Who: New York Rangers vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Wednesday night at 8:00 PM
Watch: NBCSN; post-game on MSG Network
Listen: ESPN-98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
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The Skinny:
Tonight's
Original Six matchup, presented by G.H. Bass & Co., pits the
Rangers against the Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden. The
Rangers (32-18-6) come into tonight's game off an emotional 3-1 victory
Sunday night against the Philadelphia Flyers that saw two fights in the
game's opening minute, including Dylan McIlrath dropping the gloves with
Wayne Simmonds, who a week prior concussed Rangers captain Ryan
McDonagh with a sucker punch.
After the fists stopped flying, the
Rangers got on the board on Derick Brassard's 19th goal of the season,
and later padded their lead with two goals from Derek Stepan, including
the 100th of his career. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was superb when he
needed to be, and came within 10 seconds of his second consecutive
shutout.
After a difficult December and parts of January, the
Blueshirts have found their game and the type of style of play that has
made them so successful under head coach Alain Vigneault. Since Jan. 16,
the Rangers are 9-3-1, tied for the most wins in that span in the NHL.
The Garden has also been a place of fortune for the Rangers, who come
into tonight's game on an 8-0-2 run at home, and have at least one point
in 23 of the last 27 games at MSG.
The Rangers could have
McDonagh back in the lineup, as the defenseman skated with the team in a
full contact jersey on Tuesday and declared himself ready to go.
Vigneault would not confirm that No. 27 would be back in the lineup, and
stated he needed to talk to McDonagh Wednesday morning.
While
McDonagh could return, both Marc Staal and Dan Boyle could be absent
from the contest. Boyle did not practice Tuesday due to a bout with the
flu, and Staal and his wife are expecting a child. If one or both cannot
go, Vigneault said a defenseman would be recalled from Hartford.
The
Blackhawks come into tonight's game off a dominating 7-2 victory over
the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night, and are one of the most
powerful offensive forces in the NHL. Chicago has three players with 40
or more points, including Hart Trophy favorite Patrick Kane, who has 82
points in 60 games this season.
Rookie sensation Artemi Panarin is
dominating the rookie scoring list with 54 points in 58 games, while
Jonathan Toews continues to do a bit of everything for Chicago, as he
remains one of the best two-way players in the NHL. On the backend,
stalwarts Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are as steady as they come on
the blueline in the NHL, with 37 and 36 points, respectively.
Head To Head:
The
Rangers and Blackhawks are meeting for the second and final time this
season on Wednesday night. On Opening Night, with the Blackhawks
celebrating their 2015 Stanley Cup one more time prior to the contest,
the Rangers scored three times in the first period en-route to a 3-2
victory. Oscar Lindberg opened the scoring just 1:43 into the game, his
first NHL goal coming on the team's first shot of the season. Kevin
Klein and Derek Stepan also scored for New York, and J.T. Miller
contributed a pair of assists. Henrik Lundqvist was the difference in
this one, finishing with 32 saves, including 14 in the third period. The
Rangers have won four of their last five games overall against the
Blackhawks, and have earned at least one point in 11 of 14. Last season
the teams exchanged 1-0 shutouts--with Cam Talbot and the Blueshirts
turning the trick first, winning in overtime on Derick Brassard's goal,
on March 8 in Chicago before the Blackhawks exited MSG with a 1-0
shutout of their own ten days later, with Scott Darling between the
pipes.
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Henrik Lundqvist:
With the Rangers facing the fourth most potent offense in the NHL on
Wednesday--Chicago has scored 170 goals so far this season--Henrik
Lundqvist becomes the central figure as New York looks to shut down the
high-powered Blackhawks. Lundqvist has played exceptionally well against
Chicago throughout his career, clearly thriving on playing a team that
has won three Stanley Cup championships during his time in the league.
In nine career starts against the Blackhawks Lundqvist is 6-1-2 with a
1.98 GAA and .935 save percentage, allowing two or fewer goals in eight
of those nine appearances. Earlier this season he stopped 32 of 34 shots
out in Chicago to lead New York to a 3-2 victory on Opening Night.
Lundqvist is also on top of his game right now. He could very well have
three consecutive shutouts heading into play Wednesday--he did blank the
Penguins 3-0 in Pittsburgh a week ago, but lost shutouts late in the
third period of last Monday's 2-1 win in New Jersey and Sunday's 3-1
victory over the Flyers at MSG. Lundqvist was still recognized for his
efforts, being names the NHL's Second Star of the Week. Lundqvist is
tied for third in the league with 28 wins, and is tied for second in
games played with 47, just one behind Chicago's Corey Crawford. In his
last five starts--and in 11 of the past 13--Lundqvist has allowed two
goals or fewer.
Blackhawks-Patrick Kane: Name the
offensive statistical category this season and you will see Patrick
Kane's name at the top, or right near it. He leads the NHL by an
18-point margin in scoring with 82 points, which is just six shy of his
career high set back in 2009-10, his second season in the league. He is
second in the NHL with 34 goals, which has already established a new
career-high, and his 48 assists are also second most. His 29 power play
points and 14 power play goals top the league, and his +23 plus/minus
mark is tied for third best in the league. So all in all, the 27
year-old Kane has been, hands-down, the league's top player so far in
2015-16, and he is coming off a four-point game against the Maple Leafs,
one in which he racked up three power play assists to go along with an
even strength goal. It was his 21st multiple-point game so far this
year. The Rangers limited Kane to one assist on Opening Night, the
start of six points in the season's first three games for Blackhawks
superstar forward. It will take an all-hands-on-deck mentality from the
Rangers if they are to hold the former first overall pick in check on
Wednesday.
