TONIGHT'S GAME
RANGERS VS. BLACKHAWKS
All-Time: 243-249-98-2 (123-117-55-0 at home; 120-132-43-2 on the road)
2021-22
Dec. 4 vs. CHI
Dec. 7 at CHI
2019-20
- New York and Chicago only played once in 2019-20, a 6-3 Rangers win at United Center on Feb. 19, 2020. The Blueshirts scored five goals in the third period in that game.
- In that game, Mika Zibanejad had one goal and three assists for four points while Chris Kreider recorded three points (1G-2A) including the game-winning goal.
Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Blackhawks 12.04.21
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. BLACKHAWKS
Barclay Goodrow - 20 GP, 3G-7A=10 PTS - Goodrow has at least one point in eight of 20 games against Chicago and has two multi-point games against the Blackhawks in his career (Jan. 15, 2021 &Nov. 5, 2019). Goodrow is a plus-1 in each of his last three games against Chicago.
Mika Zibanejad - 10 GP, 6G-3A=9 PTS - Zibanejad has recorded a goal/point in six of 10 career games against Chicago, including five of his last seven contests and four of his last five games. Zibanejad has been a combined plus-5 in his last two games against Chicago.
Jacob Trouba - 22 GP, 1G-8A=9 PTS - Trouba has posted a multi-point game in four of his last 11 games against the Blackhawks (one goal, eight assists).
Goalies vs. CHI
Igor Shesterkin (1 GP, 1-0-0, 3 GA (37 SVS/40 SA), 3.00 GAA)
Alexandar Georgiev (0 GP)
RANGERS AND BLACKHAWKS CONNECTIONS
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
Last night, the Blueshirts stretched their home winning streak to seven games, tied for longest active streak in the NHL with Dallas. The Rangers' seven-game streak at home is tied for the second longest in the NHL this season with Florida's 11-game home win streak from Oct. 14-Nov. 14 leading the way.
New York's streak is the longest since winning seven-straight at home from Oct. 23-Nov. 21, 2018:
2021-22 - 7 in a row - Oct. 29-Dec. 3, 2021
2018-19 - 7 in a row - Oct. 23-Nov. 21, 2018
2017-18 - 8 in a row - Oct. 26-Nov. 26, 2017
2015-16 - 9 in a row - Oct. 19-Nov. 23, 2015
Since the streak started on October 29, Chris Kreider leads with six goals while Artemi Panarin leads with 10 assists and 11 points. Overall, the Blueshirts' .833 home point percentage (7-1-1) this season is third in the NHL behind Edmonton (.900) and Florida (.929). New York's 2.33 goals-against average ranks tied for seventh at home while its 27.3 power play percentage at home ranks fifth in the NHL.
WINNING WAYS
The Rangers are currently riding a season-long win streak of five games and is one of four teams (MIN, DAL, TOR) in the NHL with an active win streak of five or more games. It marks the Rangers' longest win streak since Feb. 19-27, 2020 (5 GP).
With a win tonight, the Rangers will have their longest streak since Oct. 31-Nov. 11, 2017 (6 GP).
New York is 9-1-0 in their last 10 games for 18 points. Since Nov. 8, the Blueshirts have the highest point percentage (.900) in the NHL:
NYR - .900 (9-1-0)
TOR - .833 (10-2-0)
DAL - .800 (8-2-0)
COL - .800 (8-2-0)
HERE'S THE SITUATION
Situationally, this season the Rangers are:
CLOSING THE CAGE
In its last seven games, New York has allowed two or fewer goals in six of them with the outlier coming in a 5-4 win against Buffalo. In those seven games, the Rangers have allowed two goals three times, one goal twice and recorded one shutout. Since Nov. 16, the Blueshirts' 1.71 goals-against average per game is second in the NHL (TOR leads with 1.25 GAA in that span). On the contrary, from the beginning of the season to Nov. 15, the Rangers had the 17th-best GAA (2.87).
WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?
Adam Fox continues his Norris Trophy defense as his 23 points (4G-19A) are tied for the most in the NHL among defensemen with Aaron Ekblad and his 19 assists lead all defensemen. Fox has recorded an assist in five-straight games (7A), his longest since notching a seven-game assist streak last season (Mar. 17-28).
This year, Fox has recorded a point in 13 of the Rangers' 15 wins (13-1-3 in games he has a point).
Among NHL defenseman, Fox has the third most takeaways with 25, trailing MacKenize Weegar (34) and Alex Pietrangelo (36).
STROME OF THE BRAVE
Ryan Strome picked up where he left off, after seeing his eight-game point streak come to an end on Wednesday, notching his fourth goal of the season and first on the power-play on Friday. Strome has points in nine of his last 10 games (3G-8A) and 11 of his last 13 games (3G-10A).
Strome's three game-winning goals this season leads the Rangers and are tied for the sixth-most in the NHL.
KREIDING HIGH
Chris Kreider has 16 goals this season, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (19) and Leon Draisaitl (21) for the league lead. Kreider has at least one goal in four of his last seven games (5G) and 13 of 22 games this season.
TROU BLUE
In his past five games, Trouba has three goals and has a point in six of his last 10 games (4G-3A). Trouba has the second most shots among Rangers this season with 59, behind Kreider's 65. Trouba has skated 22:38 time on ice per game, second on New York behind Adam Fox (24:38).
On the Rangers, Trouba's 58 hits are second on the team.
ART-FUL ASPECTS
In his past five games, Artemi Panarin has two goals and five assists for seven points. This season among Rangers, Panarin's 23 points rank tied for first while his six goals and 17 assists rank second. His plus-6 rating ranks third on the team.
Panarin has recorded a point in 11 of the Rangers' 15 wins, and the Rangers have earned a point in each of the 14 games he has tallied a point (11-0-3 record).
UPCOMING MILESTONES
Artemi Panarin
MILESTONES ACHIEVED
12/1 vs. PHI - Mika Zibanejad recorded his 300th point as a Ranger
POWER PLAY
PP Leaders:
Goals: Kreider (9)
Points: Panarin (9), Kreider (9), Fox (9)
PP TOI: Kreider (74:09)
PP Shots: Zibanejad (21)
PENALTY KILL
PK Leaders:
SH Goals: Fox (1)
SH TOI: Goodrow (56:36)
SH Shots: Goodrow (5), Trouba (5)
