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

NYR Alumni Birthday December 24:

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

Today in NYR History December 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: In the final NHL game to be played on Christmas Eve, Serge Bernier scores four goals to help the Kings defeat the California Golden Seals 5-3 in Oakland. Bernier scores once in the first period and twice in the second, and then gets what proves to be the game-winner at 7:34 of the third period.
Earlier that night, Ed Giacomin ties Dave Kerr's Rangers record with his 40th NHL shutout, and 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.

NEW YORK RANGERS POST GAME REPORT: RANGERS VS WILD 12/23

Kreider Nets two but Rangers Fall to Wild 7-4

Despite 3 point games from Chris Keider and Derek Stepan the Rangers couldn't stop the Minnesota Wild on their way to their 10th win in a row. The Rangers who came out strong in the first and took the lead under 4 minutes into the opening period on Chris Kreider's 10th of the season just couldn't stave off the Wild tonight at MSG.

Goals by Kreider (2), Stepan and Ryan McDonagh just couldn't get the job done as Minnesota rallied to score 2 goals within the first minute of the second period.

Minnesota added their 4th goal of the game just under 3 minutes later to chase starter Henrik Lundqvist from the net in favor of Antti Raanta. The Wild were able to cash in 2 more times in the second but a last minute goal by Derek Stepan gave the Rangers hope heading into the third period.

The Rangers dominated the 3rd period holding Minnesota to 0 shots on goal but failed to capitalize on two power plays and only found the back of the net once, Chris Kreider's 2nd of the game with 3 minutes remaining. Minnesota added an empty net goal to seal the win and sned the Rangers into the Holiday break with a 2 game losing streak.

The Rangers return to action on Tuesday 12/27 as they host the Ottawa Senators in a 7:00 PM game.

FINAL GAME STATS

NEW YORK RANGERS 4 MINNESOTA WILD 7
SOG: NYR 35  MIN 20

POWER PLAY:  NYR  0/2 MIN 1/1

GOALTENDERS:
Minnesota - D. Kuemper (31 SV)
New York - H. Lundqvist (9 SV), A. Raanta (5 SV)

SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS SCORE
03:54 New York Chris Kreider (10) ASST: Mats Zuccarello (15), Derek Stepan (18) 0-1
09:53 Minnesota Mikael Granlund (8) ASST: Jason Zucker (13), Mikko Koivu (11) 1-1
2ND PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS SCORE
00:40 Minnesota Mikko Koivu (9) ASST: Jason Zucker (14) 2-1
00:58 Minnesota Nino Niederreiter (9) ASST: Charlie Coyle (13), Eric Staal (16) 3-1
02:17 New York Ryan McDonagh (2) ASST: Derek Stepan (19), Chris Kreider (13) 3-2
04:55 Minnesota Marco Scandella (1) ASST: Charlie Coyle (14), Mikko Koivu (12) 4-2
12:14 Minnesota Jason Zucker (8) ASST: Mikael Granlund (17) 5-2
17:24 Minnesota PPG - Matt Dumba (5) ASST: Charlie Coyle (15), Eric Staal (17) 6-2
19:00 New York Derek Stepan (7) ASST: Mats Zuccarello (16), Kevin Klein (10) 6-3
3RD PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS SCORE
17:00 New York Chris Kreider (11) ASST: Mats Zuccarello (17), Ryan McDonagh (18) 6-4
18:51 Minnesota EN - Charlie Coyle (12) 7-4

PENALTY SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS
No Penalties
2ND PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS
16:18 New York Jesper Fast - Tripping - 2 minutes
3RD PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS
09:10 Minnesota Eric Staal - Interference - 2 minutes
14:46 Minnesota Chris Stewart - Tripping - 2 minutes

NYR TODAY Friday 12/23: Game Day Preview, Alumni Birthdays, Today in Rangers History

NEW YORK RANGERS GAME DAY PREVIEW

NEW YORK RANGERS (23-11-1) MINNESOTA WILD (20-8-4)
Madison Square Garden, NYC 7:00 PM TV: MSG, RADIO: WEPN 98.7 FM NY

Tonight the Rangers take on the Minnesota Wild at Madison Square Garden for the first of two meetings between the teams. Looking to rebound after a disappointing showing versus Pittsburgh on Tuesday before the holiday break the Rangers may make some changes to the defense.

The Rangers are expected to go with the same offense but may tweak the defense for tonight's game with Adam Clending returning to the lineup. Clendening worked on the second power play unit in practice yesterday.

Despite a 40 save performance by Antti Raanta on Tuesday Henrik Lundqvist is expected to make his return to net tonight as the starter. Lundqvist is 3--0 in his last three starts with a 0.98 goals against average, earning him the NHL's 2nd star of the week honors. Career versus Minnesota Lundqvist is 6-4-0 against the Wild, but is 4-1 with a 2.22 GAA in five appearances against Minnesota at The Garden.

Minnesota has won their last nine straight, including a 4-2 victory Thursday night in Montreal over the Canadiens.

NYR GAME DAY STATS:

NYR TEAM LEADERS:
GOALS: MICHAEL GRABNER 14
ASSISTS: RYAN McDONAGH, DEREK STEPAN 17
POINTS: KEVIN HAYES, DEREK STEPAN 23
+/-: MICHAEL GRABNER +18
GWG: DAN GIRARDI, BRANDON PIRRI, JIMMY VESEY, KEVIN HAYES 3
PPG: RICK NASH, JIMMY VESEY, BRANDON PIRRI 4
PPP: RICK NASH, DEREK STEPAN, CHRIS KREIDER, JIMMY VESEY, RYAN McDONAGH, BRANDON PIRRI 6
WINS: HENRIK LUNDQVIST 15
GOALIE STATS:
HENRIK LUNDQVIST  15-8-1 GAA: 2.34 SV%: .920 SO: 1
ANTTI RAANTA 8-3-0 GAA: 2.10 SV%: .930 SO: 2

NYR TEAM STATS
23-11-1
3rd Overall NHL
2nd Metropolitan Division
WINS: 23 (Rank #1)
POINTS: 47 (Rank #3)
WIN%: 0.671 (Rank #3)
GOALS FOR: 113 (Rank #2)
GOALS AGAINST: 81 (Rank #7)
POWER PLAY GOALS: 21 (Rank #10)
POWER PLAY RANK: 20.39 (Rank #10)
POWER PLAY GOALS AGAINST: 15 (Rank #3)
PENALTY KILL: 84.38 (Rank #6)
SHORT HANDED GOALS: 5 (Rank #2)
SHUTOUTS: 4 (Rank #3)
EMPTY NET GOALS: 6
SHOOTOUTS: 2/3

NYR Alumni Birthdays December 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 December 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.

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

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.

NYR TODAY Thursday 12/22: Rangers Quick Stats, Alumni Birthdays

NY Rangers Quick Stats

NY Rangers played 35 games in 69 days to start this season, which is the shortest time period for the Rangers to reach game 35 in franchise history.

Of the 17 NHL goaltenders who appeared in at least three games last week, Henrik Lundqvist ranked first in GAA (0.98) and SV% (.967).

Chris Kreider has tallied all of his 9 goals & 17 of his 21 points in 2016-17 when Rangers were either up 1 goal, down 1 goal, or tied.

Mats Zuccarello tallied his 17th career shootout goal against New Jersey, and he is the Rangers' all-time leader in shootout goals.

NYR Alumni Birthdays December 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)

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

NYR Alumni Birthdays December 21:

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

Today in NYR History December 21:

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

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.

NEW YORK RANGERS POST GAME REPORT: RANGERS AT PITTSBURGH 12/20

Rangers Routed in Pittsburgh 7-2

The Rangers looking very sluggish tonight in Pittsburgh were just plain out skated by the Penguins from the start. During the first period it took the Blueshirts 9 minutes to even get a shot on goal and were out shot 21 to 8 in the period.

The Penguins took a 1-0 lead in the first 6 minutes while Kevin Klein was in the box for a 4 minute high sticking penalty.

The Rangers were lucky to head to intermission tied at 1 when Matt Puempel was able to sneak one past Penguins' Matt Murray to tie the game.

The second period was all Pens who took a 3-1 lead heading into the 3rd period.

Rangers looked to be back in the game when Michael Grabner scored his 14th of the season and cut the lead to 3-2. But, the Pens rallied back and scored 4 unanswered goals to take the Win.

Antti Raanta had 40 saves on 47 shots on goal while the Rangers managed to get 28 shots on net.

Rangers return to action on Friday when they host the Minnesota Wild, 7:00 PM.


FINAL GAME STATS 

NEW YORK RANGERS 2 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 7
SOG: NYR 28 PIT 47

POWER PLAY:  NYR  0/3 PIT 3/5

GOALTENDERS:
New York - A. Raanta (40 SV)
Pittsburgh - M. Murray (26 SV)

SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS SCORE
05:55 Pittsburgh PPG - Sidney Crosby (22) ASST: Ian Cole (10), Justin Schultz (14) 0-1
16:59 New York Matt Puempel (2) ASST: Marek Hrivik (1), Nick Holden (12) 1-1
2ND PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS SCORE
04:43 Pittsburgh Evgeni Malkin (14) ASST: Chris Kunitz (11), Phil Kessel (22) 1-2
08:53 Pittsburgh PPG - Phil Kessel (11) ASST: Evgeni Malkin (22), Brian Dumoulin (7) 1-3
3RD PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS SCORE
01:52 New York Michael Grabner (14) ASST: Derek Stepan (17), Mats Zuccarello (14) 2-3
04:11 Pittsburgh Justin Schultz (6) ASST: Evgeni Malkin (23) 2-4
06:12 Pittsburgh Bryan Rust (9) ASST: Sidney Crosby (14) 2-5
12:22 Pittsburgh PPG - Patric Hornqvist (7) ASST: Nick Bonino (9) 2-6
ittsburgh Nick Bonino (6) 2-7

PENALTY SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS
02:19 New York Kevin Klein - High-sticking - 4 minutes
2ND PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS
02:02 Pittsburgh Derrick Pouliot - Tripping - 2 minutes
07:32 New York Kevin Hayes - High-sticking - 2 minutes
11:01 New York Chris Kreider - Goaltender Interference - 2 minutes
12:14 Pittsburgh Sidney Crosby - Kneeing - 2 minutes
7:44 Pittsburgh Ian Cole - Hooking - 2 minutes
3RD PERIOD
TIME TEAM DETAILS
10:42 New York Brady Skjei - Tripping - 2 minutes

Larry Brooks: Nash out again with another groin injury

Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported on Tuesday that New York Rangers forward Rick Nash will be out of the teams' lineup for an unknown amount of time with another groin injury.

Nash injured his groin against the New York Islanders on Dec. 6. He missed a few games, but returned against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 15.

Nash will be out of the lineup for an unknown amount of games, starting Tuesday night against Pittsburgh.

Nash, who missed four games with what he said was the first groin injury of his career, recorded goals in each of his first two games returning to the Rangers lineup. The winger, who has scored six goals in his past 11 games, has 20 points (13-7) in 30 games.