NEW YORK RANGERS NOTES:
RANGERS RUNDOWN
– The New York Rangers play their first game of a back-to-back and begin the final month of 2023, in Nashville on Saturday afternoon (4:30 PM ET – TV: MSG Network – Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). – The Blueshirts’ 16 wins are the most wins in the NHL and their 33 points are tied for the second most. New York’s .786 points percentage leads the league. – New York has wins in four of five, eight of its last 10 games and points in 15 of its last 17 games (14-2-1). – On the road this season, the Rangers are 9-2-1 for a league-high 19 points. – The Rangers finished the month of November with a 9-2-1 record for 19 points and a league-high .792 points percentage. In December, the Blueshirts will play 14 games with seven at MSG. – The Rangers have the best faceoff percentage in the NHL with a 56.1 percent mark and have been over 50 percent in the faceoff circle in 17 of 21 games. Since 1997-98 when the league started tracking FOW%, the team hasn’t finished a season over 53.3 percent. – The Rangers have the NHL’s third best power play percentage (29.2) and have scored power play goals in 15 of their first 21 games. New York’s 85.7 PK percentage ranks seventh in the league. – The Blueshirts have allowed the third fewest GA/GP (2.43) in the NHL and the second fewest total goals (51) in the league. – New York has seven comeback victories, tied for the fifth most in the league, and five after trailing in the third period – tied for the second most in the NHL. LAST GAME – The Blueshirts are 13-2-1 when scoring the first goal of the game, the most such wins in the league, and have opened the scoring in 13 of their past 15 games. New York is 8-1-1 when leading after two periods. – In Nashville, Tyler Pitlick is set to play in his 400th career NHL game. – The Rangers have the second fewest giveaways (124) in the NHL behind Seattle (117).
MAN GAMES LOST – 28
PLAYER INJURY/REASON DATES MISSED CONS. GAMES MISSED
Kaapo Kakko Lower Body Nov. 29 1
Filip Chytil Upper Body Nov. 4-29 11
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 28 – Adam Edstrom assigned to Hartford.
Nov. 28 – Jonny Brodzinski and Adam Edstrom recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack. Connor Mackey assigned to Hartford.
NEW YORK NETMINDERS
As a team, the Blueshirts have the third highest save percentage in the NHL (.918) and third lowest GAA (2.39). Igor Shesterkin has a 9-4-0 record on the year and has allowed one or fewer goals in a game five times this season. Shesterkin has allowed one or fewer goals on 42 occasions since the 2021-22 season, the most in the NHL. Since the 2021- 22 season, Igor Shesterkin leads the NHL with 83 wins and among goalies with 100 or more games, ranks first in save percentage (.924) and GAA (2.31). Jonathan Quick is 6-0-1 to start 2023-24 and is the second Rangers netminder to begin his tenure by earning a point in his first seven decisions, joining Eddie Mio in 1981-82 (5-0-2 in 7 GP). He has allowed one or fewer goals in three of those seven starts. Among NHL goaltenders who have made seven or more starts this season, Quick ranks third in save percentage (.930) and second in GAA (1.99). In addition, he is one of nine goaltenders with multiple shutouts this season.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS NOTES:
ALL-TIME vs. NY RANGERS
OVERALL (35 GP) 16-16-(1)-2 HOME (16 GP) 6-8-(0)-2 ROAD (19 GP) 10-8-(1)-0 LAST MEETING Oct. 19, 2023 at NYR (W, 4-1) PLAYOFFS Never Met
− The Predators are 16-16-(1)-2 all-time against the Rangers, including a 6-8-(0)-2 record at Bridgestone Arena. − This is the second and final matchup between Nashville and New York in 2023-24; it is the first and only at home. − The Predators are 3-2-0 in their last five games against the Rangers; they are 6-4-0 in their last 10; and 2-3-0 in their last five at home. − Nashville is 1-0-0 against New York in 2023-24, earning a 4-1 win at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 19. Cole Smith recorded his first career multi-goal game (2g) in the victory. − Nashville went 1-1-0 in two games against New York last season, picking up a 2-1 victory at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 12. − In the early 2000s, Nashville enjoyed considerable success against New York, earning points in six of seven games from Dec. 23, 2000-March 25, 2004.
NOTABLES vs. NY RANGERS − Juuse Saros owns a 1.94 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and one shutout in 10 career games against the Rangers. − Roman Josi has 14 points (4g-10a) in 20 career games vs. the Rangers, including three multi-point efforts. He notched three points (2g-1a) against the Rangers on Dec. 16, 2019. − Colton Sissons has four points (2g-2a) in his last nine games vs. the Rangers. − Ryan McDonagh served as captain of the Rangers for parts of four seasons from 2014-18; he helped lead New York to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. − Philip Tomasino scored his first career NHL goal on Oct. 21, 2021 vs. NY Rangers (Igor Shesterkin). − Juuso Parssinen made his NHL debut and scored his first career NHL goal (Jaroslav Halak) on Nov. 12, 2022 against the Rangers. − Rangers Head Coach Peter Laviolette spent parts of six seasons as head coach of the Predators from 2014-20, going 248- 143-60 in 451 games. New York Assistant Coaches Phil Housley (2013-17) and Dan Muse (2017-20) also spent time in Nashville on Laviolette’s staff in the same positions. − Rangers forward Nick Bonino played 219 games across three seasons for Nashville from 2017-20, tallying 95 points (47g48a).
SIX IN A ROW − Nashville recorded a six-game win streak from Nov. 18-28. It was Nashville’s first six-game win streak since claiming seven in a row from Dec. 4-17, 2021. The franchise record is 10 games, set from Feb. 19-March 8, 2018; the Predators also won eight in a row from Oct. 5-25, 2005. − Since Nov. 18, the Predators lead the NHL with 12 points. They have scored the joint second-most goals in the NHL (27) and have scored the joint third-most goals per game (3.86).
QUICK HITS − The Predators are 10th in the NHL in expected goal percentage (5-on-5) at 52.4 percent and 11th expected goal differential (5-on-5) at 4.05 per MoneyPuck.com. Nashville is also seventh in the NHL in high-danger shots for at 5-on-5 (52). − Nashville’s forward line of Forsberg-O’Reilly-Nyquist is 12th in the NHL in expected goal percentage (at least 140 minutes together at 5-on-5) at 56.6 percent per MoneyPuck.com. − The Predators have two defensive pairs (who have spent at least 130 minutes together at 5-on-5) in the top-10 in expected goals percentage, per MoneyPuck.com: McDonagh-Carrier (second, 64.8 percent) and Josi-Fabbro (10th, 58.9 percent). − Defensively, the Predators are ninth in the NHL in expected goals against at 5-on-5 (41.2). − The Predators are tied for 10th in the NHL in power-play goals with 17. Nashville has scored multiple power-play goals in the same game four times this season; the Predators did so nine times in 2022-23. The Predators have also scored a power-play goal in six of their last nine games. − A total of nine players 25-years-old or younger have played in a game for Nashville in 2023-24: Marc Del Gaizo, Luke Evangelista, Dante Fabbro, Samuel Fagemo, Liam Foudy, Cody Glass, Juuso Parssinen, Spencer Stastney and Philip Tomasino. − Nashville leads the NHL in hits per 60 minutes (20.9) and is third in hits (462).
