New York Rangers: Blueshirts looking to finish strong at home
Playing without pressure is a luxury the New York Rangers really will be able to enjoy when they play at Madison Square Garden for the final time this season.
With just one game remaining after tonight – Saturday’s tilt at the Pittsburgh Penguins – and with no postseason hockey for the second consecutive year, the New York Rangers will just have pride to play for later and the chance to put on a show for RangersTown.
Head coach David Quinn spoke pregame about how important it is to carry momentum heading into the offseason, and there is no doubt that he will be demanding 100 percent effort from his players both tonight and on Saturday.
“How this season ends, you’re going to carry through the summer. So let’s take advantage of our opportunity tomorrow night.”#NYR Coach Quinn talks about tomorrow’s final home game vs. Columbus. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ux7PhECadw
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 4, 2019
And why not?
There are roster spots up for grabs heading into 2019-20 and there are more than a handful of players who need to prove that they deserve to be a long-term piece of this rebuild.
One such player is young defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who was recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack on Thursday.
Lindgren, who made his NHL and Rangers debut on Jan. 15 vs. the Carolina Hurricanes, has skated in 63 AHL games with the Wolf Pack this season, putting up 12 assists and he also ranks tenth among AHL defensemen in penalty minutes in 2018-19 with 92.
The 21-year-old now has the opportunity to showcase his talent on the big stage and show Quinn why he deserves to be fighting for a top six role on the blueline come training camp.
There are also milestones to be achieved with the most notable one of course being Henrik Lundqvist’s mission to accomplish 450 wins.
The King needs just one more win in order to further etch his name into the history books and he could get at least one more chance this season to reach the magic number.
With Alexandar Georgiev starting tonight, the question is whether or not Lundqvist will have a chance to secure the milestone win on Saturday.
Players like Ryan Strome and Brett Howden have been playing with a hot hand of late with the latter taking a four-game point streak (one goal, four assists) into the loss against the Ottawa Senators.
To put it simply, the New York Rangers may have nothing to play for in terms of meaningful wins or standings, but there is still a lot at stake in these final two games and they have the perfect chance to bid a fond farewell to Madison Square Garden until next season.
On the other hand, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be carrying a boatload of pressure on their shoulders into tonight’s Metro Division match-up.
Scrapping for their playoff lives, the Blue Jackets simply have to leave the Big Apple with a win and they will look to compete hard from the very first drop of the puck.
Locked in a battle with the Montreal Canadians for the final wild card spot – the Hurricanes and the Penguins still need to lock up their berths too – Columbus can ill afford another slip-up like the one they suffered against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, a 6-2 loss snapping a five-game win streak.
They do enter tonight knowing that they control their own destiny, however, with a win enough to clinch a playoff berth following a loss for the Canadians on Thursday.
With so much on the line for the Blue Jackets, there will be a playoff like intensity in the Big Apple tonight and the Rangers owe it to their fans to give them a fitting sendoff.
Pre-game notes
About the Rangers:
- The New York Rangers are 31-36-13 this year.
- The Rangers are 18-14-8 at Madison Square Garden in 2018-19.
- It hasn’t been a great second-half of the season for the Blueshirts who are 14-19-6 in that time.
- The Rangers are 3-7-0 in their last ten games and have lost two in a row, letting in eight goals and allowing 72 shots on goal in that span.
- The Rangers have been consistently outfought in the faceoff circle this year and they have the second worst percentage in the NHL with 47.2. The Washington Capitals have the worst percentage (45.7). They are coming off two straight games with a winning percentage in the thirties.
- New York ranks 17th on the power play (19.4%) and 28th on the penalty kill (77.7.).
- Mika Zibanejad was crowned the winner of this year’s Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, given to the Rangers’ player who goes above and beyond the call of duty.
- Zibanejad has enjoyed a stellar year for New York, registering career highs in goals (30), assists (42), points (72) and power play points (23).
- Alexandar Georgiev will get the start in goal tonight. Who starts between the pipes for the final game of the season on Saturday is up in the air.
- Defenseman Ryan Lindgren was recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack on Thursday and has a “great chance” of being in the lineup against the Blue Jackets tonight according to head coach David Quinn. Lindgren has skated in three NHL games this year, making his Rangers debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 15.
- Vladislav Namestnikov leads the Rangers in shorthanded assists (three) and shorthanded points (four) this season, establishing career-highs in both categories.
- Lias Andersson scored a shorthanded goal against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, becoming the youngest New York Rangers player to do so since Niklas Sundstrom achieved the feat on Oct. 14, 1995 at Toronto.
- Each of the Rangers’ last three goals have been scored by rookies – Brett Howden, Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson, all 21 years of age or younger.
About the Blue Jackets:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets are 45-31-4 this year.
- The Blue Jackets are 23-14-2 on the road in 2018-19.
- They also have a record of 6-3-1 in their last ten games.
- Columbus was riding a five-game winning streak, although that was snapped by the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
- The Blue Jackets have struggled hugely on the power play this year, converting at a measly percentage of 15.5.
- However, they own the second best penalty kill record in the NHL behind the Arizona Coyotes (85.0%).
- The Blue Jackets have scored 248 goals this season, breaking the record of 247 set two years ago.
- Forward Oliver Bjorkstrand scored on Wednesday for the sixth consecutive game and he also has eight goals in his last eight games. He has 33 points overall this year.
- Artemi Panarin – who is a rumored free agency target for the Rangers – has been an offensive beast this year. The 27-year-old has put up 27 goals and 57 assists for 84 points in 77 games, setting franchise records for the most single season assists and points by a Blue Jackets player.
- The Jackets two major acquisitions at the deadline have not fared as well. Matt Duchene has four goals and 12 points in 21 games and Ryan Dzingel has three goals and 11 points in 19 games.
- Columbus recalled former Ranger defenseman Adam Clendening and center Alexandre Texier from the Cleveland Monsters on Thursday.
- Texier will be making his NHL debut tonight. He came over from Finland after the Liga season ended and tore up the AHL with five goals in seven games.
- Former Rangers defenseman, Adam McQuaid, isn’t expected to make his return to the Big Apple as he continues to recover from an upper body injury.
Head-to-Head:
- Tonight will be the fourth and final matchup of the year between New York and Columbus.
- The Rangers are 1-1-1 against the Blue Jackets in 2018-19.
- The Blueshirts have been outshot 68-107 by Columbus in that three game span.
- The Rangers won their first game 5-4 by shootout in November. In December they lost in overtime 4-3. The last tilt between these two teams ended in a thrilling 7-5 win for the Blue Jackets in Columbus. The Rangers battled back from a 6-3 deficit to draw within a goal in the third period.
- Chris Kreider has four goals against Columbus this season.
Next. All of the Rangers' lottery scenarios. dark
Game Info:
- Faceoff tonight is at 7:00 pm.
- Tonight is the season home finale for the New York Rangers.
- The game will be televised on MSG+. Radio will be 970AM.