Rangers vs. Penguins 3.3.16: Pregame Notes
NEW YORK RANGERS at PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Thursday, Mar. 3, 2016, 7:00 p.m. ET
CONSOL Energy Center – Pittsburgh, PA
Rangers: 37-20-6 (80 pts)
Penguins: 32-22-8 (72 pts)
TONIGHT'S GAME
The
Rangers play their 64th game of the 2015-16 season and begin a
back-to-back set tonight, Mar. 3, against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a
Metropolitan Division matchup at CONSOL Energy Center (7:00 p.m. ET -
TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Blueshirts are in second
place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers enter the contest with a
three-game winning streak. New York has won five of its last six games
(5-1-0), 10 of its last 13 games (10-2-1), 11 of its last 15 games
(11-3-1), and 13 of its last 18 games (13-4-1). The Rangers have earned
at least one point in 20 of their last 28 games (18-8-2), including 19
of their last 26 games (17-7-2) and 18 of their last 24 games (16-6-2).
The Blueshirts enter the contest with a 37-20-6 record this season (80
points).
RANGERS VS. PENGUINS
- All-Time: 124-105-23-11 (69-50-9-4 at home; 55-55-14-7 on the road)
- 2015-16: Tonight's game is the second of four meetings between the Rangers and Penguins, and the second of two meetings between the two teams in Pittsburgh. The Rangers have posted a 1-0-0 record (0-0-0 at home; 1-0-0 on the road) against Pittsburgh. The Rangers defeated the Penguins, 3-0, in the only meeting between the two teams on Feb. 10 in Pittsburgh. Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 34 shots he faced to earn a win and a shutout, and Kevin Hayes tallied the game-winning goal in the contest. Following tonight's game, the Rangers and Penguins will face off against each other on the following dates: Mar. 13 (at MSG), Mar. 27 (at MSG).
- The Rangers enter the contest with a six-game point streak against Pittsburgh (5-0-1), including a three-game winning streak. The six-game point streak dates back to Feb. 7, 2014.
- The Blueshirts have earned at least one point in 10 of their last 11 contests against the Penguins, dating back to Apr. 3, 2013 (7-1-3).
RANGERS-PENGUINS CONNECTIONS
- Glen Sather played parts of two seasons with the Penguins (1969-70 - 1970-71) and was acquired by the Rangers from Pittsburgh on Jan. 26, 1971.
- Penguins Head Coach 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). Samuelsson was acquired by the Rangers from Pittsburgh on Aug. 31, 1995.
- 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 - 56 GP, 29-19-8, 2.36 GAA, .918 SV%, 4 SO - Lundqvist has posted a 7-1-3 record, along with a 1.84 GAA, a .939 SV%, and 2 SO in his last 11 appearances against Pittsburgh (dating back to Apr. 3, 2013).
- Eric Staal - 46 GP, 19-27-46 - Staal has tallied a point in 10 of his last 15 games against the Penguins, recording 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in those contests.
- Derick Brassard - 15 GP, 5-11-16 - Brassard has registered a point in eight of his last nine contests against Pittsburgh (four goals, five assists). Since he made his Rangers debut on Apr. 3, 2013 vs. Pittsburgh, Brassard has registered 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 11 games against the Penguins. Including playoff games, he has tallied at least one point in 10 of his last 13 games against Pittsburgh, dating back to Game 5 of the Second Round in the 2014 Playoffs.
- Mats Zuccarello - 15 GP, 3-9-12 - Zuccarello has recorded a point in seven of his last nine games against the Penguins (three goals, six assists).
WINNING WAYS
The
Rangers are tied for second in the NHL in wins (14) and points (29)
since Jan. 16 (14-5-1 record in their last 20 games). The Rangers lead
Eastern Conference teams in points and are tied for first among Eastern
Conference teams in wins over the span. The Blueshirts have not lost two
consecutive games (regulation and OT losses included) since Dec. 17 -
Dec. 20, 2015.
HIGH FIVE
The Rangers rank second in the NHL in goal differential at 5-on-5 in 2015-16 (plus-36; 126-90).
ROAD WARRIORS
The
Blueshirts have won five of their last six road games (5-1-0),
including each of their last two road contests. New York leads the NHL
in road wins since the start of the 2013-14 season (67).
ROAD WINS IN A THREE-SEASON SPAN IN RANGERS HISTORY
| |
SEASONS
|
WINS
|
1. 2009-10 - 2011-12
|
68
|
2. 2013-14 - 2015-16
|
67
|
GOALS GALORE
The
Blueshirts are one of four NHL teams that have eight players who have
tallied at least 11 goals in 2015-16 (along with Florida, Ottawa, and
Washington). The Rangers rank sixth in the NHL in goals per game this
season (2.81).
TWO GOOD
The
Blueshirts have allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of the last 13 games,
in 17 of the last 28 games, and in 37 games this season. New York has
posted a 32-3-2 record when allowing two goals or fewer in 2015-16.
THIRD PERIOD IS THE CHARM
The
Rangers have tallied at least one goal in the third period in 13 of
their last 15 games, including two or more goals in the third period in
eight of those contests (23 goals in the third period over the span).
New York ranks third in the NHL in third period goals this season (74).
ON POINT
At
least one Rangers defenseman has registered a point on eight of the
team's last 10 goals, dating back to Feb. 21 vs. Detroit. Blueshirts
defensemen have registered 126 points (30 goals, 96 assists) in 2015-16
and have tallied 69 points (18 goals, 51 assists) over the last 34
games.
TAKING THE METRO
The Rangers have earned at least one point in 16 of 22 games against Metropolitan Division opponents this season (12-6-4).
KING HENRIK
Henrik
Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in 17 of his last 24
appearances, including 15 of his last 20 appearances and 14 of his last
18 appearances. He has posted a 14-5-1 record, along with a 1.93 GAA, a
.931 SV%, and 2 SO in his last 20 appearances, including a 13-5-0
record, along with a 1.82 GAA, a .936 SV%, and 2 SO in his last 18
appearances. Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his
last 10 appearances, including one goal or fewer in five of his last
eight appearances (8-2-0 record, 1.69 GAA, .939 SV%, 2 SO in his last 10
appearances). Lundqvist has allowed nine even strength goals in his
last 11 appearances, posting a .965 SV% at even strength over the span.
He leads the NHL in even strength SV% this season (.941).
NHL ALL-TIME WINS LIST
| |
14. John Vanbiesbrouck
|
374
|
15. Andy Moog
|
372
|
16. Henrik Lundqvist
|
370
|
APPEARANCES BY A GOALTENDER
IN HIS FIRST 11 NHL SEASONS
| |
T-1. Henrik Lundqvist
|
672
|
T-1. Roberto Luongo
|
672
|
STAAL ABOARD
The
Rangers acquired Eric Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 28,
and he made his debut with the Blueshirts on Feb. 29 vs. Columbus. Staal
is one of only two NHL players who registered at least 30 assists and
50 points in 10 consecutive seasons from 2005-06 - 2014-15 (along with
Martin St. Louis). In addition, he is one of only seven NHL players who
have recorded 50 or more points in at least 10 different seasons since
he entered the NHL in 2003-04. The four-time NHL All-Star is a member of
the "Triple Gold Club", as he has won a Stanley Cup (2005-06), a gold
medal at the Olympics (2010), and a gold medal at the IIHF World
Championship (2007) in his career. According to the Elias Sports
Bureau, Staal is the first player in NHL history who has played at least
one game with three different brothers in his career (Jordan and Jared
during his tenure in Carolina; Marc with the Rangers).
TOO HOT TO YANDLE
Keith
Yandle is the first Rangers defenseman to register at least 30 assists
and 20 even strength assists in one season since Brian Leetch in
2000-01. He is tied for sixth among NHL defensemen in even strength
assists (20) and ranks 10th in assists (31) in 2015-16. Yandle has
recorded a point in 12 of the last 18 games (two goals, 10 assists),
including seven of the last 10 contests (seven assists).
CAPTAIN MAC
Ryan
McDonagh is one of two NHL defensemen who have registered at least
eight goals, 28 points, and a plus-16 rating this season (along with
Drew Doughty)
BRASS BONANZA
Derick
Brassard has tallied 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) and has
posted a plus-10 rating in the last 15 games. Brassard leads the Rangers
in goals this season (22).
STEP-AN UP
Derek
Stepan has tallied nine points (five goals, four assists) in the last
10 games. The Rangers have posted a 34-15-4 record in games which Stepan
has played this season, including a 21-2-2 record in games which he has
notched a point in 2015-16.
WELCOME MATS
Mats
Zuccarello has registered all of his 21 goals and 43 of his 47 points
this season when the Rangers have either led by one goal, trailed by one
goal, or were tied in the contest. In addition, 42 of Zuccarello's
team-leading 47 points in 2015-16 have either been a goal or a primary
assist.
IT'S MILLER TIME
J.T. Miller leads the Rangers in goals (11), points (22), and plus/minus rating (plus-eight) on the road this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power Play:
- The Rangers were 0-for-1 (2:00) on Feb. 29 vs. Columbus.
- The Blueshirts have recorded a PPG in five of the last nine games (6-for-20; 30.0%).
Penalty Kill:
- The Rangers were 1-for-1 (2:00) on Feb. 29 vs. Columbus.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
- Dan Boyle - 1 point away from 600 in his NHL career
INJURIES (66 Man-Games Lost to Injury)
· Rick Nash (bone bruise; injury suffered on Jan. 22) - week-to-week
· Jesper Fast (flu)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
· Feb.
28 - Acquired Eric Staal from Carolina in exchange for Aleksi Saarela, a
second round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and a second round pick
in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft; Assigned Marek Hrivik to Hartford (AHL);
Acquired Chris Brown from Washington in exchange for Ryan Bourque
THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY
· Mar. 2, 1975 – Rod Gilbert tied a single-game franchise record by tallying five assists against the Pittsburgh Penguins at MSG.
· Mar.
3, 1977 – Rod Gilbert registered his 400th career NHL goal, becoming
the 12th NHL player (at the time), and the first Ranger, to reach the
milestone.
BLUESHIRT BIRTHDAYS
· Mar. 2 – Henrik Lundqvist, Eddie Johnstone, Joby Messier
· Mar. 3 – Brian Leetch, Colton Orr, Jack Gordon, Stephen Kraftcheck, Kelly Miller
Mar 3 - 10:14am by MattCalamia
W2W4: Rangers vs. Penguins 3.3.16
Who: New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Where: CONSOL Energy Center
When: Thursday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: ESPN 98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
***********************************
The Skinny:
After an outstanding month of February in which they posted a 10-3-1 record, tying the franchise mark for wins in February, the Rangers (37-20-6, 80 pts) begin a grueling stretch to open up the month of March with a tilt against the surging Penguins (32-22-8, 72 pts) on the road in Pittsburgh. That game will be followed up immediately on Friday night with a road contest in Washington against the league-leading Capitals before the Rangers close out the first week of the month at home Sunday against the Islanders, making it three hugely important games against division rivals in a four-day span. The Rangers come in playing well, having won three in a row and five of six, to close out February, and have added Eric Staal to their forward group, making their lineup more complete, more imposing, and more versatile moving forward. Staal will center Kevin Hayes and Oscar Lindberg on Thursday, but head coach Alain Vigneault is not averse to moving Staal to the wing as he did in the third period of his Rangers debut Monday against Columbus. Derek Stepan, who has nine points in his last ten games and who scored a shorthanded, game-winning goal on Monday, will center Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello while Derick Brassard will be in between J.T. Miller and Viktor Stalberg. Jesper Fast will miss his second straight game because of the flu so a forward—likely Marek Hrivik--will be recalled from Hartford in time to play against the Penguins. Henrik Lundqvist, who had the night off Monday in favor of Antti Raanta, is back between the pipes again for a Rangers team that has won five of its last six games played on the road and has now evened its road record at 14-14-3 on the season. Lundqvist is 14-5-1 in his last 20 appearances with a 1.93 GAA, .931 save percentage and two shutouts. He will be pitted against Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury, who shut out the Arizona Coyotes 6-0 Monday in his last start. Fleury is second in the league this season with five shutouts after leading the NHL with ten blankings a year ago. Fleury had the night off on Tuesday when the Penguins dropped a 3-2 decision to the Capitals in Washington, a game which saw Patric Hornqvist score for the fourth time in the past two games and Evgeni Malkin net his first goal since returning from an injury lay off. The Penguins, who will play 16 games in the month of March, added defenseman Justin Schultz in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers before the deadline Monday; and they are currently without the injured Ben Lovejoy, Eric Fehr and Beau Bennett.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Penguins are meeting for the second of four times this season, and will face one another three times over the next 24 days. On February 10 the Rangers skated out of CONSOL Energy Center with a 3-0 victory as Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 34 shots he faced, including 13 in the final period of play. Kevin Hayes opened the scoring 8:34 into the first period, Dominic Moore added an early third-period goal off a 2-on-1 rush, and Jesper Fast netted an empty netter to close out the scoring for New York which has now won five of its last six regular season games (5-0-1) against the Penguins while posting an 7-1-3 mark in their last 11 head to head meetings. The Rangers have won three of their last four regular season visits to the CONSOL Energy Center and four straight playoff games in Pittsburgh dating back to the 2014 post-season.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Keith Yandle: It was the sidebar story to the Rangers’ trade deadline deal to acquire Eric Staal from Carolina, but the fact that the team did not deal impending unrestricted free agent Keith Yandle spoke volumes about the Rangers organizations commitment to try and win the Stanley Cup, as well. At one point many believed Yandle would be traded before the deadline so that the rangers could receive some assets for him should he decide to sign elsewhere this summer. Yet Rangers management decided to keep Yandle and go “all in” on the pursuit of the Cup; and Yandle could not be any happier about that. The 29 year-old defenseman has played his best hockey as a Ranger since being acquired at the 2015 trade deadline over the past few months. Of late he has seven points in his last ten games, and Yandle really excelled when asked to play greater minutes when Ryan McDonagh was twice injured in February. Yandle leads the team in assists with 31 and is the club’s third leading scorer with 35 points. A three-time 50-point scorer, Yandle seems quite likely to reach 40 points this year for the sixth time in his career. He is also the first Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch in 2000-01 to record 30 assists overall and 20 even-strength assists in the same season. Among NHL all blueliners this season, Yandle is tenth in assists and 19th in points.
Penguins-Kris Letang: Like New York’s Keith Yandle, Kris Letang is also one of the NHL’s premier offensive defensemen and is third on his team in scoring this season, as well. Letang leads the Penguins with 37 assists, is third with 48 points and ranks sixth with 11 goals. Among the league’s defensemen Letang is tied for fourth in points, is fourth in assists and is tenth in goals scored. Letang, who has registered 333 points in 543 career games, is just six points shy of equaling his career-best of 54 set a year ago. Of course there’s a good chance he would have had plenty more point production in 2014-15 if injuries, including a late season concussion, had not limited him to 69 games played. Therein lies the only issue with Letang, remaining healthy. He has already missed ten games this season, and he hasn’t come close to playing a full season since doing so in 2010-11 as a wave of injuries has taken him down for stretches each and every year. Letang is healthy now and playing great hockey entering play Thursday. He has eight points (2-6-8) in his last seven games and an incredible 32 in the 25 games since December 31.
Where: CONSOL Energy Center
When: Thursday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: ESPN 98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
***********************************
The Skinny:
After an outstanding month of February in which they posted a 10-3-1 record, tying the franchise mark for wins in February, the Rangers (37-20-6, 80 pts) begin a grueling stretch to open up the month of March with a tilt against the surging Penguins (32-22-8, 72 pts) on the road in Pittsburgh. That game will be followed up immediately on Friday night with a road contest in Washington against the league-leading Capitals before the Rangers close out the first week of the month at home Sunday against the Islanders, making it three hugely important games against division rivals in a four-day span. The Rangers come in playing well, having won three in a row and five of six, to close out February, and have added Eric Staal to their forward group, making their lineup more complete, more imposing, and more versatile moving forward. Staal will center Kevin Hayes and Oscar Lindberg on Thursday, but head coach Alain Vigneault is not averse to moving Staal to the wing as he did in the third period of his Rangers debut Monday against Columbus. Derek Stepan, who has nine points in his last ten games and who scored a shorthanded, game-winning goal on Monday, will center Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello while Derick Brassard will be in between J.T. Miller and Viktor Stalberg. Jesper Fast will miss his second straight game because of the flu so a forward—likely Marek Hrivik--will be recalled from Hartford in time to play against the Penguins. Henrik Lundqvist, who had the night off Monday in favor of Antti Raanta, is back between the pipes again for a Rangers team that has won five of its last six games played on the road and has now evened its road record at 14-14-3 on the season. Lundqvist is 14-5-1 in his last 20 appearances with a 1.93 GAA, .931 save percentage and two shutouts. He will be pitted against Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury, who shut out the Arizona Coyotes 6-0 Monday in his last start. Fleury is second in the league this season with five shutouts after leading the NHL with ten blankings a year ago. Fleury had the night off on Tuesday when the Penguins dropped a 3-2 decision to the Capitals in Washington, a game which saw Patric Hornqvist score for the fourth time in the past two games and Evgeni Malkin net his first goal since returning from an injury lay off. The Penguins, who will play 16 games in the month of March, added defenseman Justin Schultz in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers before the deadline Monday; and they are currently without the injured Ben Lovejoy, Eric Fehr and Beau Bennett.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Penguins are meeting for the second of four times this season, and will face one another three times over the next 24 days. On February 10 the Rangers skated out of CONSOL Energy Center with a 3-0 victory as Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 34 shots he faced, including 13 in the final period of play. Kevin Hayes opened the scoring 8:34 into the first period, Dominic Moore added an early third-period goal off a 2-on-1 rush, and Jesper Fast netted an empty netter to close out the scoring for New York which has now won five of its last six regular season games (5-0-1) against the Penguins while posting an 7-1-3 mark in their last 11 head to head meetings. The Rangers have won three of their last four regular season visits to the CONSOL Energy Center and four straight playoff games in Pittsburgh dating back to the 2014 post-season.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Keith Yandle: It was the sidebar story to the Rangers’ trade deadline deal to acquire Eric Staal from Carolina, but the fact that the team did not deal impending unrestricted free agent Keith Yandle spoke volumes about the Rangers organizations commitment to try and win the Stanley Cup, as well. At one point many believed Yandle would be traded before the deadline so that the rangers could receive some assets for him should he decide to sign elsewhere this summer. Yet Rangers management decided to keep Yandle and go “all in” on the pursuit of the Cup; and Yandle could not be any happier about that. The 29 year-old defenseman has played his best hockey as a Ranger since being acquired at the 2015 trade deadline over the past few months. Of late he has seven points in his last ten games, and Yandle really excelled when asked to play greater minutes when Ryan McDonagh was twice injured in February. Yandle leads the team in assists with 31 and is the club’s third leading scorer with 35 points. A three-time 50-point scorer, Yandle seems quite likely to reach 40 points this year for the sixth time in his career. He is also the first Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch in 2000-01 to record 30 assists overall and 20 even-strength assists in the same season. Among NHL all blueliners this season, Yandle is tenth in assists and 19th in points.
Penguins-Kris Letang: Like New York’s Keith Yandle, Kris Letang is also one of the NHL’s premier offensive defensemen and is third on his team in scoring this season, as well. Letang leads the Penguins with 37 assists, is third with 48 points and ranks sixth with 11 goals. Among the league’s defensemen Letang is tied for fourth in points, is fourth in assists and is tenth in goals scored. Letang, who has registered 333 points in 543 career games, is just six points shy of equaling his career-best of 54 set a year ago. Of course there’s a good chance he would have had plenty more point production in 2014-15 if injuries, including a late season concussion, had not limited him to 69 games played. Therein lies the only issue with Letang, remaining healthy. He has already missed ten games this season, and he hasn’t come close to playing a full season since doing so in 2010-11 as a wave of injuries has taken him down for stretches each and every year. Letang is healthy now and playing great hockey entering play Thursday. He has eight points (2-6-8) in his last seven games and an incredible 32 in the 25 games since December 31.
Mar 3 - 12:32am by JimCerny
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