THE CLASH OF NEW YORK

NEW YORK RANGERS at NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, 7:00 p.m. ET
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
Rangers: 27-25-5 (59 pts)
Islanders: 27-25-6 (60 pts) 

BY: The New York Rangers

The New York Rangers 2017-18 Media Guide can be found via the following link: HERE

TOMORROW’S GAME

The Rangers play their 58th game of the 2017-18 season and continue a four-game road trip tomorrow, Feb. 15, against the New York Islanders in a Metropolitan Division matchup at Barclays Center (7:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Rangers have won two of their last three games (2-1-0 record). Including tomorrow’s game, three of the Blueshirts’ next four contests are road games.

RANGERS VS. ISLANDERS

• All-Time: 125-111-19-9 (71-45-11-6 at home; 54-66-8-3 on the road)
• 2017-18: Tomorrow’s game is the third of four meetings between the Rangers and Islanders, and the first of two meetings between the two teams at Brooklyn. The Rangers have posted a 0-1-1 record (0-1-1 at home; 0-0-0 on the road), and the Islanders won the last meeting between the two teams, 7-2, on Jan. 13 at MSG. Kevin Hayes leads the Rangers with two goals and is tied for the team lead with two points in the season series, while Mats Zuccarello and Ryan McDonagh are also tied for the team lead with two points in two games. Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers and Islanders will play against each other on the following date: Apr. 5 (at Brooklyn).
• The Rangers have earned at least one point in 17 of their last 29 games against the Islanders, dating back to Nov. 15, 2011 (13-12-4 record over the span).

RANGERS-ISLANDERS CONNECTIONS

• Michael Grabner played five seasons with the Islanders (2010-11 – 2014-15).
• Islanders Head Coach Doug Weight played parts of three seasons with the Rangers (1990-91 – 1992-93).
• Islanders Assistant Coach Scott Gomez played two seasons with the Rangers (2007-08 and 2008-09).
• Ondrej Pavelec and Andrew Ladd were teammates with the Thrashers/Jets for parts of six seasons (2010-11 – 2015-16).
• Rick Nash and Jason Chimera were teammates with the Blue Jackets for parts of five seasons (2005-06 – 2009-10).
• Kevin Shattenkirk and Jaroslav Halak were teammates with the Blues for parts of four seasons (2010-11 – 2013-14).
• Steven Kampfer, Johnny Boychuk, and Dennis Seidenberg were all teammates with the Bruins for parts of two seasons (2010-11 and 2011-12).
• Mika Zibanejad and Shane Prince were teammates with the Senators for parts of two seasons (2014-15 and 2015-16).
• Steven Kampfer and Cal Clutterbuck were teammates with the Wild for part of one season (2011-12).
• David Desharnais and Jordan Eberle were teammates with the Oilers for part of one season (2016-17).
• David Desharnais and Jaroslav Halak were teammates with the Canadiens for part of one season (2009-10).

INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. ISLANDERS

• Henrik Lundqvist – 58 GP, 30-19-7, 2.31 GAA, .919 SV%, 5 SO – Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in 35 of 58 career appearances against the Islanders.
• Rick Nash – 31 GP, 11-11-22 – Nash has tallied a point in four of the last five games against the Islanders (one goal, three assists). Since he joined the Rangers prior to the start of the 2012-13 season, Nash has recorded 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 22 games against the Islanders.
• David Desharnais – 21 GP, 5-11-16 – Desharnais has recorded eight points (five goals, three assists) in his last 12 games against the Islanders.
• Mats Zuccarello – 26 GP, 3-10-13 – Zuccarello enters the contest with a four-game point streak against the Islanders (two goals, two assists) and has registered five points (three goals, two assists) in six games against the Islanders since the start of last season.
• Mika Zibanejad – 17 GP, 4-7-11 – Zibanejad has registered a point in eight of his last 11 contests against the Islanders, recording nine points (two goals, seven assists) over the span.
• Kevin Hayes – 15 GP, 3-3-6 – Hayes has registered a goal in each of the last two games against the Islanders and has tallied six points (three goals, three assists) in his last 11 games against the Islanders.
• Peter Holland – 9 GP, 1-4-5 – Holland has tallied three assists/points in his last three games against the Islanders.

TEAM EFFORT

The Rangers are one of two NHL teams that have eight players who have recorded 11 or more goals this season (along with Toronto). In addition, the Blueshirts are one of seven NHL teams that have 11 players who have registered at least 20 points this season (along with Boston, Carolina, Detroit, San Jose, Toronto, and Winnipeg).

YOUTH SERVED

Entering the contest on Feb. 13 at Minnesota, the six Rangers defensemen who played in the game (DeAngelo, Gilmour, Holden, Pionk, Skjei, and Sproul) had 584 games of NHL experience. Prior to Feb. 13, the Rangers had not played a game with six defensemen in which their defensemen had fewer than 584 games of NHL experience since expansion (1967-68). In addition, 11 of the 20 players who dressed for the game on Feb. 13 are 25 years old or younger (Miller, Hayes, Sproul, Vesey, Pionk, Gilmour, Skjei, DeAngelo, Zibanejad, Lettieri, and Georgiev).

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

On Feb. 13 at Minnesota, John Gilmour and Neal Pionk became the first Rangers defensemen to both register their first career NHL point in the same game since Andre Dore and Tom Laidlaw on Oct. 11, 1980, at Toronto.

SHOOTING GALLERY

The Blueshirts have recorded 18 or more shots on goal in a period in each of their last three games (Feb. 9 vs. Calgary – 20 in the first period; Feb. 11 at Winnipeg – 18 in the second period; Feb. 13 at Minnesota – 19 in the second period). The Rangers have registered 30 or more shots on goal in three of the last five games and in 29 of 57 games in 2017-18.

KING HENRIK

Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 2-1-0 record, along with a 2.27 GAA and a .938 SV% in his last three appearances. He leads the NHL in appearances this season (49), and he has been selected as one of the game’s Three Stars in 21 of those 49 appearances. When he makes his next appearance, Lundqvist will become the third goaltender in NHL history to make 50 or more appearances in 11 of his first 13 NHL seasons (Esposito and Lumley). He ranks second in the NHL in saves this season (1,387). Lundqvist has posted a .924 SV% in 39 appearances since Nov. 1, and he ranks fourth in the NHL (min. 25 appearances) in SV% over the span.

RICK ROLLING

Rick Nash has registered nine points (eight goals, one assist) and 41 shots on goal in the last 13 games (dating back to Jan. 16), and he has posted three multi-goal/point games over the span. Since Jan. 16, Nash is tied for third in the NHL in goals. He leads the Rangers in shots on goal (176) and takeaways (48), and he is tied for the team lead in minor penalties drawn (19) this season.

HEY HEY HAYES

Kevin Hayes enters the contest with a three-game assist/point streak, and he has posted two multi-point games in the three contests (two goals, three assists). He has recorded seven points (three goals, four assists) in eight games since returning to the Rangers’ lineup on Jan. 25 at San Jose following an injury.

WELCOME MATS

Mats Zuccarello has recorded at least 30 assists and 40 points in five consecutive seasons (2013-14 – 2017-18). Zuccarello leads the Rangers in assists (31) and points (40) this season, and he has tallied eight points (one goal, seven assists) in the last 11 games.

UP FOR GRABS

Michael Grabner tallied his seventh empty-net goal of the 2017-18 season on Feb. 11 at Winnipeg, and his seven empty-net goals are tied for the third-most in one season in NHL history. He is one of three NHL players who has recorded at least 50 goals and a plus-30 rating since the start of last season (McDavid and Marchand). Grabner leads Rangers forwards in shorthanded ice time this season (119:16), and he has only been on the ice for seven power play goals against in 2017-18. He leads the Rangers in goals (23) and plus/minus rating (plus-10) this season.

SKJEI HEY KID

Brady Skjei has led the Rangers in ice time in each of the last four contests, and he has logged at least 25:00 of ice time in each of the last three games. He has recorded an assist on the game-winning goal in two of the last three games, and eight of his 18 points in 2017-18 have been recorded on a game-winning goal. Skjei is the only defenseman who has skated in all of the Rangers’ 57 games this season.

HAPPY GILMOUR

John Gilmour registered his first career NHL goal/point and tied for the game-high with five shots on goal on Feb. 13 at Minnesota. He has registered 10 shots on goal in his first three career NHL games.

REAL DEAL NEAL

Neal Pionk notched his first career NHL assist/point and logged 25:28 of ice time on Feb. 13 at Minnesota. Since the NHL began tracking ice time in 1997-98, Pionk is one of seven Rangers rookies who has logged at least 25:00 of ice time in a game (Tyutin, Del Zotto, Sauer, Johnsson, Skjei, and Staal), and he is the only one who did so in one of his first three career NHL games.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power Play:

• The Rangers were 2-for-4 (4:36) on Feb. 13 at Minnesota.
• The Blueshirts have recorded a power-play goal in seven of the last 11 games (10-for-36; 27.8%), in eight of the last 13 games (11-for-39; 28.2%), in nine of the last 15 contests (12-for-43; 27.9%), and in 12 of the last 19 games (14-for-55; 25.5%).
• The Rangers have tallied two power-play goals in two of the last three games (4-for-13; 30.8% over the span).

Penalty Kill:

• The Rangers were 1-for-1 (2:00) on Feb. 13 at Minnesota.
• The Blueshirts have killed off 22 of their opponents’ 25 power play opportunities over the last eight games (88.0%).
• New York has only been shorthanded once in a game in four of the last 11 contests, including three of the last eight games.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

• Rick Nash – 2 points away from 800 in his NHL career
• J.T. Miller – 2 assists away from 100 in his NHL career
• Mats Zuccarello – 5 goals away from 100 in his NHL career
• Mika Zibanejad – 6 goals away from 100 in his NHL career

INJURIES (88 Man-Games Lost to Injury)

• Chris Kreider (blood clot – right arm) – has missed 20 games
• Kevin Shattenkirk (meniscus tear) – has missed 11 games
• Pavel Buchnevich (concussion symptoms) – has missed six games
• Marc Staal (cervical strain) – has missed five games
• Ryan McDonagh (upper body) – has missed three games
• Ondrej Pavelec (sprained MCL) – has missed two games
• Steven Kampfer (fractured hand) – has missed one game

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• Feb. 12 – Recalled Ryan Sproul from Hartford (AHL)
• Feb. 10 – Recalled Alexandar Georgiev from Hartford (AHL)
• Feb. 9 – Assigned Brendan Smith to Hartford (AHL); Recalled John Gilmour from Hartford (AHL); Acquired John Albert from Washington in exchange for Adam Chapie
• Feb. 8 – Recalled Neal Pionk from Hartford (AHL)

THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY

• Feb. 14, 1951 – The Rangers honored Frank Boucher for his 25 years of service as a player, coach, and general manager with the team in a pre-game ceremony before defeating the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-1, at MSG.
• Feb. 14, 1992 – Adam Graves tallied his first hat trick as a Ranger, and Mark Messier registered three points (one goal, two assists) as the Rangers defeated the New York Islanders, 9-2, at MSG.
• Feb. 15, 1968 – Jean Ratelle (two goals, two assists), Rod Gilbert (one goal, three assists), and Camille Henry (one goal, three assists) each recorded four points as the Rangers defeated the Minnesota North Stars, 6-2.
• Feb. 15, 1972 – Jean Ratelle registered a hat trick, while Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield each recorded two points as the Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 5-1.
• Feb. 15, 1985 – The Rangers established a franchise record for the fastest four goals scored, as Mike Rogers (twice), Mark Pavelich, and Ron Greschner tallied four goals in a span of 1:38 during the first period. The Blueshirts defeated the Edmonton Oilers, 8-7, at MSG. Wayne Gretzky tallied four points (two goals, two assists) for Edmonton in the contest, including his 100th assist of the 1984-85 season.
• Feb. 15, 1999 – In the Rangers’ first game in Nashville, Wayne Gretzky tied a single-game franchise record by tallying five assists as the Blueshirts defeated the Predators, 7-4.
• Feb. 15, 2000 – Brian Leetch registered his 180th career goal with the Rangers, passing Ron Greschner to become the franchise’s all-time leader in goals by a defenseman.

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