Rangers vs. Flyers 1.25.17: Pregame Notes
© Bruce Bennett
TONIGHT'S GAME
The Rangers play their 49th game of the 2016-17 season tonight, Jan. 25, against the Philadelphia Flyers in a Metropolitan Division matchup at Madison Square Garden (8:00 p.m. ET - TV: NBCSN; Radio: ESPN 1050 AM). The Rangers enter the contest on a three-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents, 9-4, over the three games. The Rangers have posted a 31-16-1 record this season.
RANGERS VS. FLYERS
RANGERS-FLYERS CONNECTIONS
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. FLYERS
GOALS GALORE
New York ranks second in the NHL in goals (167 - includes two team goals awarded for shootout wins) and also ranks second in the NHL in goals per game (3.44) this season. The Rangers have recorded 52 goals over the last 13 games, registering at least four goals in nine of the 13 contests. The Blueshirts have also tallied five or more goals in six of the last 11 games.
WINNING WAYS
The Rangers' 31 wins in 2016-17 are tied for the second-most the team has earned through the first 48 games of one season in franchise history. The Blueshirts have earned at least 31 wins through the first 48 games of a season five times in franchise history (1971-72, 1972-73, 1993-94, 2011-12, 2016-17), and the only season in which the Rangers earned more than 31 wins through the first 48 contests was 1993-94 (32).
MAKING THE DIFFERENCE
The Blueshirts enter the contest with a plus-40 goal differential this season (167 goals for; 127 goals against). The Rangers are one of four NHL teams that have posted a plus-40 goal differential or better this season (along with Washington, Columbus, and Minnesota).
TAKING THE METRO
The Rangers have posted a 10-5-0 record against Metropolitan Division opponents this season, including a 5-1-0 record at MSG against teams in the Metropolitan Division. Beginning with tomorrow's game, 15 of the Rangers' final 34 regular season contests are against teams in the Metropolitan Division.
HOME COOKING
In their last 100 regular season games at Madison Square Garden (since Nov. 3, 2014), the Rangers have posted a 63-28-9 record (.675 points percentage).
TWO GOOD
The Rangers have allowed two goals or fewer in each of the last three games (four goals allowed over the span). In addition, the Blueshirts have allowed two goals or fewer in regulation in 29 of 48 games this season and have posted a 25-3-1 record in those 29 contests.
AV SQUAD
Alain Vigneault coached his 1,100th career game as a National Hockey League head coach on Jan. 23 vs. Los Angeles. Vigneault became the seventh active NHL head coach to reach the milestone (Quenneville, Ruff, Hitchcock, Trotz, Maurice, and Sutter), as well as the 18th head coach in league history to accomplish the feat. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only NHL head coach who earned more wins than Vigneault through his first 1,100 games coached in the league was Scotty Bowman (651 - Note: 48 of Vigneault's 597 wins were in games which his team won in a shootout).
KING HENRIK
Henrik Lundqvist has earned a win in each of his last three appearances, posting a 1.32 GAA, a .952 SV% (80 saves on 84 shots), and 1 SO over the three contests. He earned his 20th win of the 2016-17 season on Jan. 22 at Detroit. Lundqvist is the first goaltender in NHL history who has registered at least 20 wins in each of his first 12 seasons in the league. In addition, Lundqvist is the 10th goaltender in NHL history who has earned at least 20 wins in 12 or more seasons, and his 12 consecutive 20-win seasons are tied for the most in NHL history (Brodeur and Esposito).
WELCOME MATS
Mats Zuccarello has registered 18 points (one goal, 17 assists) over the last 15 games (since Dec. 18), and he leads the NHL in assists over the span. He ranks second in the NHL in even strength assists this season (24), only trailing Connor McDavid (25). Zuccarello leads the Rangers in assists (29), points (38), even strength assists, and even strength points (31) this season. He enters the contest with a six-game point streak (one goal, seven assists), and he has recorded 23 points (two goals, 21 assists) in the last 23 games.
IT'S MILLER TIME
J.T. Miller has tallied a point on the game-winning goal in each contest during the Rangers' three-game winning streak, and he has registered the game-winning goal in two of the three contests. He has recorded a point in 10 of the last 11 games (seven goals, six assists), including a goal in four of the last six contests (four goals). Miller is tied for the team lead in games with a goal (14) and games with a point (27) this season.
UP FOR GRABS
Michael Grabner leads the NHL in even strength goals (20), is tied for seventh in goals (21), and ranks eighth in plus/minus rating (plus-23) this season. He is the only NHL player who has registered at least 20 goals and a plus-20 rating in 2016-17. Thus far this season, 28 of Grabner's 29 points have either been a goal or a primary assist. Grabner has registered 13 points (10 goals, three assists) and a plus-11 rating in 14 games he has played against Metropolitan Division opponents this season.
PAVEL'S PARTY
Pavel Buchnevich has notched a point in 10 of his 16 career NHL games (six goals, eight assists). Among NHL players who have skated in at least 10 games this season, Buchnevich is tied for fourth in points per 60 minutes of ice time (3.47).
STEP-AN UP
Derek Stepan has recorded 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in the last 30 games, including 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in the last 24 contests and 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in the last 15 games. He is tied for ninth in the NHL in primary assists in 2016-17 (18).
CAPTAIN MAC
Ryan McDonagh was selected to participate in the 2017 NHL All-Star Game. He is tied for first among NHL defensemen in primary assists (16), is tied for third in even strength assists (17), is tied for fifth in assists (26), and is tied for 12th in points (28) in 2016-17.
DAN'S THE MAN
Dan Girardi enters the contest with 769 career games played as a Ranger, and he is three games away from tying Adam Graves for ninth place on the franchise's all-time games played list. Girardi ranks second in the NHL in blocked shots this season (122).
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Rangers are one of five teams that have a 21.0% power play efficiency and an 82.0% penalty kill efficiency or better this season.
Power Play:
The Rangers were 0-for-3 (4:37) on Jan. 23 vs. Los Angeles.
New York has tallied a PPG in six of the last 12 games (10-for-42; 23.8%).
The Blueshirts rank 10th in the NHL in power play efficiency this season (21.1%; 31-for-147).
Penalty Kill:
The Rangers were 2-for-2 (2:37) on Jan. 23 vs. Los Angeles.
The Blueshirts are tied for 10th in the NHL in penalty kill efficiency this season (82.6%; 109-for-132).
New York has not allowed a power play goal over the last three games (7-for-7 on the penalty kill over the span).
New York ranks second in the NHL in SHG in 2016-17 (seven).
UPCOMING MILESTONES
INJURIES (126 Man-Games Lost to Injury)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
None
THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY
- Jan. 24, 1999 - While skating in his final NHL All-Star Game, Wayne Gretzky recorded three points (one goal, two assists) and was selected as the game's MVP.
- Jan. 24, 2008 - The Rangers retired Brian Leetch's No. 2 in a pre-game ceremony at MSG.
- Jan. 25, 1942 - Grant Warwick established a single-game rookie franchise record by tallying five points as the Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 11-2, at MSG.
- Jan. 25, 1967 - Four days after Harry Howell became the first player to appear in 1,000 games with the Rangers in franchise history, the Rangers held "Harry Howell Night" at MSG.
- Jan. 25, 1994 - Sergei Zubov tied a single-game franchise record for defensemen (at the time) with four assists, and Steve Larmer tallied four points (two goals, two assists) as the Rangers defeated the San Jose Sharks, 8-3.
