Pregame Notes: Rangers at Hurricanes 10.7.18

NEW YORK RANGERS at CAROLINA HURRICANES
Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, 5:00 p.m. ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
TV: MSG Network, Radio: ESPN 1050 AM
Rangers:0-2-0 (0 pts)
Hurricanes: 1-0-1 (3 pts)
THE MATCHUP
The Rangers play their third game of the 2018-19 season and conclude a back-to-back set Sunday, Oct. 7, against the Carolina Hurricanes in a Metropolitan Division matchup at PNC Arena (5:00 p.m. ET - TV: MSG Network, Radio: ESPN 1050 AM). Sunday's game concludes the Blueshirts' first back-to-back set in 2018-19. The Rangers will have 11 back-to-back sets during the 2018-19 season, matching their total of back-to-back sets from 2017-18. The Blueshirts' 11 back-to-back sets in 2018-19 are tied for the fewest among Eastern Conference teams. Following Sunday's contest, five of the Rangers' next six games, including each of their next three games, will take place at MSG.

RANGERS VS. HURRICANES
RANGERS-HURRICANES CONNECTIONS
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. HURRICANES
CONNECTING THE DOTS
Several Rangers players have connections with fellow members of the Blueshirts and/or members of the team's coaching staff in addition to being teammates with the Rangers:
BACK-TO-BACK
The Rangers conclude their first back-to-back set of the 2018-19 season on Sunday. Over the last two seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18), the Blueshirts posted a 16-11-0 record in the second game of a back-to-back set. In their last 109 back-to-back sets (since the start of the 2010-11 season), the Rangers have posted a 69-34-6 record in the second game of the set.
YOUTH SERVED
Ten forwards in the Rangers' lineup for their season opener on Oct. 4 vs. Nashville were 26 years old or younger (Hayes, Fast, Spooner, Zibanejad, Namestnikov, Vesey, Lettieri, Buchnevich, Howden, Chytil). Prior to 2018-19, the last time the Rangers had 10 forwards who were 26 years old or younger play in a season-opening game was in 1956-57. Seven players on the Rangers' 23-man active roster are 23 years old or younger (Buchnevich, Chytil, DeAngelo, Georgiev, Howden, Lettieri, and Pionk).
LEADING THE WAY
The Rangers have five alternate captains for the 2018-19 season - Jesper Fast, Chris Kreider, Marc Staal, Mika Zibanejad, and Mats Zuccarello. Staal is in his ninth season as an alternate captain with the Rangers, as he was first named an alternate captain at the start of the 2010-11 season. Among players on the current roster, Staal is the longest-tenured member of the team's leadership group. Zuccarello is in his second season as an alternate captain with the Rangers after first being named an alternate captain on Oct. 4, 2017, while Fast, Kreider, and Zibanejad all wore an 'A' during the second half of the 2017-18 season.
HOW THE RANGERS WERE BUILT
\Although they were not drafted by the Rangers, Georgiev, Hayes, Howden, Lettieri, Pionk, Vesey, and Zuccarello have not played in the NHL with a team other than the Rangers
Note: only players on the active roster are included
QUINN-ING
David Quinn coached his first regular season game as the Rangers' Head Coach in the team's season opener on Oct. 4 vs. Nashville, and he also coached his first game as a head coach in the NHL in the contest. Quinn was named the Rangers' Head Coach on May 23, 2018, becoming the 35th Head Coach in franchise history. Quinn is the second Head Coach in Blueshirts history who has previously coached in the NCAA (along with Herb Brooks), and he is the first Head Coach in Rangers history who has joined the team directly from the NCAA.
HOW DO YOU DO
Brett Howden registered his first career NHL goal/point while skating in his second career NHL game tonight at Buffalo. Howden, who was acquired by the Rangers from Tampa Bay on Feb. 26, 2018, has also won 16 of 24 faceoffs he has taken through his first two career NHL games (66.7%).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power Play:
Penalty Kill:
UPCOMING MILESTONES
INJURIES (4 Man-Games Lost to Injury)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY
REMEMBERING 1993-94
The Rangers earned the first of their then-single-season franchise record 52 wins and 112 points in 1993-94 in a 5-4 win against Tampa Bay on October 7, 1993 at MSG. Adam Graves (one goal, one assist), Mark Messier (one goal, one assist), James Patrick (two assists), and Esa Tikkanen (two goals) each recorded two points in the contest, and Brian Leetch tallied the game-winning goal in the third period.
RANGERS VS. WHALERS - 1993-94
The Rangers posted a 3-1-0 record in four games against the Hartford Whalers during the 1993-94 season and outscored Hartford, 15-7, in the four contests. Mark Messier (two goals, four assists) and Sergei Zubov (one goal, five assists) tied for the team lead with six points in the season series, while Mike Richter posted a 3-1-0 record, along with a 1.50 GAA, a .942 SV%, and 1 SO.
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