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THE REBUILD ON THE ICE BEGINS IN VANCOUVER

February 27, 2018 9 Min Read

NEW YORK RANGERS at VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, 10:00 p.m. ET
Rogers Arena – Vancouver, BC
Rangers: 27-30-6 (60 pts)
Canucks: 24-32-7 (55 pts)

BY: The New York Rangers

TOMORROW’S GAME

The Rangers play their 64th game of the 2017-18 season and begin a three-game road trip tomorrow, Feb. 28, against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena (10:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). Beginning with tomorrow’s contest, the Blueshirts play three consecutive games against Pacific Division opponents. In addition, tomorrow’s game is the beginning of a stretch in which the Rangers will play five of their next six games on the road.

RANGERS VS. CANUCKS

All-Time: 79-32-8-1 (42-14-5-1 at home; 37-18-3-0 on the road)
2017-18: Tomorrow’s game is the second of two meetings between the Rangers and Canucks, and the only meeting between the two teams in Vancouver. The Rangers have posted a 1-0-0 record (1-0-0 at home; 0-0-0 on the road), following their 4-3 win in a shootout on Nov. 26 at MSG. Jimmy Vesey registered the game-tying goal in the third period and recorded the game-deciding goal in the shootout, while Jesper Fast also tallied a goal in the contest.
The Rangers have earned at least one point in nine of their last 11 games against Vancouver, dating back to Jan. 13, 2011 (8-2-1 record over the span).
The Blueshirts have won four of their last five games on the road in Vancouver, dating back to Oct. 18, 2011 (4-1-0 record).

RANGERS-CANUCKS CONNECTIONS

Alain Vigneault served as the Canucks Head Coach for seven seasons (2006-07 – 2012-13). Vigneault is the Canucks’ all-time leader in games coached (540), wins (313), points percentage (.632), playoff games coached (68), and playoff wins (33). Vigneault also served as the Head Coach of the Manitoba Moose, Vancouver’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for one season (2005-06).
Scott Arniel served as Head Coach for Vancouver’s AHL affiliate for five seasons (Manitoba Moose – 2006-07 – 2009-10; Chicago Wolves – 2012-13).
Darryl Williams served as an Assistant Coach with the Canucks for six seasons (2008-09 – 2013-14).
Michael Del Zotto played parts of five seasons with the Rangers (2009-10 – 2013-14).
Sam Gagner is the son of Dave Gagner, who played parts of three seasons with the Rangers (1984-85 – 1986-87).
Pavel Buchnevich and Nikolay Goldobin helped Russia earn a silver medal at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Henrik Lundqvist and Loui Eriksson were teammates with Frolunda in Sweden for five seasons (2000-01 – 2004-05).

INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. CANUCKS

Henrik Lundqvist – 12 GP, 7-5-0, 2.26 GAA, .928 SV%, 2 SO – In his last eight starts against Vancouver (dating back to Jan. 13, 2011), Lundqvist has posted a 7-1-0 record, along with a 1.35 GAA, a .956 SV%, (240 saves on 251 shots), and 2 SO. In his last five road appearances against Vancouver (since Oct. 18, 2011), Lundqvist has posted a 4-1-0 record, along with a 1.20 GAA, a .964 SV% (162 saves on 168 shots), and 1 SO.
Mika Zibanejad – 9 GP, 4-5-9 – Zibanejad has registered eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last six contests against the Canucks.
Mats Zuccarello – 10 GP, 4-6-10 – Zuccarello has tallied a point in seven of 10 career games against Vancouver and has registered five points (two goals, three assists) in the last four games against the Canucks.
Kevin Hayes – 7 GP, 2-3-5 – Hayes enters the contest with a three-game point streak against Vancouver (two goals, two assists).
Jesper Fast – 6 GP, 1-4-5 – Fast enters the contest with a three-game point streak against the Canucks (one goal, three assists).
Pavel Buchnevich – 2 GP, 1-2-3 – Buchnevich posted his first career multi-assist/point game in the NHL by tallying three points (one goal, two assists) on Nov. 8, 2016, vs. Vancouver.
Tony DeAngelo – 3 GP, 1-2-3 – DeAngelo has tallied a point in each of his three career games against Vancouver.

SMOOTH SAILING ON THE PACIFIC

The Rangers have posted a 9-4-0 record in 13 games against Pacific Division opponents this season. The Blueshirts have also earned at least one point in 44 of 55 games against Pacific Division teams since the start of the 2014-15 season (39-11-5 record).

BROADWAY DEBUT

Ryan Spooner made his Rangers debut on Feb. 25 vs. Detroit. Including Spooner, 18 players have made their debut with the Blueshirts this season (David Desharnais, Kevin Shattenkirk, Paul Carey, Filip Chytil, Tony DeAngelo, Ondrej Pavelec, Adam Cracknell, Vinni Lettieri, Peter Holland, Daniel Catenacci, Cody McLeod, John Gilmour, Neal Pionk, Ryan Sproul, Brandon Halverson, Alexandar Georgiev, Rob O’Gara, and Spooner). In addition, eight rookies have played at least one game with the Rangers in 2017-18 (Boo Nieves, Gilmour, Pionk, Catenacci, Chytil, Halverson, Georgiev, and O’Gara).

STAYING DISCIPLINED

The Blueshirts have been shorthanded two or fewer times in five of the last seven games and in eight of the last 14 contests. The Rangers have recorded 509 penalty minutes this season, which is the ninth-fewest in the NHL.

SHOOTING GALLERY

The Rangers have registered at least 30 shots on goal in six of the last seven games, including 35 or more shots on goal in four of the last six contests. New York has averaged 36.8 shots on goal over the last six games (dating back to Feb. 15 at NY Islanders).

KING HENRIK

Henrik Lundqvist is the first goaltender in NHL history who has earned 20 or more wins in each of his first 13 seasons, as well as the first goaltender in NHL history who has earned at least 20 wins in 13 consecutive seasons at any point during the course of a career. Lundqvist is five appearances away from 800 in his NHL career, as well as five appearances away from passing Nikolai Khabibulin for the most appearances by a goaltender who was born outside of North America in NHL history. When he makes his next appearance, Lundqvist will pass Hall of Famer Rogie Vachon for sole possession of 16th place on the NHL’s all-time appearances list with 796.

WHAT’S IN A NAMESTNIKOV

Vladislav Namestnikov was acquired by the Rangers from Tampa Bay on Feb. 26. The 25-year-old has established career-highs in goals (20), assists (24), points (44), and average ice time (17:30) this season.

SPOONER STREET

Ryan Spooner tallied two assists, including his first assist/point as a Ranger, while making his debut with the Blueshirts on Feb. 25 vs. Detroit. Spooner, who was acquired by the Rangers from Boston on Feb. 25, has registered 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) and a plus-11 rating in 40 games this season.

HEY HEY HAYES

Kevin Hayes has registered a point in four of the last five games (two goals, two assists), including a goal in two of the last four contests. Hayes has also recorded a point in seven of the last nine games and has registered nine points (four goals, five assists) over the span. He has tallied 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 14 games since returning to the Rangers’ lineup on Jan. 25 at San Jose.

FAST FACTS

Jesper Fast has registered a goal in each of the last two games. He has worn an ‘A’ as one of the Rangers’ alternate captains in each of the last nine games.

SKJEI HEY KID

Brady Skjei is the only Rangers defenseman who has skated in every game this season. He has led the Rangers in ice time in eight of the last 10 contests.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power Play:

The Rangers were 1-for-2 (2:56) on Feb. 25 vs. Detroit.
New York is tied for ninth in the NHL in power-play efficiency this season (21.1%; 40-for-190).
The Blueshirts have recorded at least one power-play goal in 10 of the last 17 games (13-for-47; 27.7%), in 11 of the last 19 games (14-for-51; 27.5%), in 12 of the last 21 contests (15-for-55; 27.3%), and in 15 of the last 25 games (17-for-67; 25.4%).
New York has recorded seven power-play goals over the last nine games (7-for-25; 28.0%).

Penalty Kill:

The Rangers were 3-for-3 (5:00) on Feb. 25 vs. Detroit.
New York is tied for eighth in the NHL in penalty kill efficiency this season (82.7%; 162-for-196).
The Blueshirts have not allowed a power-play goal in four of the last five games (11-for-12; 91.7%) and in six of the last eight contests (17-for-19; 89.5%).
The Rangers have killed off 34 of their opponents’ 39 power play opportunities over the last 14 games (87.2%).

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Alain Vigneault – 3 games away from 1,200 in his NHL head coaching career
Pavel Buchnevich – 4 games away from 100 in his NHL career
Mats Zuccarello – 4 goals away from 100 in his NHL career
Kevin Hayes – 4 assists away from 100 in his NHL career
Henrik Lundqvist – 5 appearances away from 800 in his NHL career
Mika Zibanejad – 5 goals away from 100 in his NHL career

INJURIES (121 Man-Games Lost to Injury)

Kevin Shattenkirk (meniscus tear) – has missed 17 games
Ondrej Pavelec (sprained MCL) – has missed eight games
Steven Kampfer (fractured hand) – has missed seven games

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Feb. 26 – Acquired Vladislav Namestnikov, Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft from Tampa Bay in exchange for Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller; Acquired Chris Bigras from Colorado in exchange for Ryan Graves; Assigned Vinni Lettieri to Hartford (AHL)
Feb. 25 – Acquired a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, defenseman Ryan Lindgren, forwards Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey, and a seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft from Boston in exchange for Rick Nash
Feb. 22 – Recalled Vinni Lettieri from Hartford (AHL); Acquired Yegor Rykov and a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft from New Jersey in exchange for Michael Grabner
Feb. 21 – Assigned Ryan Sproul to Hartford (AHL)

THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY

Feb. 27, 1989 – Guy Lafleur registered his final career NHL hat trick as the Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 6-4, at MSG.
Feb. 27, 2012 – Henrik Lundqvist became the first goaltender in NHL history to earn at least 30 wins in each of his first seven NHL seasons as the Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 2-0, at MSG.
Feb. 28, 1928 – The Rangers earned a shutout for the fourth consecutive game, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 1-0, at MSG. The Blueshirts’ four consecutive shutouts from Feb. 23, 1928, vs. Pittsburgh to Feb. 28, 1928, vs. Toronto remain a franchise record, and Lorne Chabot is the only goaltender in franchise history who has posted four straight shutouts.
Feb. 28, 1929 – John Ross Roach registered his 13th shutout of the 1928-29 season. Roach’s 13 shutouts in 1928-29 are a single-season franchise record.
Feb. 28, 1963 – Gump Worsley earned his 200th career NHL win and became the first goaltender to register 200 career wins with the Rangers in franchise history as the Blueshirts defeated the Chicago Black Hawks, 6-1, in Chicago.
Feb. 28, 1976 – Dave Maloney registered his first career NHL goal.
Feb. 28, 1988 – The Rangers signed Mike Richter to his first NHL contract.
Feb. 28, 1994 – Mike Richter earned his 100th career NHL win, stopping 26 of 27 shots he faced as the Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1, at MSG.
Feb. 28, 2001 – Brian Leetch registered his 200th career NHL goal, becoming the first defenseman to tally 200 career goals with the Rangers in franchise history, and the Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers, 4-2, at MSG.
Feb. 28, 2002 – Brian Leetch skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, becoming the third player to skate in at least 1,000 games with the Rangers in franchise history (along with Harry Howell and Rod Gilbert).