NYR TODAY Sunday 12/31: Today in Rangers History

Today in NYR History December 31:

1991: Brian Leetch establishes a new Rangers record by extending his point streak to 17 games. Leetch records an assist in a 5-2 Rangers victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

NYR TODAY Saturday 12/30: Alumni Birthday, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthday December 30:

Lester "The Silver Fox" Patrick (December 31, 1883 – June 1, 1960) Seasons with Rangers: 20 (13 as head coach; 20 as general manager) Regular-Season Games with Rangers: 1 Playoff Games with Rangers: 0

Today in NYR History December 30:

1934: Goaltenders Dave Kerr of the New York Rangers and Tiny Thompson of the Boston Bruins are flawless in a scoreless tie at Madison Square Garden.

1996: Wayne Gretzky scores two goals, and Mike Richter makes 31 saves as the Rangers defeat the Dallas Stars, 3-2. It’s the Rangers first victory in Dallas in franchise history.

RANGERS VS RED WINGS POST GAME WRAP UP 12/29

RANGERS FALL IN SHOOTOUT 3-2

A hard fought game that the Rangers came out on the losing side of tonight in Detroit. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 33 of 35 shots on goal while his counterpart at the other end of the ice Jimmy Howard stopped 37 of 38 Rangers shots.

The Rangers took the lead in the first period when Jimmy Vesey picked up the puck behind the Red Wings net and slid  pass out to David Desharnais for the goal. The Rangers who started out slow and depended on Lundqvist to carry the load wound up out shooting Detroit 8-0 in the last 10:20 of the period.

In the second Deroit rebounded after a high flip into the Rangers zone which Anthony Athanasiou burned Nick Holden and beat hinm to the puck putting the game tying goal past Lundqvist.

The Rangers retook the lead just over 2 minutes into the third when Boo Nieves sent one to Rookie Vinni Lettieri for his first NHL goal in his first NHL game. The Red Wings were able to answer back just under 5 minutes later when Henrik Zetterberg tied the game 2-2. The teams remained scoreless and headed to overtime for the 9th time in the last 14 games between the two teams.

The Rangers who were on the penalty kill to start overtime killed the remaining 40 seconds of Marc Staal's hooking penalty. Brady Skjei was pulled down by Frans Nielsen and was awarded a penalty shot but was stopped by Howard on the attempt.

All 3 Rangers shooters in the shootout , Zuccarello, Zibanejad & Shattenkirk either missed or were stopped by Howard. Frans Nielsen scored the lone shootout goal in the first round for the Red Wings win.

FINAL GAME STATS F/SO

New York Rangers 2 Detroit Red Wings 3

GOALIES:
NYR Henrik Lundqvist 33 SV
DET Jimmy Howard 37 SV

SOG:
NYR 39 DET 35

PPO:
NYR 0/4 DET 0/5

PIM:
NYR 10 DET 8
   
SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period
17:35    D. Desharnais (4)
Assist: J. Vesey    1-0

2nd Period
7:46    A. Athanasiou (6)
Assist: D. Larkin    1-1

3rd Period
2:35    V. Lettieri (1)
Assist: B. Nieves    2-1

7:05    H. Zetterberg (6)
Assist: G. Nyquist    2-2

Overtime

NONE

Start of Shootout period
Shootout GOAL scored by Frans Nielsen on Henrik Lundqvist
Shootout attempt by Mats Zuccarello saved by Jimmy Howard
Shootout attempt by Gustav Nyquist saved by Henrik Lundqvist
Shootout attempt by Mika Zibanejad MISSES
Shootout attempt by Henrik Zetterberg MISSES
End of Shootout
End of Game

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period
1:42    K. Shattenkirk: 2:00 Slashing
11:06    T. Daley: 2:00 Slashing
12:47    R. McDonagh: 2:00 Interference

2nd Period
3:54    J. Howard: 2:00 Delay of Game
(Served by M. Frk)

16:35    R. Nash: 2:00 High Sticking

3rd Period

3:51    M. Frk: 2:00 Tripping
7:42    D. Helm: 2:00 Hooking
16:31    B. Smith: 2 minutes for Illegal check to head G. Nyquist
18:40    M. Staal: 2 Minutes for Hooking A. Athanasiou

Overtime
2:22    F. Nielsen tripping on B. Skjei receives Penalty Shot (missed)

RANGERS VS RED WINGS GAME DAY PREVIEW 12/29

RANGERSTOWN INVADES HOCKEYTOWN

New York Rangers (20-13-4) vs Detroit Red Wings (13-16-7)

TONIGHT 7:30 PM TV: MSG RADIO: WEPN 98.7 FM

Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI

Tonight the Rangers and Red Wings meet for the second of three games this season. The Rangers took the first game 2-1 at Madison Square Garden on November 24fh. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 41 shots on goal in the contest while Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello provided the offense. Tonight’s buffer will be the only game between the two played in Detroit.

While we will see Lundqvist return to the Rangers lineup after his backup Ondrej Pavelec backstopped the Rangers to a 1-0 win on Tuesday against the Capitals we will not see forward Chris Kreider. Kreider left the game Tuesday after swelling in his right arm which was noticed earlier in the day during practice. Kreider was diagnosed yesterday with a blood clot in his right arm and could miss up to 6-8 weeks of ice time. Add to the mix of dependable forward Jesper Fast who is out with a quad strain we will see a Rangers lineup that is spread a bit thin.

The Rangers recalled forward Vinni Lettieri from Hartford of the AHL yesterday to replace Kreider in the lineup.  Lettieri has 12 goals and 9 assists this season for the Wolf Pack. He will slot in on the fourth line opposite Paul Carey and centered by Boo Nieves. The only other line change from Tuesday will see Pavel Buchnevich moved up from the fourth line to the third centered by David Desharnais and flanked by Jimmy Vesey. The defense remains the same.

The Rangers coming off the 1-0 win over the Capitals are 3-2 in their last 5 games and are 4th in the Metro Division and currently tied with the Islanders for the Eastern Conference Wild Card Spot.

Unlike the Rangers Detroit dropped their last game on a 3-1 loss to New Jersey on Tuesday. In their last 5 games the Red Wings have gone 2-3 and are currently 6th in the Atlantic Division and 11 points behind a Wild Card Spot.

TEAM LEADERS

Rangers

POINTS: Mats Zuccarello 29

GOALS: Michael Grabner 17

ASSISTS: Mats Zuccarello 21

Red Wings

POINTS: Dylan Larkin 30

GOALS: Anthony Mantha 13

ASSISTS: Dylan Larkin 25

Rangers Projected Lineup

Forwards

Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner, Kevin Hayes, JT Miller
Pavel Buchnevich, David Desharnais, Jimmy Vesey

Paul Carey, Boo Nieves, Vinni Lettieri

Defense

Ryan McDonagh, Nick Holden

Brady Skjei, Marc Staal

Brendan Smith, Kevin Shattenkirk

Starter

Henrik Lundqvist

Backup

Ondrej Pavelec

Scratches

Steven Kampfer D

Injuries

Chris Kreider (Blood Clot Right Arm)

Jesper Fast )Quad Strain)

NYR TODAY Friday 12/29: Today in Rangers History

Today in NYR History December 29:

1974: The Rangers play the Kansas City Scouts for the first time, and defeat them, 2-1, in Kansas City.

NYR TODAY Thursday 12/28: Alumni Birthdays, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthdays December 28:

Bucky Buchanan C (1948-1949) Harry Howell D (1952-1969) Terry Sawchuk G (1969-1970)

Today in NYR History December 28:

1962: Red Sullivan becomes the tenth head coach in Rangers history.

1975: The New York Rangers become the first NHL team to play a team from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Red Army defeat the Rangers 7-3 at Madison Square Garden in the opener of the first "Super Series" between Soviet and NHL teams.

RANGERS VS CAPITALS POST GAME WRAP UP 12/27

PAVELEC, RANGERS BLANK CAPS IN SHOOTOUT 1-0

A Battle of the Backup Goaltenders as Ondrej Pavelec stopped all 30 shots on goal by the Washington Capitals and at the other end Phillipp Grubauer stopped 37 Rangers shots on goal through 65 minutes of play.

It took until the shoout out for the Rangers to win the game 1-0 in 2 rounds. Mats Zuccarello and Mika Zibanejad both scored for the Rangers while Pavelc stopped an attempt by T.J. Oshie and Alexander Ovechkin misssed wide on his attempt.

Chris Kreider left the game between the first and second periods and did not return. After the game coach Alain Vigneault annouced that Kreider had suffered an upper body injury and more would be revealed after tomorrow's pratice.

The Rangers 20th win of the year kept them tied with the Islanders for the final wild card playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

FINAL GAME STATS

New York Rangers 0 Washington Capitals 0

GOALIES:

NYR Ondrej Pavelec 30 SV

WSH Philipp Grubauer 37 SV

SOG:

NYR 37 WSH 30

PPO:

NYR 0/3 WSH 0/2

PIM:

NYR 4 WSH 6

   

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

NONE

Overtime

NONE

Shootout

GOAL scored by Mats Zuccarello on Philipp Grubauer

Attempt by T.J. Oshie saved by Ondrej Pavelec

GOAL scored by Mika Zibanejad on Philipp Grubauer
Attempt by Alex Ovechkin saved by Ondrej Pavelec

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

10:11    B. Smith: 2:00 Crosschecking

12:33    L. Eller: 2:00 Holding
15:21    R. Nash: 2:00 Interference

3rd Period

2:24    M. Niskanen 2:00 Closing Hand on Puck

Overtime

4:35    A. Ovechkin: 2:00 Tripping

3 STARS OF THE GAME

1. ONDREJ PAVELEC NYR

2. Phillip Grubauer WSH

3. MATS ZUCCARELLO NYR

BRAODWAY HAT

MIKA ZIBANEJAD

RANGERS VS CAPITALS GAME DAY PREVIEW 12/27

RANGERS HOST CAPITALS AT THE GARDEN

New York Rangers (19-13-4) vs Washington Capitals (22-13-2)

TONIGHT 8:00 PM TV: NBCSN RADIO: ESPN 1050 AM

Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY

Hockey returns to Madison Square Garden tonight after a 3 day layoff for the Holiday break as the Rangers take on division rivals the Washington Capitals.

The Rangers look to end a two game skid tonight after an overtime loss to New Jersey last Thursday and Saturday’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both losses saw numerous turnovers and a huge jump in minor penalties to the Rangers that ate up valuable time to put out any offensive numbers.

Thursday’s loss saw Alain Vigneault bench defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk for most of the closing period, Saturday’s saw the benching of top line center Mika Zibanejad which Vigneault deemed due to two untimely turnovers by Zibanejad who had just returned from concussion symptoms two games ago.

Tonight the Rangers will try to right the ship in the second of four games this season against the Washington Capitals. The Rangers dropped the first meeting between the two teams earlier in the month on December 8 in Washington 4-2. Michael Grabner and Jesper Fast score the Rangers goals in the loss while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 36 of 40 shots on goal.

The Capitals come into the game also having lost their last two games, a 3-2 loss to Arizona last Friday and a 3-0 blanking by Vegas on Christmas Eve.

The 4th place Rangers trail the 2nd place Capitals by 4 points in the Metropolitan Division standings and are tied with the Islanders with 42.

TEAM LEADERS

Rangers

POINTS: Mats Zuccarello 29

GOALS: Michael Grabner 17
ASSISTS: Mats Zuccarello 21

Capitals

POINTS: Evgeny Kuznetsov 38

GOALS: Alex Ovechkin 23
ASSISTS: Evgeny Kuznetsov 26

HALL OF FAMER JOHNNY BOWER DEAD 93

Goaltender Johnny Bower, who spent 13 seasons in the minor leagues before putting together a Hockey Hall of Fame career that included helping the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup four times in the 1960s, died Tuesday of pneumonia. He was 93.

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 Wednesday 12/27: Alumni Birthday, Today in Rangers History

NYR Alumni Birthday December 27:

Brad Brown D (2000-2001)

Today in NYR History December 27:

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 defenseman, tallying his 611th career point with an assist to pass Ron Greschner. The Rangers beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, 3-2, at MSG.

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

NYR Alumni Birthday December 26:

Mark Heaslip RW (1976-1978)

Today in NYR History December 26:

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.

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.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our readers here on blogspot. Thank you once again for another wonderful year of following the New York Rangers.

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

NYR Alumni Birthday December 25:

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

Today in NYR History December 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 he last time the League plays on Christmas Day, 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.