Postgame Notes: Rangers at Predators 12.29.18
© John Russell
- POINT TAKEN -The Rangers have earned at least one point in each of the last three games, in eight of their last 10 games, in 19 of the last 26 games, and in 22 of the last 32 games.
- ON POINT -A Rangers defensemen recorded a goal in tonight's game (Marc Staal - third period). Rangers defensemen have tallied 15 goals over the last 24 contests. At least one Rangers defenseman has recorded a goal in five of the last 10 games, in seven of the last 14 contests, and in 13 of the last 24 games.
- POWER RANGERS -The Rangers were 1-for-2 (2:07) on the power play in tonight's game. For the second consecutive game, the Rangers recorded a power play goal seven seconds after the start of a power play, and the Rangers are 2-for-3 (66.7%) on the power play over the last two games. New York has registered six power play goals over the last seven games (6-for-21; 28.6%*over the span). In addition, the Blueshirts have recorded a power play goal in 10 of the last 22 games and have tallied 14 power play goals during the stretch (14-for-59; 23.7% over the span).
- ONE AND WON -Each of the Rangers' last three games, five of the Blueshirts' last seven games, seven of their last 10 games, and 19 of the team's 37 games this season have been decided by one goal. The Blueshirts have posted a 9-3-7 record in games decided by one goal in 2018-19.
- FIRST IN SCORE -The Rangers tallied the first goal of the game for the seventh time in the last 10 games, the 12th time in the last 19 games, and the 21st time in 37 contests this season. New York has earned at least one point in 15 of the 21 games when registering the first goal this season (9-6-6 record).
- BLOCK PARTY -The Rangers were credited with 19 blocked shots in tonight's contest. The Blueshirts have registered 15 or more blocked shots in 25 of 37 games this season.
- SMASHVILLE -The Rangers have won nine of their last 14 games against Nashville (9-5-0), including six of their last nine games against the Predators (6-3-0). In addition, the Blueshirts have posted an 8-4-0-1 all-time record against the Predators in Nashville*.
Three Stars on Broadway
- Jesper Fasttied single-game career-highs with two goals, three points, and a plus-three rating, registered the game-winning goal in the third period, tied for team-highs with three shots on goal and two takeaways, and was credited with three blocked shots in tonight's contest. He was selected as the game's First Star. Fast posted a multi-goal game for the third time in his NHL career and a three-point game for the second time in his NHL career (he recorded his first career three-point game on Mar. 22, 2018 at Philadelphia). He registered a goal/point in both of the Rangers' games against Nashville this season. Fast, who was playing in his first game since Dec. 14, has tallied four points (three goals, one assist) in his last three games, five points (four goals, one assist) in his last five games, and seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last nine games.
- Mika Zibanejadestablished a single-game career-high with four assists and tied single-game career-highs with four points and a plus-three rating. Zibanejad became the first Ranger to tally four assists in a game since Artem Anisimov on Jan. 19, 2011 vs. Toronto, as well as the first Ranger to tally four assists in a road gamesince Jaromir Jagr on Feb. 19, 2008 at Montreal. Zibanejad posted a four-point game for the third time in his NHL career and for the second time this season (also on Oct. 23 vs. Florida; two goals, two assists). Zibanejad recorded an assist/point on all of the Rangers' four goals in the game, and three of his four assists were primary assists. He has recorded 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in the last 13 games, 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in the last 24 games, and 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in the last 33 contests. In addition, Zibanejad has posted a multi-point game in four of the last 11 contests, five of the last 13 games, and six of the last 16 contests. He leads the Rangers in points (34) and is tied for the team lead in assists (23) this season.
- Chris Kreidertallied three points (one goal, two assists), including a power play goal, tied a single-game career-high with a plus-three rating, tied for the team-high with three shots on goal, and was credited with three hits. Kreider tallied the first goal of the game tonight, and the goal was his 20th goal of the 2018-19 season. He has recorded 20 goals in a season for the fourth time in his career (and the fourth time in the last five seasons), and he is the only Ranger who has registered 20 or more goals in four different seasons since 2014-15. Kreider's goal was also his team-leading seventh power play goal of the season, and he has tied a career-high for power play goals in one season (he also registered seven power play goals in 2014-15 and 2017-18). Kreider has posted a multi-point game in each of the last two contests (three goals, two assists in the two games). He also extended his goal/point streak to four games (five goals, two assists over the span), and his four-game goal streak is a new career-high. In addition, Kreider has tallied a goal/point in five of the last six games, and he has recorded eight points (six goals, two assists) in the six contests. Kreider recorded a goal on a tipped shot for the seventh time this season, and as of the conclusion of tonight's game, he leads the NHL in goals on tipped shots in 2018-19.
