Florida Panthers Visit the New York Rangers in Big Apple, Again

Tonight at 7:00 P.M., the New York Rangers will host the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden.

This will mark the second of three games this season between the two clubs. The New York Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers, 5-2 in MSG on October 23rd. They’ll face off for the final time this season on December 8th at BB&T Center.

After starting the season 2-5-3, the Florida Panthers had won five games in a row, by an aggregate 19-7 score. That streak was brought to a close, however, in a 7-3 setback to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

The Panthers are playing in the third game of a season-high six-game road-trip. They started it with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and the loss to the Blue Jackets on Thursday.

After this, they’ll visit the Ottawa Senators on Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, and the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday before heading home.

The Rangers, sporting a 9-8-2 record, had a seven-game point streak snapped on Thursday in a 7-5 loss to the New York Islanders. Tonight, they’ll open a three-game homestand, also hosting the Dallas Stars on Monday and the Islanders again on Wednesday.

When Last We Met

The last time the Panthers faced off with these guys was on October 23rd with 17,016 in attendance at MSG.

The 1-2-3 Panthers were visiting the 2-5-1 Rangers and limped out with a 5-2 loss. Jonathan Huberdeau assisted on both markers, and Vincent Trocheck (3) scored a goal on the power play.

Mike Hoffman (3) lit the lamp in the third period, but Panthers netminder Michael Hutchinson stopped only 15-of-19 shots on net.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 23: Vincent Trocheck #21 of the Florida Panthers skates with the puck against Brendan Smith #42 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on October 23, 2018 in New York City. The New York Rangers won 5-2. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

"“For some reason, we have a tough time holding onto leads. Once we get that lead, we aren’t playing aggressive enough.” – Ekblad, as quoted by David Satriano on NHL.com."

Panthers Last

In Florida’s last game, the 7-5-3 Panthers were trying to extend their winning streak to six against the hosting Blue Jackets (10-6-2) with 14,872 in attendance at Nationwide Arena.

Mike Matheson led the Panthers with two assists, and goals were scored by Nick Bjugstad (4), Aaron Ekblad (2), and Keith Yandle (4).

Helpers were had also by Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Huberdeau, Denis Malgin, and Vincent Trocheck. Roberto Luongo lost for the first time this season, making 30 saves on 36 shots.

"“We had a lot of guys have off games. I’m going to chalk it up to that. I’m not going to spend a lot of time dissecting the game.” – Panthers coach Bob Boughner as quoted by Craig Merz on NHL.com."

Rangers Last

The Rangers lost a 7-5 road matchup at Barclays Center on Thursday, in front of 13,472. Chris Kreider (9, 10) scored twice for the Rangers, and Neal Pionk notched two assists.

Filip Chytil (2), Fredrik Claesson (1), and Kevin Hayes (4) also lit the lamp for the visiting team. Henrik Lundqvist took the loss, stopping only 12-of-17 shots.

"“The one thing that jumps out at me is how soft we were around our net. It’s unfortunate because I thought we did a lot of good things tonight. But they just scored way too easily tonight.” – Rangers coach David Quinn, as reported by Brian Compton on NHL.com."

All-Time Series

In head-to-head play, the Florida Panthers are 37-44-6-9 in 96 contests against the Rangers. That’s their 21st best mark against an NHL club.

This Day in History

The Florida Panthers are 3-4-0-1 on November 17th through their history. In 2000, they handed the Blue Jackets a 3-0 loss at Nationwide Arena. Len Barrie (1), Ivan Novoseltsev (2), and Pavel Bure (10) each scored. Trevor Kidd turned aside all 30 Columbus shots for the win.

Common Thread

Panthers defenseman Yandle played in 103 contests for the Rangers from 2015 through 2016, with seven goals and 51 assists.

Standings

Florida Panthers: 7-6-3, 17 points, .531 points percentage, on pace for 87 points. Last Five: W-W-W-W-L, sixth in the Atlantic Division, eighth in the Eastern Conference, 15th in the NHL, 43.5% Playoff Chances.

New York Rangers: 9-8-2, 20 points, .526 points percentage, on pace for 86 points. Last Five: W-O-W-W-L, fifth in the Metropolitan Division, 11th in the Eastern Conference, 20th in the NHL, 34.0% Playoff Chances.

Starting Lineup

Florida Panthers

63–16–68
11–21–72
62–90–27
22–91–7

19–5
3–6
55–52

1 (unconfirmed)

New York Rangers

Chytil – Mika Zibanejad – Mats Zuccarello
Kreider – Hayes – Vladislav Namestnikov
Jimmy Vesey – Brett Howden – Jesper Fast
Lias Andersson – Ryan Strome – Vinni Lettieri

Brady Skjei – Anthony DeAngelo
Marc Staal – Pionk
Claesson – Kevin Shattenkirk

Lundqvist (unconfirmed)

Injury Report

Derek MacKenzie is on now on the IR and there isn’t a timetable for his return. He had previously announced that this will be his final season.

Mark Pysyk has an ‘upper-body’ injury, but we all know it’s an Alex Ovechkin-induced concussion. Of course, it went completely unremarked on by the officials at the time, and everywhere else for that matter. What did you expect though? Ovechkin is a STAR!!! It’s a load of crap.

Milestones

Games: Trocheck moves into a tie for 23rd all-time with Marcus Nilson, with his 327th game played. Ekblad has 326.

Goals: Dadonov will tie Johan Garpenlov with his next goal, his 47th, in 33rd all-time. Ekblad’s next will tie him in 20th all-time with Jody Hull. Bjugstad will tie David Booth in 13th with his next, his 87th. Huberdeau’s next goal will be his 100th.

Assists: Dadonov needs a pair of helpers to tie Paul Laus in 42nd all-time, with 58. Ekblad’s next assist will be his 84th, tying him with Jozef Stumpel in 23rd all-time. Yandle, currently alone in 20th with 96, will tie Bill Lindsay in 19th with two more.

Points: Dadonov will break a 40th place tie with Ed Jovanovski with a point. They currently both have 102. Ekblad will pass Kulikov with his next, moving into 21st by himself with 139. Trocheck will tie Ray Whitney in 12th with a pair of points, giving them both 227.

Saves: James Reimer will tie Kidd in sixth all-time with 21 more saves, tying them with 2,594.

Stat Leaders

Games: Alexander Petrovic, Ekblad, Bjugstad, Trocheck, Barkov, Huberdeau, Yandle, Hoffman, Dadonov – 16

Goals: Dadonov – 8, Hoffman – 7, Frank Vatrano, Barkov – 5

Assists: Yandle – 12, Huberdeau – 11, Trocheck – 10

Points: Dadonov – 17, Yandle, Hoffman – 16

Plus/Minus: Bjugstad +7, MacKenzie Weegar +3, Bogdan Kiselevich, Ekblad, Malgin +2

Hits: Petrovic – 52, Trocheck – 34, Troy Brouwer – 23

Blocked Shots: Petrovic – 30, Mike Matheson, Yandle, Weegar – 18

Faceoff Percentage: Trocheck – 53.6%, Barkov – 53.0%, Bjugstad – 51.7%, Juho Lammikko – 50.8%, Jared McCann – 45.2%

Shots-on-Goal: Hoffman – 55, Trocheck – 46, Yandle – 44

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