RANGERS CRUSH STEPAN AND HIS COYOTES AT MSG 

   Game Summary                      ARI: A Hill (L)   NYR: O. Pavelec (W)                       Event Summary

–       POINT TAKEN – The Rangers have earned at least one point in four of their last five games, dating back to Oct. 17 vs. Pittsburgh (2-1-2 record over the span). The Blueshirts have also earned a win in two of their last three contests (2-1-0 record over the three games). The Rangers have earned at least one point in five of nine games at MSG in 2017-18.

–       WHAT A LINE – The Michael Grabner-Boo Nieves-Pavel Buchnevich line registered seven points (four goals, three assists) in tonight’s game, and at least one of the three players recorded each of the team’s final four goals in the contest.

–       HIGH FIVE – New York tied a single-game season-high with five goals in tonight’s contest.

–       GOALS GALORE – The Blueshirts have recorded at least three goals in four of their last five games, and have registered at least four goals in three of the contests. The Rangers have tallied 17 goals over the last five contests. In addition, the Rangers have averaged 3.04 goals per game at MSG since the start of last season (152 goals in regulation/overtime in 50 games over the span).

–       SHOOTING GALLERY – The Rangers registered 30 shots on goal in tonight’s game. New York has registered at least 30 shots on goal in seven of the last eight games and in nine of 11 games in 2017-18.

–       HOT AT THE DOT – The Blueshirts won 36 of 60 faceoffs in tonight’s contest (60.0%). The Rangers have won at least 50.0% of faceoffs taken in each of the last three games and in eight of 11 contests thus far in 2017-18.

–       HOW THE WEST WAS WON – The Rangers earned their second win against a Western Conference opponent this season and their first win against a team in the Pacific Division. The Rangers posted a 21-6-1 record in games against Western Conference opponents last season. The Blueshirts led all Eastern Conference teams in wins against Western Conference opponents in 2016-17.

–       FIRST IN SCORE – The Blueshirts recorded the first goal of the game for the fourth time in the last seven contests, as well as the fifth time in their last nine contests. The Rangers have posted a 3-2-0 record in games which they tallied the first goal thus far in 2017-18.

–       FINISHING THE JOB – Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the Rangers have posted a 197-7-8 record in 212 regular season games in which they have held a lead entering the third period. New York’s .929 winning percentage when leading entering the third period over the span ranks first in the NHL.

–       HOWLING FOR YOU – The Rangers extended their winning streak against the Coyotes to eight games, and the streak dates back to Mar. 24, 2014. The Rangers’ active eight-game winning streak against the Coyotes is their longest winning streak against the Jets/Coyotes franchise in the Blueshirts’ franchise history. New York has tallied three or more goals in each of the eight contests, including four or more goals in seven of the eight games. New York has won each of its last nine home games against the Coyotes, dating back to Nov. 24, 2008. In addition, the Rangers have won 18 of their last 20 home games against the Jets/Coyotes franchise, dating back to Jan. 6, 1992.

–       Boo Nieves tallied three assists/points, including his first career NHL assist/point, registered two primary assists, notched an assist on the game-winning goal, and posted a plus-three rating while making his 2017-18 NHL season debut and skating in his second career NHL game. Nieves became the first Ranger to post a three-point game in one of his first two NHL games since Derek Stepan on Oct. 9, 2010, at Buffalo. In addition, Nieves became the first Ranger to post a three-assist game in one of his first two NHL games since Dominic Moore on Nov. 1, 2003, at Montreal.

–       Pavel Buchnevich posted his first career multi-goal game in the NHL by recording two goals, established a single-game career-high with a plus-three rating, and recorded two shots on goal. Buchnevich has tallied a point in each of the last two games (two goals, one assist) and in six of 11 games this season (three goals, four assists).

–       Michael Grabner recorded two goals, including the game-winning goal, led all skaters with eight shots on goal, tied a single-game career-high with a plus-four rating, and tied for the game-high with three takeaways. He has registered three goals in the last five games, and he is tied for the team lead in even-strength goals this season (three).

–       Ondrej Pavelec stopped 27 of 29 shots he faced to earn his first win as a Ranger. Pavelec made his 10,000th career NHL save in tonight’s contest, becoming the third Czech-born goaltender in NHL history to make at least 10,000 career saves (along with Dominik Hasek and Tomas Vokoun).

–       Chris Kreider registered the first goal of the game and recorded three shots on goal. Kreider has tallied a goal/point in two of the last three games (two goals over the span).

–       Mats Zuccarello tallied an assist and posted a plus-one rating. He is tied for the team lead in assists (six) and points (eight) thus far this season.

–       Mika Zibanejad recorded an assist, was credited with two takeaways and posted a plus-one rating. Zibanejad is tied for the team lead in points in 2017-18 (eight; six goals, two assists).

–       Ryan McDonagh notched an assist and posted a plus-three rating in 21:24 of ice time. The Rangers captain has recorded an assist/point in three of the last five games (three assists over the span).

–       Rick Nash registered two shots on goal and was credited with two takeaways while skating in his 1,000th career NHL game in tonight’s contest. Nash became the 312th player in NHL history (314th including goaltenders) to play at least 1,000 career games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Nash also became the 22nd player to skate in his 1,000th career NHL game while playing with the Rangers.

–       Marc Staal skated in his 700th career NHL game, as well as his 700th career game as a Ranger, in tonight’s contest. Staal became the 12th player – and sixth defenseman – in franchise history to play at least 700 games as a member of the Blueshirts. The only defensemen who have played in more games with the Rangers than Staal has are Harry Howell, Brian Leetch, Ron Greschner, Jim Neilson, and Dan Girardi.

–       Nick Holden tied for the game-high – and led the Rangers – with five hits, and posted a plus-two rating while skating in a team-high 21:38 of ice time in tonight’s contest.

–       Alain Vigneault earned his 617th career win as an NHL head coach in tonight’s contest, tying Jacques Lemaire for 13th place on the NHL’s all-time wins list among head coaches. Vigneault leads all NHL head coaches in wins since the start of the 2006-07 season (508).

• Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers head coach

On the turning points of the game…

“Well, there’s no doubt that Ryan (McDonagh) played a real strong game for us at both ends of the rink. They were dependable defensively and they had a lot of speed which led to good opportunities. For me, the two turning points in the game were Pavelec’s save at the end of the first period and the goal that Grabner scores with the pass from Boo (Nieves) that makes it 3-1. They’ve just made it 2-1 and we responded right away with a big goal, so I thought those were two big turning points in tonight’s game.” 

On judging tonight’s performance of the opponent…

“You look at it as both teams are fighting to get points. You’d have to say that this was a challenging game in the sense that you’ve got to think that they might be due to win one, and we need the points. I thought we came out well, we played really strong in the first period and responded well in the second.” 

On dressing four centers with Nieves…

“Well, if you look at how the ice time was spread tonight it was pretty evenly matched for the four lines. I think that permits us to play with a higher pace and more energy and you can roll and score with four lines quickly and I think that’s what Boo’s (Nieves) line helped us do tonight by playing well and being efficient on the ice.”                 

• Rick Tocchet, Arizona Coyotes head coach 

On tonight’s game and the team’s state of mind…

“You can’t give them freebies.  It’s hard because you’re chasing the game.  Now we have to get away from our system and chase sticks because we are down again, but I liked our third period.  We had a talk after the second and I saw some guys getting back in that system.  Their hearts are in the right direction but when you give them a couple of free goals, they think about how we are going to get back in the game.  That’s what happened tonight.”

On the goal that made it 3-1…

“I don’t know where he (Demers) was going.  I mean, you guys all saw it.  But I think Hilly’s (Hill) technique was a little sloppy there.  It was just a sloppy goal all around.”

• Boo Nieves, New York Rangers forward

On what worked so well for him tonight…

“I think we just meshed really well – me, Grabner and Buchnevich.  Grabner is a really fast player like me so it’s easy to keep up with him.  A guy like Buchnevich can put the puck just about anywhere.  They made my transition here pretty easy.”

On whether he was poised or nervous tonight…

“I wasn’t too nervous.  It was only my second game but I tried to get all the jitters out in warmups and just treat it like another game.  It’s another professional hockey game, I just want to go out there and play my best.”

On the goal that made it 3-1…

“Before the game, what they said (to me) was to skate fast and keep it simple.  So I just kind of used my speed, got around, and I knew Grabner was going to be there.  I just kind of gave him the puck and he did the rest.”

• Rick Nash, New York Rangers forward

On winning his 1,000^th game…

“Before the game, I told the boys I really wanted this one and we needed our best effort.  It’s a special night I’ll never forget.”

On what will stand out about his 1,000^th game…

“I would say the support of the players and from the Rangers organization.  They’ve been first class since I got here.  They brought my whole family in tonight so I have to say thanks to the Rangers for that.  The guys kind of made it all about me tonight and I appreciate that.  I’m not one that really likes the limelight and kind of like to be in the background.  It was kind of nice.” 

On what stood out about the team’s play…

“One thing that stood out for me was that we kept it kind of simple.  There was a lot of chipped pucks.  When there was a play to be made, we made it and when there was no play there, we kept it simple and kept our legs moving.  I thought every line chipped in.  Boo’s [Boo Nieves] line and Grabner and Buch [Pavel Buchnevich] played unbelievably and it was fun to watch them.”

• Ondrej Pavelec, New York Rangers goaltender 

On whether he had a level of comfort early on after not playing for 12 days…

“I think it helped me a lot that we had a great start to the game and we were ready to play.  They didn’t have much in the first period so that helped me to get a little more comfortable.  I think it’s about how you practice and how you’re getting ready for the games, but I would lie if I said I wasn’t nervous.  I didn’t play for a while but it is what it is.  Like I said so many times, my job is to be ready.”

On the high level of urgency…

“We need wins. We didn’t have a good start this season.  We want to get back on track, win some games, and keep going.  For me, it was another game to play and I want to win every game and the team wants to win every game.  We know Nash played 1000 games and it was a huge game for him, so I think that helped us to get ready too.”

On the importance of the goal that made it 3-1…

“It was a key to the win.  We get that momentum back right away and it was huge.  That’s what we talk about – if they score the goals, nothing happens and we just keep going, stick with the plan.  That’s what we did and we scored a third goal.  I think it was huge for this game.”

• Derek Stepan, Arizona Coyotes forward 

His thoughts after the first Coyotes goal…

“We made a simple play and then we barred to the net and we had bodies there. When we do that we are a pretty good team, but for whatever reason sometimes we stopped doing it and then we started chasing the game. That’s what leads to I would say 90 percent of our problems.”

What was going through his mind during tonight’s game…

“It was a lot. I mean it was probably one of the hardest things I have had to do in my career playing in this game. I thought it took me a period and a half to get going a little bit. Mentally I wasn’t sharp, it was just hard to stay focused. Like I said, it was one of the hardest things I had to do and I’m glad that it’s over with and I can move on now.”

• Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes forward

On his thoughts on tonight’s game…

“I think we had a pretty solid first. We were in the game and then the second they had a little bit of a pus. I thought we pushed back but just had some unlucky bounces there. In the third, we got back to what we were doing and we started to play our way.” 

On how disappointing the loss was for Derek Stepan…

“He’s our leader and we said that before the game that we wanted to get a win for him in this building and unfortunately we couldn’t do that. He is a heck of a player, had a tremendous career here with the Rangers. It means so much that he came to our team and has been the best leader I’ve been around, he is a great guy.”

–       Tomorrow (Fri, Oct. 27): Practice, 12:00 p.m. at MSG Training Center

–       Next Game: Sat, Oct. 28 at Montreal (7:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network)

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