CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS NOTES:
INJURY REPORT POSITION PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED
F Andreas Athanasiou Groin Nov. 9 – Jan. 2 25
F Taylor Hall Right ACL Nov. 19 – Jan. 2 21
D Seth Jones Left shoulder Dec. 10 – Jan. 2 10
F Joey Anderson Left shoulder Dec. 17 – Jan. 2 7
F Taylor Raddysh Left groin strain Dec. 29 – Jan. 2 2
F Tyler Johnson Right foot Dec. 31 – Jan. 2 1
F Anthony Beauvillier Left wrist Jan. 2 0
Total man games lost: 140
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Jan. 3 – Placed Anthony Beauvillier on IR and claimed Jaycob Megna off waivers … Jan. 1 – Placed Tyler Johnson on IR and recalled Brett Seney from Rockford.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT – NEW YORK RANGERS
The Blackhawks take on the Rangers for the first time this season at Madison Square Garden … Chicago is 6-3-0 in their last nine contests against the Rangers in New York … The Blackhawks defeated the Rangers 5-2 in their last road matchup … Reese Johnson scored while Jason Dickinson and Boris Katchouk each notched an assist … Ryan Donato has points in five of his eight career games against the Rangers (4G, 3A), including two multi-point efforts … There are seven different Blackhawks that could face the Rangers tonight for the first time in their careers (Bedard, Crevier, Guttman, Korchinski, Phillips, Reichel and Vlasic).
TEAM NOTES
BLACKHAWKS RECORD ON…
One-Day Rest: 5-7-2
Two-Days Rest: 1-7-0
Three+ Days Rest: 2-1-0
First Game of a B2B: 3-3-0
Second Game of a B2B: 0-6-0
BLACKHAWKS RECORD BY DAY
Thursday: 2-4-0
NEW YORK RANGERS NOTES:
RANGERS RUNDOWN
– The New York Rangers hosts the Chicago Blackhawks in an Original Six matchup at Madison Square Garden (7:00 PM ET – TV: MSG Network – Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). – The Rangers have the NHL’s most wins (25), tied for the second most points (51), and second highest points percentage (.708). – The Rangers became the first team in the NHL to reach the 50-point mark (51 PTS) with their win last Saturday, for the first time since 1993-94. The 2023-24 campaign marks the fifth time in franchise history the club has reached the mark in 35 or fewer games, following 1971-72 (33 GP), 1970-71 (34 GP), 1993-94 (35 GP) and 1939-40 (35 GP). – In games following a loss this season, the Blueshirts are 9-1-0. – New York finished the 2023 calendar year with a 53-19-8 regular season record for 114 points, ranking third in the NHL in both wins and points. Its .713 point percentage ranked second in the NHL last calendar year. – Against Western Conference opponents, the Rangers are 11-3-1 and are 4-2-1 against Central Division. – The Rangers have won five of their last six games against the Blackhawks dating back to the 2018-19 season. – At home, New York is 12-5-0 for 24 points and their .706 home point percentage ranks tied for sixth in the NHL. – When scoring four or more goals in a game, the Blueshirts are 15-0-1 and 17-0-0 when allowing two or fewer goals in a game. – The Blueshirts have scored at least one power play goal in nine of their last 11 games. New York has the NHL’s second best power play percentage (30.1) and the fourth most (tied) power play goals in the league (34). LAST GAME – The Rangers’ 53.9 faceoff percentage is tied for the third highest in the NHL. Since 1997-98 when the league started tracking FOW%, the team hasn’t finished a season over 53.3 percent. – The Rangers have 12 comeback wins on the season, the third most in the NHL, and six wins when trailing at any point in the third period, tied for the most in the NHL. – New York has 92 points from defensemen, the fifth most in the NHL.
MAN GAMES LOST – 60
PLAYER INJURY/REASON DATES MISSED CONS. GAMES MISSED
Kaapo Kakko Lower Body Nov. 29-Jan. 2 16
Filip Chytil Upper Body Nov. 4-Jan. 2 26
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Jan. 3 – Brennan Othmann recalled from Hartford
SLAP SHOTS
– Jacob Trouba’s 116 blocked shots are the most in the NHL and has assists in back-to-back games. – Nick Bonino ranks first among forwards with 63 blocked shots and since 2021-22, Bonino leads all forwards in blocked shots with 244. Bonino is one assist away from 200 in his career. – Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies in hits with 90. – Blake Wheeler has points in five of his last seven games and nine points (3G-6A) in his past 10 games. – Alexis Lafreniere has points in three of his last four games (1G-3A) and has in five of his last seven contests (2G-4A). – The Rangers have a regular season record of 42-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.
