Pregame Notes: Rangers at Panthers 12.08.18

NEW YORK RANGERS at FLORIDA PANTHERS
Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, 7:00 p.m. ET
BB&T Center - Sunrise, FL
Rangers:13-12-3 (29 pts)
Panthers: 11-11-5 (27 pts)
THE MATCHUP
The Rangers play their 29th game of the 2018-19 season Saturday, Dec. 8, against the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center (7:00 p.m. ET - TV: MSG 2, Radio: ESPN 1050 AM). The Blueshirts have earned at least one point in 12 of the last 17 games (10-5-2 record), in 15 of the last 23 games (12-8-3 record), and in 16 of the last 25 games (13-9-3 record).
RANGERS VS. PANTHERS
- All-Time: 54-30-6-7 (28-15-4-2 at home; 26-15-2-5 on the road) - 2018-19: Saturday's game is the third of three meetings between the Rangers and Panthers, and the only meeting between the two teams at Florida. The Rangers have posted a 2-0-0 record (2-0-0 at home; 0-0-0 on the road) and won the last meeting between the two teams, 4-2, on Nov. 17 at MSG. Mika Zibanejad leads all skaters with five points (two goals, three assists) in the season series, and tied a single-game career-high with four points (two goals, two assists) on Oct. 23 at MSG. Chris Kreider has registered four points (one goal, three assists) and a plus-four rating in two games, while Neal Pionk has notched three assists in the two contests. Rangers goaltenders have posted a .949 SV% (75 saves on 79 shots) in the two games.

RANGERS-PANTHERS CONNECTIONS
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. PANTHERS
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:
YOUTH SERVED
Only 12 NHL players who are either in their first or second NHL season have recorded 13 or more points this season, and the Rangers are one of two teams that have two of those players (Brett Howden and Neal Pionk). Pionk leads all NHL defensemen who are either in their first or second NHL season in points in 2018-19 (16). The Blueshirts are also one of five NHL teams that have two or more rookies who have tallied at least nine points this season (Howden and Filip Chytil). The Rangers had six rookie forwards play in their game on Dec. 1 at Montreal (Andersson, Chytil, Fogarty, Gettinger, Howden, and Lettieri). According to NHL Public Relations, the six rookie forwards the Rangers had play in the contest were tied for the most the team has had play in the same regular season game since the start of the NHL's Expansion Era (1967-68).
TRUE BLUE
Of the 20 players who dressed for the Rangers on Dec. 1 at Montreal, 15 have only played in the NHL as a member of the Rangers (Hayes, Fast, Staal, Kreider, Howden, Gettinger, Vesey, Fogarty, Pionk, Andersson, Chytil, Skjei, Lettieri, Georgiev, and Lundqvist). According to NHL Public Relations, the game marked the first time in franchise history that the Rangers had 15 players who had only played in the NHL as a member of the Rangers dressed in the same game.
THREE'S COMPANY
Including team goals awarded for a shootout win, the Blueshirts have registered three or more goals in 12 of the last 18 games, in 15 of the last 23 games, and in 17 of the last 26 contests.
ONE AND WON
Thus far this season, 13 of the Rangers' 28 games have been decided by one goal. In addition, the Blueshirts have earned at least one point in 10 of those 13 one-goal games (7-3-3 record).
FIRST IN SCORE
The Rangers have tallied the first goal of the game in 10 of the last 16 games, in 11 of the last 18 contests, and in 15 of 28 games this season.
IN REAL TIME
The Rangers rank fifth in the NHL in blocked shots (438) and rank sixth in the NHL in hits (708) this season. The Blueshirts have registered at least 20 hits in 24 of 28 games this season (including each of the last 13 games), as well as 25 or more hits in 15 of 28 games in 2018-19.
KING HENRIK
Henrik Lundqvist has been selected as one of the game's Three Stars in 11 of his 21 appearances this season. Lundqvist has made at least 30 saves in 13 of 21 appearances this season; he has posted a .900 SV% or better in 18 of his 21 appearances in 2018-19, including a .925 SV% or better in 12 of those appearances. He leads NHL goaltenders in games with a .900 SV% or better this season and is tied for second among NHL goaltenders in games with a .925 SV% or better. Lundqvist has posted a 3-2-1 record, along with a 2.30 GAA and a .933 SV% over his last six appearances.
ON THE MARC
Marc Staal skated in his 789th career game as a Ranger on Dec. 2 vs. Winnipeg, passing Dan Girardi for sole possession of ninth place on the franchise's all-time games played list (among skaters). In addition, Staal passed Girardi for the fifth-most games played by a defenseman in franchise history. The only defensemen who have skated in more games with the Rangers than Staal has are Harry Howell (1,160), Brian Leetch (1,129), Ron Greschner (981), and Jim Neilson (811). Staal has notched three points (two goals, one assist) over the last four games.
MIKA MAGIC
Mika Zibanejad has posted a multi-point game in each of the last two contests (four assists), in three of the last four games (one goal, five assists), and in four of the last seven games (one goal, seven assists). Zibanejad has also recorded a point in 10 of the last 15 games (three goals, 12 assists) and has tallied 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) over the last 24 contests. He leads the Rangers in several categories this season, including assists (17), points (25), and shots on goal (91).
KREID-ING HIGH
Chris Kreider is one of two NHL players who have registered at least 100 goals, 200 points, a plus-40 rating, and 250 penalty minutes since the start of the 2014-15 season (along with Brad Marchand). He leads the Rangers in goals this season (14). Kreider has recorded 15 points (10 goals, five assists) in the last 17 games (since Oct. 30), and he is tied for ninth in the NHL in goals over the span.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power Play:
Penalty Kill:
UPCOMING MILESTONES
INJURIES (84 Man-Games Lost to Injury)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY
REMEMBERING 1993-94
Mike Richter earned his 40th win of the 1993-94 season on April 4, 1994 vs. Florida, becoming the first goaltender to register at least 40 wins in a season in franchise history.
RANGERS VS. PANTHERS - 1993-94
The Rangers posted a 3-2-0 record in five games against Florida during the Panthers' first NHL season in 1993-94. Sergei Zubov led the Rangers with four assists and four points in the season series, while Brian Leetch (one goal, two assists), Sergei Nemchinov (two goals, one assist), and Steve Larmer (two goals, one assist) each recorded three points in the five contests. The Rangers won the first all-time game between the two teams, defeating the Panthers, 4-2, on November 16, 1993 at Florida. In the first meeting between the two teams at MSG, the Rangers defeated Florida, 3-2, on January 3, 1994, as Adam Graves tallied the game-winning goal in the third period.
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