RANGERS LOOK TO FILIBUSTER SENATORS

NEW YORK RANGERS at OTTAWA SENATORS
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, 2:00 p.m. ET
Canadian Tire Centre – Ottawa, ON
Rangers: 27-26-5 (59 pts)
Senators: 20-27-9 (49 pts)

BY: The New York Rangers 

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

TOMORROW’S GAME

The Rangers play their 59th game of the 2017-18 season and begin a back-to-back set tomorrow, Feb. 17, against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre (2:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Blueshirts also conclude their four-game road trip tomorrow.

RANGERS VS. SENATORS

• All-Time: 41-43-3-4 (18-25-0-2 at home; 23-18-3-2 on the road)
• 2017-18: Tomorrow’s game is the third of three meetings between the Rangers and Senators, and the second of two meetings between the two teams at Ottawa. The Rangers have posted a 1-1-0 record (1-0-0 at home; 0-1-0 on the road), and the Senators won the last game between the two teams, 3-2, on Dec. 13 at Ottawa. Mats Zuccarello leads all skaters with three assists and three points in the season series, while Michael Grabner leads all skaters with two goals. Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 1-1-0 record, along with a 1.52 GAA, a .940 SV% (47 saves on 50 shots), and 1 SO in two appearances.
• The Rangers have won eight of 14 regular season meetings against the Senators since the start of the 2013-14 season (8-6-0 record).
• The Blueshirts have earned at least one point in 11 of their last 16 regular season contests on the road against Ottawa, dating back to Jan. 10, 2009 (10-5-1 record).
• New York has allowed two goals or fewer in six of its last 11 regular season games against the Senators.

RANGERS-SENATORS CONNECTIONS

• Alain Vigneault’s first coaching staff position in the NHL was as an Assistant Coach with the Senators. Vigneault joined the Senators for their first NHL season in 1992-93 and was a member of Ottawa’s coaching staff for parts of four seasons (1992-93 – 1995-96).
• Mika Zibanejad played parts of five seasons with the Senators (2011-12 – 2015-16). He established career-highs in games played (81), goals (21), assists (30), and points (51) during his final season with Ottawa in 2015-16.
• Marian Gaborik played parts of four seasons with the Rangers (2009-10 – 2012-13).
• Derick Brassard played parts of four seasons with the Rangers (2012-13 – 2015-16).
• Tom Pyatt was selected by the Rangers in the fourth round (107th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Pyatt was traded by the Rangers to Montreal as part of the deal in which the Blueshirts acquired the rights to Ryan McDonagh on June 30, 2009.
• Rick Nash and Derick Brassard were teammates with the Blue Jackets for parts of five seasons (2007-08 – 2011-12). Nash and Brassard were coached by Scott Arniel, who was the Blue Jackets Head Coach for parts of two seasons (2010-11 and 2011-12).
• Alexandre Burrows was coached by Alain Vigneault for seven seasons in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks (2006-07 – 2012-13), as well as part of one season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Manitoba Moose (2005-06).
• Senators General Manager Pierre Dorion served as an Amateur Scout with the Rangers for two seasons (2005-06 and 2006-07).
• Henrik Lundqvist and Erik Karlsson were both selected to the NHL’s First All-Star Team in 2011-12. Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s Best Goaltender, while Karlsson won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s Best Defenseman.
• Mika Zibanejad and Fredrik Claesson were teammates in the Djurgardens organization in Sweden for three seasons (2009-10 – 2011-12). In addition, Zibanejad and Claesson helped Sweden win a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Henrik Lundqvist, Erik Karlsson, and Johnny Oduya helped Sweden win a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Lundqvist and Karlsson also represented Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, while Lundqvist and Oduya also represented Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
• Marc Staal and Tom Pyatt are both natives of Thunder Bay, Ontario. In addition, Staal and Pyatt helped Canada win a gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2006 and 2007.
• Mats Zuccarello and Marian Gaborik helped Team Europe finish as the runner-up at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
• Nick Holden, Cody McLeod, and Matt Duchene were all teammates with the Avalanche for three seasons (2013-14 – 2015-16). Holden, McLeod, Duchene, and Paul Carey were all teammates with Colorado for parts of two seasons (2013-14 and 2014-15).
• Kevin Shattenkirk and Magnus Paajarvi were teammates with the Blues for parts of four seasons (2013-14 – 2016-17).
• Ondrej Pavelec and Johnny Oduya were teammates with the Thrashers/Jets for parts of three seasons (2009-10 – 2011-12).
• David Desharnais and Tom Pyatt were teammates with the Canadiens for part of two seasons (2009-10 and 2010-11).
• David Desharnais and Mike Condon were teammates with the Canadiens for one season (2015-16).
• Kevin Shattenkirk, Cody McLeod, Craig Anderson, and Matt Duchene were all teammates with the Avalanche for part of one season (2010-11).
• Michael Grabner and Alexandre Burrows were teammates with the Canucks for part of one season (2009-10).
• Brady Skjei, Mike Condon, and Chris Wideman represented the United States at the 2016 IIHF World Championship. 

INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. SENATORS

• Henrik Lundqvist – 39 GP, 16-19-3, 2.08 GAA, .930 SV%, 2 SO – Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in six of his last eight regular-season appearances against Ottawa (4-4-0 record, 1.73 GAA, .937 SV%, 1 SO over the span).
• Mats Zuccarello – 14 GP, 5-7-12 – Zuccarello has posted four multi-point games in his last 11 regular season contests against the Senators, and he has recorded four assists/points in his last three games against Ottawa.
• Rick Nash – 20 GP, 9-2-11 – Nash has tallied eight points (six goals, two assists) in his last 14 regular season games against Ottawa.
• David Desharnais – 27 GP, 5-10-15 – Desharnais has recorded eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last 13 contests against the Senators.
• Michael Grabner – 22 GP, 5-3-8 – Grabner has tallied a goal in each of the last two games against the Senators.
• Kevin Hayes – 11 GP, 2-4-6 – Hayes has notched a point in five of 11 career games against Ottawa.
• Mika Zibanejad – 2 GP, 2-0-2 – Zibanejad has recorded a goal in each of his two career games against his former team.

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).

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 Rangers’ 20 players who were dressed for each of the last two games are 25 years old or younger.

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 established a single-game season-high with 50 shots on goal on Feb. 15 at NY Islanders and also established a single-period season-high with 21 shots on goal in the third period of the contest. The Rangers have recorded 18 or more shots on goal in a period in each of their last four 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; Feb. 15 at NY Islanders – 21 in the third period). The Rangers have registered 30 or more shots on goal in 30 of 58 games in 2017-18.

KING HENRIK

Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 2.47 GAA and a .932 SV% in his last four appearances. He leads the NHL in appearances this season (50), and he has been selected as one of the game’s Three Stars in 21 contests. Lundqvist ranks second in the NHL in saves this season (1,419). He has posted a .923 SV% in 40 appearances since Nov. 1, and he ranks fifth in the NHL (min. 25 appearances) in SV% over the span. Lundqvist enters the game with 792 career NHL appearances, and he is eight appearances away from passing Nikolai Khabibulin for the most all-time appearances by a goaltender who was born outside of North America in NHL history.

RICK ROLLING

Rick Nash has registered nine points (eight goals, one assist) and 46 shots on goal in the last 14 games (dating back to Jan. 16), and he is tied for fourth in the NHL in goals over the span. He ranks second in the NHL in shorthanded takeaways this season (16). 

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 (119:56), and he has only been on the ice for seven power play goals against in 2017-18. He ranks third in the NHL in shorthanded shots on goal in 2017-18 (17). In addition, Grabner leads the NHL in shorthanded takeaways since the start of the 2014-15 season (71), and he has recorded 22 more takeaways than the NHL player who ranks second over the span (Kyle Brodziak). Grabner leads the Rangers in goals (23) and plus/minus rating (plus-10) this season.

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 12 games.

SKJEI HEY KID

Brady Skjei has led the Rangers in ice time in four of the last five contests, and he has logged at least 25:00 of ice time in three of the last four games. Skjei is the only defenseman who has skated in all of the Rangers’ 58 games this season.

HAPPY GILMOUR

John Gilmour tallied his first career NHL goal/point on Feb. 13 at Minnesota. He has registered 15 shots on goal in his first four career NHL games, and he ranks sixth among NHL defensemen in shots on goal since he made his NHL debut on Feb. 9.

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. Pionk has averaged 20:36 of ice time in his first four career NHL games.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power Play:

• The Rangers were 0-for-3 (6:00) on Feb. 15 at NY Islanders.
• The Blueshirts have recorded a power-play goal in seven of the last 12 games (10-for-38; 26.3%), in eight of the last 14 games (11-for-42; 26.2%), in nine of the last 16 contests (12-for-46; 26.1%), and in 12 of the last 20 games (14-for-58; 24.1%).
• The Rangers have tallied two power-play goals in two of the last four games (4-for-16; 25.0%).

Penalty Kill:

• The Rangers were 1-for-2 (2:11) on Feb. 15 at NY Islanders.
• The Blueshirts have killed off 23 of their opponents’ 27 power play opportunities over the last nine games (85.2%).

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 (95 Man-Games Lost to Injury)

• Chris Kreider (blood clot – right arm) – has missed 21 games
• Kevin Shattenkirk (meniscus tear) – has missed 12 games
• Marc Staal (cervical strain) – has missed six games
• Ryan McDonagh (upper body) – has missed four games
• Ondrej Pavelec (sprained MCL) – has missed three games
• Steven Kampfer (fractured hand) – has missed two games
• Alexandar Georgiev (flu)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• Feb. 16 – Assigned Vinni Lettieri to Hartford (AHL); Recalled Brandon Halverson from Hartford (AHL)
• Feb. 12 – Recalled Ryan Sproul from Hartford (AHL)
• Feb. 10 – Recalled Alexandar Georgiev from Hartford (AHL)

THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY

• Feb. 16, 1964 – Andy Bathgate tallied his final point as a member of the Rangers. At the time of his departure from the Rangers, Bathgate was the franchise’s all-time leader in goals (272), assists (457), and points (729).
• Feb. 17, 2011 – Henrik Lundqvist earned his 200th career NHL win, making 25 saves in regulation/overtime and stopping two of three shooters in the shootout as the Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 4-3, at MSG.

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