Hayes Extends Scoring Streak to 7 Games in Loss

Kevin Hayes' seven game point streak could not help the Rangers over the hump and past Philadelphia tonight in the final game before the holiday break. Hayes led Chris Kreider with a beautiful backhand pass after a nice defensive move at the Flyers' blueline that sent Kreider in to send a shot past Philly's Michal Neuvirth for the Rangers and the games first tally making it 1-0 in favor of the home team.

Hayes' career high point streak is the longest of any Ranger this seaon and he has recorded 16 points (5 goals & 11 assists) in the last 12 games. The assist gave Hayes his 30th pint of the season tying him for the team lead with Mika Zibanejad. Hayes also went 9/18 on faceoffs (50%) had 2 shots on net and was a plus 1 in a team high 23:15 of ice time.

With the goal, Kreider has tallied a goal in his last two games and scored 3 in his last 4 games. He finished the night with the goal, 5 shots on goal and was a plus 1.

Philadelphia tie d the game in the second period with the frame's only tally when Marc Staal was caught pinching in the Flyers zone and Michael Raffl went in on a 2 on 1 on to beat Lundqvist glove side high to make it 1-1.

The Flyers took the lead 2-1 5 minutes into the third period while on the power play with a rebound cash in from Wayne Simmonds. The lead was short lived when 22 seconds later Boo Nieves was left alone in front of the Flyers net with Lias Andersson who had just made a beautiful move along the boards to strip the Flyers of the puck and sent a no look backhand pass from behind the net to Nieves for the 2-2 tying goal. with his first goal of the season, Nieves became the 23rd player to register a goal for the Rangers in 2018-19.

Neither the Rangers or Flyers could gain any advantage for the rest of the period with both skating carefully trying not to make a mistake and into the 5 minute  overtime period which saw both Lundqvist & Neuvrith hold strong to send the game to the shootout.

Mats Zuccarello, Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and Kevin Hayes were all stopped on their shootout attempts while all but Nolan Patrick was stopped by Lundqvist. Patrick's 4th round tally ended the game in favor of Philadelphia to give them the 3-2 win. The Rangers are now 5-2 in the shootout.

The Blueshirts as is the rest of the league are now off for the holiday break. They return to action on Thursday to host the Columbus Blue Jackets at MSG in a division match up.

FINAL GAME STATS

New York Rangers 2 Philadelphia Flyers 3
FINAL SHOOTOUT Game #35

SOG: NYR 34 PHI  31
PIM: NYR 4 PHI 4
PPO: NYR 0/2 PHI 1/2
HITS: NYR 26 PHI 28
BLKS: NYR 18 PHI 10
GVA:  NYR 19 PHI 12
FO%:  NYR 45% PHI  55%

GOALTENDERS:
New York: H. LUNDQVIST 29 SV, 3 GA
Philadelphia: M. NEUVRITH 32 SV, 2 GA

GOALS
Philadelphia: M. Raffl, W. Simmonds
New York: C. Kreider, B. Nieves

SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
10:05 New York Chris Kreider (17) ASST: Kevin Hayes (20), Marc Staal (7) 0-1

2ND PERIOD
01:46 Philadelphia Michael Raffl (1) ASST: Travis Sanheim (8) 1-1

3RD PERIOD
05:01 Philadelphia PPG - Wayne Simmonds (11) ASST: Sean Couturier (13), Jakub Voracek (19) 2-1
05:23 New York Boo Nieves (1) ASST: Lias Andersson (3) 2-2

OVERTIME:
No Scoring

SHOOTOUT
Philadelphia Missed - Jakub Voracek -
New York Missed - Mats Zuccarello -
Philadelphia Missed - Claude Giroux -
New York Missed - Mika Zibanejad -
Philadelphia Missed - James van Riemsdyk -
New York Missed - Pavel Buchnevich -
Philadelphia Goal - Nolan Patrick -
New York Missed - Kevin Hayes

PENALTY SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
No Penalties

2ND PERIOD
08:16 Philadelphia Michael Raffl - Tripping - 2 minutes
17:21 New York Brady Skjei - Tripping - 2 minutes

3RD PERIOD
04:53 New York - Too Many Men - 2 minutes, Served by Chris Kreider

OVERTIME
No Penalties

RANGERS VS FLYERS GAME DAY PREVIEW 12/23

RANGERS RETURN HOME TO HOST FLYERS BEFORE HOLIDAY BREAK 

New York Rangers (15-14-5) vs Philadelphia Flyers (14-16-4)

Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY

Tonight 7:00 PM TV: MSG, NHLN-US

The Rangers and Flyers both come into tonight's contest having lost games last night. The Rangers dropped a close one in Toronto 5-3 while Philadelphia had a close one of their own losing to Columbus 4-3.

Last night's Rangers loss was just the team's second regulation defeat in their last seven games, but are just 1-6 over their last seven road games, a stretch that included a 4-0 loss in Philadelphia the day after Thanksgiving.

In the Rangers last home game they defeated the Anaheim Ducks with 3 unanswered third period goals for the 3-1 win. New York is 9-1-3 at home since October 23.

This is the second of four meetings between New York and Philadelphia this season. The Flyers took the opening game 4-0 with Sean Couturier leading with 2 goals and an assist in the Rangers loss.

Henrik Lundqvist who will start today for the Rangers stopped 42 of a 45 shot barrage in their previous game in Philly.

While the Rangers continue their "rebuild" process Philadelphia has been struggling as well and relieved their head coach Dave Hakstol since their last meeting in November. Scott Gordon took over the reigns for Phily just over a week ago and has gone 2-1-0 in his first three games.

RANGERS PROBABLE LINEUP
Forwards:
Chytil-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Kreider-Hayes-Buchnevich
Vesey-Howden-Namestnikov
Nieves-Andersson-Strome

Defense:
Staal-Pionk
Skjei-DeAngelo
Smith-McQuaid

Goal:
Henrik Lundqvist

Backup:
Ondrej Pavelec

RANGERS TEAM LEADERS

POINTS: Mika Zibanejad 30

GOALS; Chris Kreider 16

ASSISTS: Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes 19

FLYERS TEAM LEADERS

POINTS: Claude Giroux 42

GOALS: Sean Couturier 14

ASSISTS: Claude Giroux 30


RANGERS ALL-TIME RECORD vs PHILADELPHIA
Overall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131-118-37-8 (307 pts)
Home Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69-50-23-4 (165 pts)
Road Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62-68-14-4 (142 pts)
Goals For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
Goals Against. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
Shutouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, last – 11/28/2014 (3-0; Talbot)
Last Ranger Win at MSG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/16/2018 (5-1)
Last Ranger Win at Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/4/2017 (5-2)
Last Flyer Win at MSG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2/18/2018 (7-4)
Last Flyer Win at Philadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . 11/23/2018 (4-0)

HEAD TO HEAD 2017-2018 (Flyers won series 3-1)
2018-04-07 NYR @ PHI 0-5 L
2018-03-22 NYR @ PHI 3-4 L
2018-02-18 NYR PHI 4-7 L
2018-01-16 NYR PHI 5-1 W

HEAD TO HEAD RESULTS 2018-2019
2018-11-23 NYR @ PHI 0-4 L

NYR TODAY SUNDAY 12/23: Alumni Birthdays, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthdays 12/23:

Scott Gomez C (2007-2009) Ales Kotalik RW (2009-2010) Bill Kyle C (1941-1951) Mikael Samuelsson RW (2001-2003)

Today in NYR History 12/23:

1930: Bill Cook records his second hat trick of the month, scoring three times in a 5-1 Rangers victory over the Montreal Canadiens at MSG.

1932: The Rangers trade Dutch Gainor to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for cash considerations.

1934: The Rangers acquire Harold Starr from the Montreal Maroons in exchange for cash considerations.

1948 - Lynn Patrick earned a win in his first game as the Rangers' Head Coach, as the Blueshirts defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2.

1979: Boston Bruins charge the stands, Attack Garden Faithful.
The action heated-up for hockey fans in chilly Madison Square Garden A match between the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins ended with a spontaneous combustion that made Ron Artest’s basketball grandstand invasion seem like a walk through the woods.

Spectators had already been treated to some holiday season drama. The Bruins edged the Rangers 4-3 after New York’s Phil Esposito failed to score on a breakaway in the final moments. Players for both teams got involved in a classic post-game fight.

That’s when the game turned into ‘70s sports legend.

Battling players crept closer to the first few rows of seating. It was more than enough room for one Rangers fan to lean over the glass and clobber Bruin defenseman Stan Jonathan with a rolled up game program. Johnson raised his stick in self-defense, and the fan snatched it from his grasp.

Boston forward Terry O’Reilly, a seasoned NHL brawler, climbed into the stands to confront the stick-wielding fan. Teammate Peter McNab followed suit, and the insanity swept into full force at MSG.

Stick-grabber John Kapitan, a Rangers fan from New Jersey, momentarily escaped. The Bruins’ Mike Milbury — later to become one of the NHL’s top TV analysts — tracked Kapitan down, grabbed a shoe off the fan’s foot and began beating him with it before security restored order.

Later, Rangers fans took the brawl outside, with 300 of them rocking the Bruins team bus before being chased away by police on horseback.

Eighteen Bruins players climbed into the stands during the incident. Each of them sustained fines of at least 500 dollars, but no one was hurt.

Kapitan filed a lawsuit that went nowhere in court.

He never recovered his footwear

1991: The Rangers acquire Randy Gilhen from The Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Corey Millen.

1991 - Brian Leetch extended his assist streak to 11 games, breaking Rod Gilbert's record for the longest assist streak in franchise history. 
Leetch registered two assists, Mike Gartner tallied two goals, and Mike Richter stopped all 25 shots he faced as the Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 3-0, at MSG.

RANGERS VS MAPLE LEAFS POST GAME WRAP UP 12/23

RANGERS FALL SHORT IN STRONG PERFORMANCE AGAINST TORONTO

Third Period Rally Can't Catch Leafs

Alexandar Georgiev stopped 31 shots while Kevin Hayes tallied 2 goals but the Rangers just fell short of a comeback bid against the superior play of the Toronto Maple Leafs losing 5-3.

Toronto opened the scoring early in the first period with a goal from Patrick Marleau and took the 1-0 lead into the 15 minute mark of the second when Neal Pionk picked up his 5th of the season to tie the game 1-1.

The Rangers would falter in the third when Andreas Johnsson and Morgan Rielly scored back to back goals 4 minutes apart. The 3-1 deficit didn't deter the Rangers as they answered back quickly within a minute later Kevin Hayes cut the lead 3-2. Mitchell Marner would score his 1st of the game before Hayes could deflect a Marc Staal shot past Fredrik Andersen to keep tie game within reach 4-3. Marner would add his second of the game to make it 5-3 while Georgiev was on the Rangers bench for the extra skater with the Rangers net empty with 20 seconds remaining.


FINAL GAME STATS

New York Rangers 3  Toronto Maple Leafs 5

Final Game #34



SOG: NYR 28 TOR 36

PIM: NYR 4 TOR 4

PPO: NYR 0/2 TOR 0/2

HITS: NYR 27 TOR 13

BLKS: NYR 15 TOR 12
GVA:
NYR 9 TOR 14

FO%:  NYR 37%  TOR 63%



GOALTENDERS:

New York: A. GEORGIEV 31 SV, 5 GA

Toronto: F. ANDERSEN 25 SV, 3 GA



GOALS
New York: N. Pionk, K. Hayes (2)

Toronto: M. Marner (2), M. Rielly, P. Marleau, A. Johnsson



SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

02:58 Toronto Patrick Marleau (10) ASST: Morgan Rielly (30) 0-1



2ND PERIOD

15:00 New York Neal Pionk (5) ASST: Jimmy Vesey (10), Brady Skjei (8) 1-1



3RD PERIOD

01:37 Toronto Andreas Johnsson (8) ASST: Mitchell Marner (38), John Tavares (16) 1-2

05:26 Toronto Morgan Rielly (12) ASST: Andreas Johnsson (7), Frederik Gauthier (5) 1-3

06:34 New York Kevin Hayes (10) ASST: Filip Chytil (7), Neal Pionk (14) 2-3

12:53 Toronto Mitchell Marner (12) ASST: John Tavares (17), Andreas Johnsson (8) 2-4

16:19 New York Kevin Hayes (11) ASST: Marc Staal (6), Neal Pionk (15) 3-4
19:40 Toronto EN - Mitchell Marner (12) 3-5



PENALTY SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

No Penalties



2ND PERIOD

01:10 Toronto Patrick Marleau - Holding - 2 minutes

06:10 New York Adam McQuaid - Holding - 2 minutes

06:10 New York Adam McQuaid - Cross-checking - 2 minutes

15:33 Toronto John Tavares - Holding - 2 minutes



3RD PERIOD

No Penalties

RANGERS VS MAPLE LEAFS GAME DAY PREVIEW 12/22

RANGERS FACE THRIVING MAPLE LEAFS IN TORONTO

New York Rangers (15-13-5) vs Toronto Maple Leafs (23-10-2)

Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON Canada

Tonight 7:00 PM TV: MSG, CBC, NHLN-US

The Rangers come into tonight's contest coming in off a 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks 4 days ago at Madison Square Garden. Vladislav Namestnikov had a 3 point  game for New York with a goal and 2 assists, Kevin Hayes and rookie Filip Chytil added a tally each in the win. Alexandar Georgiev earned his 5th win of the season with a 14 save performance over the Ducks as the Rangers dominated Anaheim in the third period, holding Anaheim to one shot on goal in the third period.

The Rangers win ended a three game losing streak for the Blueshirts and earned them their first regulation win since a 4-2 home win over Ottawa on November 26. The Rangers have earned at least one point in 16 of the last 22 games (12-6-4 record), in 19 of the last 28 games (14-9-5 record), and in 20 of the last 30 games (15-10-5 record).

New York was 5-for-5 (8:42) on the penalty, held Anaheim to three shots on goal over the Ducks' five power play opportunities, and registered a shorthanded goal from Kevin Hayes.

Kevin Hayes extended his point streak to five games, and he has recorded 10 points (four goals, six assists) over the five games. Namestnikov has recorded 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his last 20 games. Chytil has tallied a point in three of the last four games (one goal, two assists) and in nine of the last 16 games (six goals, three assists). Jimmy Vesey has notched an assist/point in four of the last five games (four assists) and in five of the last seven games (one goal, five assists). In addition, he has recorded 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in the last 21 games.

The Rangers look to be going with the same lineup as the Anaheim game with the goaltender to be decided on today with this game in Toronto being another back to back game. Tomorrow the Rangers face division rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. Coach Quinn said yesterday that Henrik Lundqvist and Georgiev will split the matchups but has yet to decide who will start each game.

Toronto comes in with a record of 6-3-2 in their last ten games and having won their last two games against Florida and New Jersey outscoring their opponents 13-3 over the 2 game span. John Tavares leads the Leafs in goals with 23, Mitch Marner leads in points with 47 and in assists with 37.

RANGERS PROBABLE LINEUP vs TORONTO
Forwards:
Chytil-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Kreider-Hayes-Buchnevich
Vesey-Howden-Namestnikov
Nieves-Andersson-Strome

Defense:
Staal-Pionk
Skjei-DeAngelo
Smith-McQuaid

Goal:
Henrik Lundqvist

Backup:
Ondrej Pavelec

RANGERS TEAM LEADERS

POINTS: Mika Zibanejad 30

GOALS; Chris Kreider 15

ASSISTS: Mika Zibanejad 19


MAPLE LEAFS TEAM LEADERS

POINTS: Mitchell Marner 47

GOALS: John Tavares 23

ASSISTS:  Mitchell Marner 37

This is the first of three meetings between the Rangers and Maple Leafs this season. Toronto swept the Rangers 3-0 last season including an 8-5 outing in the only game played in Toronto on October 7, 2017. The Rangers have not won in Toronto since February 23, 2017 in a 2-1 shootout win.

RANGERS ALL-TIME RECORD vs TORONTO
Overall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230-279-95-7 (562 pts)
Home Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132-115-56-4 (324 pts)
Road Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98-164-39-3 (238 pts)
Goals For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,765
Goals Against. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,937
Shutouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, last – 1/14/2012 (3-0; Biron)
Last Ranger Win at MSG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/15/2015 (4-3)
Last Ranger Win at Toronto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/23/2017 (2-1, SO)
Last Maple Leaf Win at MSG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/1/2018 (4-0)
Last Maple Leaf Win at Toronto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/7/2017 (8-5)

HEAD TO HEAD 2017-2018 (Maple Leafs won series 3-0)
2018-02-01 NYR TOR 0-4 L
2017-12-23 NYR TOR 2-3 L
2017-10-07 NYR @ TOR 5-8 L

NYR TODAY SATURDAY 12/22: Alumni Birthdays, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthdays 12/22:

Walt Atanas RW (1944-1945), Paul Fenton LW (1986-1987), Peter Fiorentino D (1991-1992), Sandy Fitzpatrick C (1964-1965), Norm Gratton LW (1971-1972), Ron Greschner D (1974-1990), Stan Neckar D (1998-1999)

Today in NYR History 12/22:

1932: The Rangers trade Wilf Starr to the NY Americans in exchange for cash considerations.

1949: The Rangers trade the signing rights to Bud Poile to the Boston Bruins in exchange for cash considerations.

1996: Mark Messier registered four points (two goals, two assists) and became the fifth player in NHL history to tally 1,500 career points as the Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers, 7-3, at MSG. Brian Leetch also recorded four assists in the contest.

NYR TODAY FRIDAY 12/21: Alumni Birthdays, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthdays 12/21:

Joey Kocur RW (1990-1996) Joe Schaefer G (1959-1961)

Today in NYR History 12/21:

1948: Lynn Patrick is named the third head coach in Rangers history.

1958: The Rangers receive $7.5 cash, future considerations & loan of Ray Cyr from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Phil Maloney.

1964: The Rangers receive Bill Hicke & Loan of Jean-Guy Morissette for remainder of 1964-65 season from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Dick Duff and Dave McComb.

1992: The Rangers earned their first road shutout against the Devils in franchise history by defeating New Jersey, 3-0. 

John Vanbiesbrouck made 35 saves to earn the win and shutout, and Adam Graves tallied two points (one goal, one assist) in the contest, including the game-winning goal.

1996: Wayne Gretzky tallies three assists, and Luc Robitaille scores the game-winning goal in overtime as the Rangers defeat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2.