Who: New York Rangers vs. Florida Panthers
Where: BB&T Center
When: Saturday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: WOR-710 AM and NewYorkRangers.com
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The Skinny:
Coming off a regulation loss for only;y the third time this season, and for the first time in five weeks, the Rangers (14-3-2, 30 pts) look to get back on the winning track Saturday night when they face off with the Florida Panthers (8-8-3, 19 pts) to close out the two-game trek through the Sunshine State. The Rangers were knocked off by the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday, with Tampa scoring a shorthanded goal with 1:05 to play in regulation to really throw a dagger into the hearts of the Rangers. Dominic Moore scored New York's only goal, his first in 14 games, and on Friday head coach Alain Vigneault praised his fourth line, consisting of Moore, Jarret Stoll, and Jesper Fast, saying it was the team's most effective unit on Thursday. On the other hand Vigneault also pointed out that he expects more from his third line--Kevin Hayes, Oscar Lindberg, and Viktor Stalberg--explaining how he has high expectations for that line and has witnessed a drop off in their play recently. Still, Vigneault plans no lineup changes Saturday, meaning Emerson Etem and Dylan McIlrath will again be the healthy scratches. Veteran Dan Boyle played a second straight assertive game Thursday, both since being a healthy scratch in favor of McIlrath, and seems to be responding well to the competition on defense. Henrik Lundqvist is expected to make the start again in goal for New York. He comes in with a lifetime 20-9-1 mark against Florida with five shutouts. The Panthers have won two of their last three and three of five, but are coming off a 3-1 loss at home to the Anaheim Ducks, the second of a five-game home stand. Before that the Panthers were 0-3-2; and all season they have been riding the play of future Hall-of-Famer Jaromir Jagr, the former Rangers captain who leads Florida with seven goals, eight assists, and 15 points in seven games. The ageless 42 year-old Jagr now has 729 career goals, 1088 assists and 1817 points in 1567 games played for eight NHL teams.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Panthers meet for the first time this season on Saturday, and for the first of two meetings in South Florida over a six-week span, also facing off on January 2 at the BB&T Center. Last season the Rangers swept the season series, outscoring the Panthers 13-6 along the way. Derek Stepan led the Rangers with four points in those three games, and Henrik Lundqvist earned two of the wins. In the lone contest played in South Florida, the Rangers skated to a 5-2 victory on New Year's Eve as five different players scored goals and eight Rangers recorded at least one point. Overall the Rangers have won their last six games against the Panthers and seven of eight.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Ryan McDonagh: In recent days Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault has been telling reporters how Ryan McDonagh is playing the best hockey of the season of late, with much-improved all-around play after an up and down month of October. So it was unfortunate that McDonagh was part of the ugly game-deciding play in which Tampa Bay scored the game-winning shorthanded goal with 65 seconds to play Thursday night against the Rangers. What Rangers fans should like, though, is that McDonagh stated emphatically on Friday how much he and his team hate to lose, and that he and they will work their darndest to clean up any and all mistakes and make sure one loss does not turn into a streak. It is that determination, passion and confidence that helps make McDonagh, who and what he is, the captain of the New York Rangers; and as a result, one would expect a very strong night from him Saturday against the Panthers. Steady and physical in his own end again, McDonagh also has three goals and four points over his last five games, proving New York with some offensive punch from the blue line. In 15 career games against the Panthers, McDonagh has one goal and nine points.
Panthers-Roberto Luongo: Florida's 36 year-old goaltender has faced a whopping 79 shots in the previous two games, and has been outstanding stopping 77 of those. However Roberto Luongo's great play has only ensured Florida one win in those two contests--a 1-0 shutout over Tampa Bay on Monday, the 69th of his NHL career. He and his teammates were 3-1 losers Thursday against Anaheim--the third goal into an empty net. Luongo is now tied for seventh on the league's all-time wins list with 407, all part of an incredible career which has seen him drafted fourth overall in 1997 by the Islanders before a pair of stints with the Panthers and a long run with the Canucks. This season, while his record might be sub .500 at 6-7-2, he owns a solid 2.33 GAA and .928 save percentage.
Where: BB&T Center
When: Saturday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: WOR-710 AM and NewYorkRangers.com
******************************
The Skinny:
Coming off a regulation loss for only;y the third time this season, and for the first time in five weeks, the Rangers (14-3-2, 30 pts) look to get back on the winning track Saturday night when they face off with the Florida Panthers (8-8-3, 19 pts) to close out the two-game trek through the Sunshine State. The Rangers were knocked off by the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday, with Tampa scoring a shorthanded goal with 1:05 to play in regulation to really throw a dagger into the hearts of the Rangers. Dominic Moore scored New York's only goal, his first in 14 games, and on Friday head coach Alain Vigneault praised his fourth line, consisting of Moore, Jarret Stoll, and Jesper Fast, saying it was the team's most effective unit on Thursday. On the other hand Vigneault also pointed out that he expects more from his third line--Kevin Hayes, Oscar Lindberg, and Viktor Stalberg--explaining how he has high expectations for that line and has witnessed a drop off in their play recently. Still, Vigneault plans no lineup changes Saturday, meaning Emerson Etem and Dylan McIlrath will again be the healthy scratches. Veteran Dan Boyle played a second straight assertive game Thursday, both since being a healthy scratch in favor of McIlrath, and seems to be responding well to the competition on defense. Henrik Lundqvist is expected to make the start again in goal for New York. He comes in with a lifetime 20-9-1 mark against Florida with five shutouts. The Panthers have won two of their last three and three of five, but are coming off a 3-1 loss at home to the Anaheim Ducks, the second of a five-game home stand. Before that the Panthers were 0-3-2; and all season they have been riding the play of future Hall-of-Famer Jaromir Jagr, the former Rangers captain who leads Florida with seven goals, eight assists, and 15 points in seven games. The ageless 42 year-old Jagr now has 729 career goals, 1088 assists and 1817 points in 1567 games played for eight NHL teams.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Panthers meet for the first time this season on Saturday, and for the first of two meetings in South Florida over a six-week span, also facing off on January 2 at the BB&T Center. Last season the Rangers swept the season series, outscoring the Panthers 13-6 along the way. Derek Stepan led the Rangers with four points in those three games, and Henrik Lundqvist earned two of the wins. In the lone contest played in South Florida, the Rangers skated to a 5-2 victory on New Year's Eve as five different players scored goals and eight Rangers recorded at least one point. Overall the Rangers have won their last six games against the Panthers and seven of eight.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Ryan McDonagh: In recent days Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault has been telling reporters how Ryan McDonagh is playing the best hockey of the season of late, with much-improved all-around play after an up and down month of October. So it was unfortunate that McDonagh was part of the ugly game-deciding play in which Tampa Bay scored the game-winning shorthanded goal with 65 seconds to play Thursday night against the Rangers. What Rangers fans should like, though, is that McDonagh stated emphatically on Friday how much he and his team hate to lose, and that he and they will work their darndest to clean up any and all mistakes and make sure one loss does not turn into a streak. It is that determination, passion and confidence that helps make McDonagh, who and what he is, the captain of the New York Rangers; and as a result, one would expect a very strong night from him Saturday against the Panthers. Steady and physical in his own end again, McDonagh also has three goals and four points over his last five games, proving New York with some offensive punch from the blue line. In 15 career games against the Panthers, McDonagh has one goal and nine points.
Panthers-Roberto Luongo: Florida's 36 year-old goaltender has faced a whopping 79 shots in the previous two games, and has been outstanding stopping 77 of those. However Roberto Luongo's great play has only ensured Florida one win in those two contests--a 1-0 shutout over Tampa Bay on Monday, the 69th of his NHL career. He and his teammates were 3-1 losers Thursday against Anaheim--the third goal into an empty net. Luongo is now tied for seventh on the league's all-time wins list with 407, all part of an incredible career which has seen him drafted fourth overall in 1997 by the Islanders before a pair of stints with the Panthers and a long run with the Canucks. This season, while his record might be sub .500 at 6-7-2, he owns a solid 2.33 GAA and .928 save percentage.
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