MCDONAGH’s OT GOAL LEADS BLUESHIRTS PAST CHEESESTEAKS 

   Game Summary                                                   PHI: M. Neuvirth (OT)  NYR: H. Lundqvist (W)     Event Summary

–       HOME COOKING – The Rangers won all of their three preseason home games this year. The Blueshirts have won 15 of their last 17 preseason games at Madison Square Garden, dating back to Sept. 21, 2009 (15-2-0 record over the span).

–       WORKING OVERTIME – Three of the Blueshirts’ five preseason games this year have been decided in overtime, including all three preseason contests at Madison Square Garden. New York has posted a 3-0 record in games decided in overtime in the preseason.

–       POWER SURGE – New York was 1-for-6 (9:35) on the power play in tonight’s contest. The Rangers have recorded a power play goal in four consecutive games and have registered five power play goals through five preseason games this year.

–       SHUTTING THE DOOR – The Rangers have allowed two goals or fewer in four of five preseason games thus far this year and have allowed nine goals over the five contests (1.80 goals against per game).

–       Henrik Lundqvist made 37 saves in tonight’s contest, and stopped all 17 shots he faced in the third period and overtime, to earn the win in tonight’s contest. Lundqvist stopped 60 of 63 shots he faced in his final two appearances of the preseason this year (.952 SV% in the two contests). Entering the 2017-18 season, Lundqvist ranks 10th on the NHL’s all-time wins list (405), and he is one of three goaltenders in NHL history who have earned 30 or more wins in at least 11 different seasons (along with Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy).

–       Ryan McDonagh notched two points (one goal, one assist), including the game-winning goal in overtime, and recorded three shots on goal in 23:58 of ice time. McDonagh was one of six NHL defensemen who registered at least 40 points and posted a plus-20 rating or better last season.

–       Pavel Buchnevich recorded two assists, including a power play assist, and registered three shots on goal. He has tallied three assists/points in three preseason games this year. Buchnevich ranked eighth among NHL rookies (min. 20 games played) in points per 60 minutes of ice time (2.21) and tied for ninth in assists per 60 minutes of ice time (1.32) in 2016-17.

–       Rick Nash tallied a power play goal and tied for the team-high with four shots on goal in the contest. Entering the 2017-18 season, Nash is one of two NHL players who has registered at least 20 goals in 12 different seasons since 2003-04 (along with Alex Ovechkin).

–       Mika Zibanejad recorded a goal and registered three shots on goal. Zibanejad established career-highs in faceoff win percentage (52.0%; 494-for-950), assists per game (0.41), and points per game (0.66), and tied career-highs in power play goals (four) and plus/minus rating (plus-nine) in 2016-17. He recorded a point in 28 of the 56 games in which he played last season (14 goals, 23 assists), and the Rangers posted a 33-17-6 record when he was in the lineup.

–       Mats Zuccarello tallied an assist on the game-winning goal in overtime, recorded three shots on goal, and posted a plus-one rating. He established career-highs in several categories during the 2016-17 season, including assists (44), even strength assists (35), even strength points (45), takeaways (70), and shots on goal (189). Zuccarello led the Rangers in assists, points (59), even strength assists, takeaways, and shootout goals (four), and tied for the team lead in even strength points in 2016-17.

–       Filip Chytil tallied an assist on the game-winning goal in overtime, tied for the team-high with four shots on goal, and posted a plus-one rating. He has registered a point in each of the three preseason games he has played this year (one goal, two assists). Chytil, who was selected by the Rangers in the first round (21st overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, ranked second among players younger than 18 years old in Czech Extraliga in games played (38), goals (four), and points (eight) during the 2016-17 season.

–       Chris Kreider registered an assist and posted a plus-one rating. Kreider has recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in three preseason games this year. Kreider established career-highs in goals (28), points (53), shots on goal (186), power play assists (seven), power play points (13), and average ice time (17:00), and tied his career-high in assists (25) last season.

• Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers head coach

On whether Filip Chytil met expectations tonight compared to his performance in training camp … 

“We put him in difficult situations and again tonight from my standpoint, you see a real strong skater there and confident with the puck. I threw him out there and for the most part, I thought he did well tonight.” 

On whether they are any closer to making decisions on final cuts after tonight’s game…

“We’ve got one more game there and a lot of those players are going to play on back-to-back nights. They’re going to have another opportunity to show what they can do and we’ll have to make decisions. We still have 34 players at this time so we have to get down to 24 or 25 after tomorrow. We’re going to have to let them play and they’ll make the decisions for us by how they are playing.” 

• Dave Hakstol, Philadelphia Flyers head coach 

On possibly keeping a third rookie defenseman on the final roster after Sanheim’s performance…

“I don’t know. We got another good night of information tonight. Those two young guys played pretty well. Sanheim had a real impact on the hockey game tonight. We still have three exhibition games to go, so there’s still a lot of information to be had. We’re going to let these guys make those decisions.” 

On Travis Sanheim’s development during the preseason…

“I learned more about him five, six days ago. He didn’t have a great night [game vs. New York Islanders]. He didn’t have a great night. Sometimes you learn as much from a player and where he’s at coming off a night like that. He didn’t let it shake him and he came back and he had a great practice the next day and he carried that on into the next game. To me, that showed maturity on his part.”

• Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers goaltender

On facing 39 shots tonight…

“It was perfect.  You only get three starts.  For me, it’s not the amount of starts, it’s the amount of action I see in these three games.  I felt like in every game I got to work, and in the end, we got the win.  But for me in three games, I’m looking for a lot of action so I can make a lot of decisions because that’s how I get feedback from my game.  I enjoyed it; it was maybe not a perfect game but it was a game where we showed character.  We gave up that late one in the second period.  That hurt a little bit but we came out in the third and we made sure we wanted to play our best period.  I thought we had more jump.  Like I said it was a good game for me to really battle through.”

On what he wanted to work on tonight…

“I wanted to work on everything – playing the puck, seeing pucks through traffic.  I felt like they played a game where there was a lot of different looks.  They like to go across a lot so you have to be patient.  Overall, I felt like it was a good test for me to just work on my game and get good feedback when I sit down and watch the game later and analyze a little bit.  I have a week now to work on everything in my game here to make sure everything is as good as it can be.”

On what his preparation will be like leading up to the regular season…

“Well, I know we have a trip coming up that will be good for the group.  We have a lot of new guys that we need to get to know each other.  But personally, just try to keep really high-quality practices, high intensity, and watch some video as well.  There are definitely things here I can use moving forward from these three games – good and bad, things I need to work on.  I had a mindset going into the season of how I want to play my game and I feel like these three games have been a good start and good test for me.”

• Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers defenseman

On what he got out of tonight’s game…

“It was playing against skilled forwards, a lot of speed, a lot of size and that’s what you want.  You want that type of challenge.  This is a team that’ll make you pay if you’re not sharp.  I still think we gave them some odd-man looks and some breakaways.  Hank (Lundqvist) had to be real sharp and he was.  I liked our start.  We were a little slow there in the second, and we all beared down there and put out a good solid third period.”

On winning three games while playing 3-on-3 in overtime…

“We talked about trying to be a quick, mobile group back there and upfront too.  It’s good to take advantage of that time and space on the ice and find a way to finish.”

On the team keeping their edge going into the regular season…

“It’s a good break.  We’re still definitely going to work hard in practice and you’ve got to bear down, go hard against your teammates there and make sure that come opening night you’re ready to play with that pace and physicality that we need.  We didn’t have the puck a lot tonight.  In the third period, I think we just tried to focus on our battles, coming up with the puck, hanging onto the puck a little more too.  We spent some time in their zone and found a way.”

• Marc Staal, New York Rangers defenseman

On tonight’s game…

“I’ve tried to work as hard as I could in practice and getting my timing and my legs in the game, and I felt pretty good. We have another week here before we start up and I’m excited for the real thing.”

On what he wanted to work on tonight…

“We played a lot against their big guys. They had a lot of their (regular) guys in the lineup so we wanted to make sure we were strong one-on-one, winning your battles in front of the net and boxing out. All of that stuff, the little details that make a difference in a game, you want to be sharp with. Spent a little too much time in our end, but got to work on those things.”

• Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman

On his play improving…

“I’m slowly starting to build my game and get a lot more confidence and get comfortable playing with the guys around me.  I’m getting comfortable with the team, systems, and players around me.  It’s been good so far.  Obviously, we wanted a different outcome tonight but I like where my game’s at.”

On his confidence in the defensive zone…

“It starts with getting more reps and more control with the puck.  It’s playing more with the puck and the guys around me.  For the defensive side, I’m just trying to keep it simple.  Gudy [Radko Gudas] has been talking to me a lot so I’m communicating with him.  He’s been good to me and I’m just trying to get better every day.”

• Michael Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender

On the team’s play tonight…

“It was a tough start giving up a goal early but we played a really good road game.  We put a lot of pucks on the net.  They got a lucky bounce on the tying goal and in OT it’s 50/50.  I thought we played a good road game.”

On being ready for the regular season…

“I’ve been practicing well and was coming into the game with confidence.  I trust what I’m doing right now.  I’m trained to play my game and try to stay focused for the next shot.”

–       Morning Skate Schedule: The Rangers’ Game Group will not have a morning skate prior to tomorrow’s contest. The Rangers’ Non-Game Group will practice tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at MSG Training Center. Rangers Head Coach Alain Vigneault will be available to the media at 5:00 p.m.

–       Next Game: Tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 26 at Philadelphia (7:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network)

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