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LAST GAME BEFORE THE DEADLINE, RANGERS AND WINGS

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. DETROIT RED WINGS
Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018, 7:30 p.m. ET
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Rangers: 27-30-5 (59 pts)
Red Wings: 24-26-10 (58 pts)*

* The Red Wings play against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in Detroit prior to facing the Rangers tomorrow

BY: The New York Rangers

Note: The arena bowl is closed and off-limits to all media attending tomorrow’s game between 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. 

TOMORROW’S GAME

The Rangers play their 63rd game of the 2017-18 season tomorrow, Feb. 25, against the Detroit Red Wings in an Original Six matchup at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). Prior to tonight’s contest, the Rangers are holding Jean Ratelle Night, presented by Chase, as Ratelle’s No. 19 jersey will be raised to the Madison Square Garden rafters.

Fans can begin to enter Madison Square Garden tomorrow at 5:00 p.m., and the banner raising ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m. 

ALWAYS A GENTLEMAN, FOREVER A RANGER

Jean Ratelle played parts of 16 seasons with the Rangers (1960-61 – 1975-76), registering 336 goals and 481 assists for 817 points in 861 games. He ranks second on the Rangers’ all-time goals list, ranks third on the franchise’s all-time assists list and all-time points list, and ranks sixth in career games played with the Blueshirts. Ratelle and Rod Gilbert are the only players who rank third or higher on the Rangers’ all-time lists for goals, assists, and points. In addition, Ratelle is one of only five players in franchise history who played in parts of 16 or more seasons with the Rangers (along with Gilbert, Harry Howell, Brian Leetch, and Ron Greschner).

During his tenure with the Rangers, Ratelle was the recipient of the team’s Most Valuable Player Award twice (1971-72 and 1972-73), the Players’ Player Award five times (1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1974-75), and the Frank Boucher Trophy as the team’s most popular player on and off the ice (as selected by the Rangers Fan Club) twice (1971-72 and 1972-73). He ranked 10th or higher in the NHL in goals three times (1967-68, 1971-72, 1972-73), assists three times (1967-68, 1969-70, 1971-72), and points five times (1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1971-72, 1972-73) during his Rangers tenure. He also registered 30 or more goals in more seasons than any other player in franchise history (six). Ratelle recorded the final goal at the ‘Old Garden’ (MSG III) in a 3-3 tie against Detroit on Feb. 11, 1968, and he took the first faceoff for the Rangers at the current MSG (MSG IV) on Feb. 18, 1968, against Philadelphia.

Ratelle was the center of the Rangers’ famous Goal-A-Game Line (G-A-G Line) with left-wing Vic Hadfield and right-wing Rod Gilbert. During the 1971-72 season, Ratelle, Hadfield, and Gilbert ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in the NHL in points during the regular season. Ratelle tallied 109 points (46 goals, 63 assists) and posted a plus-61 rating in 63 games during the 1971-72 season, becoming the first Ranger to tally 100 points in a season (along with Hadfield) and establishing a single-season franchise record for points. Ratelle received the Lester B. Pearson Award (since renamed the Ted Lindsay Award) as the NHL’s Most Outstanding Player as selected by the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) in 1971-72, as well as the Lady Byng Trophy for being the player “adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”

Ratelle played in parts of 21 NHL seasons with the Rangers and Bruins, registering 491 goals and 776 assists for 1,267 points, along with a plus-236 rating in 1,280 games. A five-time NHL All-Star, Ratelle was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985, and in 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in league history. Ratelle is the only player in NHL history who tallied at least 1,200 career points while amassing fewer than 300 career penalty minutes. Ratelle received the Lady Byng Trophy twice in his NHL career (1971-72 and 1975-76), and he also received the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey”, in 1970-71.

Ratelle joins Rod Gilbert (7), Ed Giacomin (1), Mike Richter (35), Mark Messier (11), Brian Leetch (2), Adam Graves (9), Andy Bathgate (9), and Harry Howell (3) as the only Rangers whose jersey numbers have been retired by the organization. Gilbert was the first Ranger to have his number retired on Oct. 14, 1979, and was joined by Giacomin’s No. 1 on Mar. 15, 1989, Richter’s No. 35 on Feb. 4, 2004, Messier’s No. 11 on Jan. 12, 2006, Leetch’s No. 2 on Jan. 24, 2008, Graves’ No. 9 on Feb. 3, 2009, and most recently, Bathgate’s No. 9 and Howell’s No. 3 on Feb. 22, 2009.

RANGERS VS. RED WINGS

  • All-Time*: 220-262-103-4 (142-95-57-0 at home; 78-167-46-4 on the road) *Note: All-Time record includes games against the Detroit Cougars from 1926-27 – 1929-30 and the Detroit Falcons from 1930-31 – 1931-32
  • 2017-18: Tomorrow’s game is the third of three meetings between the Rangers and Red Wings, and the second of two meetings between the two teams at MSG. The Rangers have posted a 1-0-1 record (1-0-0 at home; 0-0-1 on the road), and the Red Wings won the last meeting between the two teams, 3-2, in a shootout on Dec. 29 at Detroit. Each of the first two meetings has been decided in either overtime or a shootout. Brady Skjei leads all skaters with two assists and a plus-three rating and is tied for first among all skaters with two points in the season series. Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 1-0-1 record, along with a 1.43 GAA and a .961 SV% (73 saves on 76 shots) in two appearances.
  • The Rangers have earned at least one point in 13 of their last 15 games against Detroit, dating back to Mar. 21, 2012 (10-2-3 record over the span).
  • Ten of the last 18 contests between the Rangers and Red Wings, including nine of the last 15 games and six of the last nine games, have been decided in either overtime or a shootout.
  • Ten of the last 11 games between New York and Detroit have been decided by one goal. In addition, 14 of the last 16 games and 18 of the last 22 meetings between the two teams have been decided by one goal.

RANGERS-RED WINGS CONNECTIONS

  • Henrik Lundqvist, Henrik Zetterberg, and Niklas Kronwall helped Sweden win a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics. In addition, Lundqvist, Zetterberg, Kronwall, Gustav Nyquist, and Jonathan Ericsson all helped Sweden earn a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Lundqvist, Zetterberg, and Kronwall have represented Sweden at the Winter Olympics three times (2006, 2010, and 2014).
  • Henrik Lundqvist and Jimmy Howard have both started in the same game seven times. The scores of those seven games were 3-1 Detroit (Dec. 6, 2009), 1-0 Rangers (Jan. 16, 2014), 3-0 Rangers (Mar. 9, 2014), 1-0 Rangers in overtime (Feb. 21, 2016), 2-1 Detroit (Oct. 19, 2016), 2-1 Rangers in overtime (Nov. 24, 2017), and 3-2 Detroit in a shootout (Dec. 29, 2017). At least one of the two goaltenders have been selected as one of the game’s Three Stars in each of the seven games, and both goaltenders have been named two of the Three Stars in five of the seven games.
  • Steven Kampfer is a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan and played four seasons of collegiate hockey at the University of Michigan (2006-07 – 2009-10), winning two CCHA Championships over the span (2007-08 and 2009-10).
  • Steven Kampfer and Luke Glendening were teammates at the University of Michigan for two seasons (2008-09 and 2009-10) and helped the Wolverines win the CCHA Championship in 2009-10.
  • Marc Staal and Darren Helm helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship.
  • Jimmy Vesey and Dylan Larkin helped the United States earn a bronze medal at the 2015 IIHF World Championship.
  • Brady Skjei and Dylan Larkin represented the United States at the IIHF World Championship in both 2016 and 2017. In addition, Skjei, Larkin, Kevin Hayes, Danny DeKeyser, and Jimmy Howard all represented the United States at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.
  • Mats Zuccarello, Frans Nielsen, and Tomas Tatar helped Team Europe finish as the runner-up at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
  • J.T. Miller and Dylan Larkin were teammates with Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
  • Kevin Hayes, Justin Abdelkader, and Danny DeKeyser all represented the United States at the 2014 IIHF World Championship. 

INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. RED WINGS

  • Henrik Lundqvist – 14 GP, 7-4-3, 1.90 GAA, .939 SV%, 4 SO – Lundqvist has posted a better GAA and SV% against Detroit than against any other opponent in his NHL career. In his last 10 appearances against the Red Wings (dating back to Mar. 21, 2012), Lundqvist has posted a 7-1-2 record, along with a 1.17 GAA, a .960 SV% (291 saves on 303 shots), and 4 SO.
  • Chris Kreider – 13 GP, 4-6-10 – Kreider has tallied a point in six of his last seven games against Detroit (two goals, five assists), and he has registered 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his last 11 contests against the Red Wings.
  • David Desharnais – 17 GP, 5-7-12 – Desharnais has notched a point in five of his last nine games against the Red Wings (one goal, four assists).
  • Mats Zuccarello – 15 GP, 3-5-8 – Zuccarello has registered five points (one goal, four assists) in his last six games against Detroit, as well as six points (one goal, five assists) in his last eight games against the Red Wings.
  • Kevin Hayes – 11 GP, 2-3-5 – Hayes has registered three points (two goals, one assist) in the last six contests against Detroit.
  • Brady Skjei – 6 GP, 0-3-3 – Skjei has recorded three assists/points and a plus-five rating in the last four games against Detroit, and he has also posted a plus-seven rating in six career games against the Red Wings.

HOME COOKING

The Blueshirts have earned at least one point in 17 of their last 25 home games, dating back to Oct. 26 (16-8-1 record). In addition, the Rangers have registered at least one point in 21 of 33 home games in 2017-18 (18-12-3 record).

BROADWAY DEBUT

Alexandar Georgiev and Rob O’Gara both made their Rangers debuts on Feb. 22 at Montreal. Including Georgiev and O’Gara, 17 players have made their debut with the Blueshirts this season (Desharnais, Shattenkirk, Carey, Chytil, DeAngelo, Pavelec, Cracknell, Lettieri, Holland, Catenacci, McLeod, Gilmour, Pionk, Sproul, Halverson, Georgiev, and O’Gara). Eight rookies have played at least one game with the Rangers in 2017-18 (Nieves, Gilmour, Pionk, Catenacci, Chytil, Halverson, Georgiev, and O’Gara).

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 six appearances away from 800 in his NHL career, as well as six 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 tie Hall of Famer Rogie Vachon for 16th place on the NHL’s all-time appearances list with 795. 

HEY HEY HAYES

Kevin Hayes has registered a point in three of the last four games (two goals, one assist), including a goal in two of the last three contests. Hayes has also recorded a point in six of the last eight games and has registered eight points (four goals, four assists) over the span. He has tallied 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 13 games since returning to the Rangers’ lineup on Jan. 25 at San Jose.

SKJEI HEY KID

Brady Skjei is one of two Rangers (and the only defenseman) who have skated in every game this season. He has led the Rangers in ice time in seven of the last nine contests.

PAV’S PARTY

Pavel Buchnevich leads the Rangers in points at MSG this season (25; nine goals, 16 assists in 31 games). He is one of nine players of Russian nationality who has tallied at least 30 points in a season with the Rangers in franchise history (Kovalev, Nemchinov, Zubov, Anisimov, Kamensky, Bure, Karpovtsev, Zherdev).

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power Play:

  • The Rangers were 0-for-1 (2:00) on Feb. 23 vs. Minnesota.
  • New York ranks 13th in the NHL in power-play efficiency this season (20.7%; 39-for-188).
  • The Blueshirts have recorded at least one power-play goal in nine of the last 16 games (12-for-45; 26.7%), in 10 of the last 18 games (13-for-49; 26.5%), in 11 of the last 20 contests (14-for-53; 26.4%), and in 14 of the last 24 games (16-for-65; 24.6%).
  • New York has recorded six power-play goals over the last eight games (6-for-23; 26.1%).

Penalty Kill:

  • The Rangers were 0-for-1 (1:31) on Feb. 23 vs. Minnesota.
  • New York is tied for ninth in the NHL in penalty kill efficiency this season (82.4%; 159-for-193).
  • The Blueshirts have not allowed a power-play goal in three of the last four games (8-for-9; 88.9%) and in five of the last seven contests (14-for-16; 87.5%).
  • The Rangers have killed off 31 of their opponents’ 36 power play opportunities over the last 13 games (86.1%).

UPCOMING MILESTONES

  • Rick Nash – 1 point away from 800 in his NHL career
  • Alain Vigneault – 4 games away from 1,200 in his NHL head coaching career
  • Mats Zuccarello – 4 goals away from 100 in his NHL career
  • Pavel Buchnevich – 5 games away from 100 in his NHL career
  • Mika Zibanejad – 5 goals away from 100 in his NHL career
  • Kevin Hayes – 5 assists away from 100 in his NHL career
  • Henrik Lundqvist – 6 appearances away from 800 in his NHL career

INJURIES (117 Man-Games Lost to Injury)

  • Kevin Shattenkirk (meniscus tear) – has missed 16 games
  • Ryan McDonagh (upper body) – has missed eight games
  • Ondrej Pavelec (sprained MCL) – has missed seven games
  • Steven Kampfer (fractured hand) – has missed six games

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

  • Feb. 22 – Recalled Vinni Lettieri from Hartford (AHL); Acquired Yegor Rykov and a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Michael Grabner
  • Feb. 21 – Assigned Ryan Sproul to Hartford (AHL)
  • Feb. 20 – Acquired Rob O’Gara and a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft from Boston in exchange for Nick Holden
  • Feb. 18 – Assigned Brandon Halverson to Hartford (AHL)

THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY

  • Feb. 24, 1968 – Rod Gilbert tallied four goals and established a single-game franchise record with 16 shots on goal as the Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 6-1.
  • Feb. 25, 1940 – The Rangers were part of the first televised NHL game in the United States, as the game between the Rangers and Montreal Canadiens was aired on station W2XBS. The Blueshirts defeated Montreal, 6-2, at MSG to extend their home winning streak to a franchise-record 14 games.
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