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Rangers hold on, win second straight after Quinn’s call-out

By Scott BilleckJan 17, 2019, 9:58 PM EST
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The New York Rangers are 2-0-0 now after head coach David Quinn put his team on blast this past Sunday.

Sometimes the truth hurts, and Quinn destroyed his team in his post-game comments after losing 7-5 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The response? A 6-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on NBCSN on Thursday.

You’ve got to pick your spot sometimes, and the rookie NHL bench boss seemed to find the right time to light the spark.

The Rangers probably aren’t going to be challenging for a playoff spot this season, but setting a tone going forward is exactly what Quinn needs to do with his group of youngsters. And despite getting down early in Thursday’s game, it’s likely Quinn enjoyed his team’s response and then its resiliency.

The Blackhawks took the early lead in this one, with Brandon Saad making a sweet play off a rebound for a 1-0 Blackhawks lead.

That lead would be relinquished later in the period when Filip Chytil notched his eighth, and before the period was out, Mats Zuccarello gave the Rangers the 2-1 lead.

After Chris Kreider scored his 22nd of the season to put the Rangers ahead 3-1 with the only goal in the second, Alex DeBrincat continued his stellar season to bring the Blackhawks back within one with his 24th just 1:40 into the third.

Mika Zibanejad ended up scoring the eventual game-winner with 38 seconds left in the game. His goal went into the empty net, to put the Rangers up 4-2. But with 1.5 seconds left, Dominik Kahun pulled the Blackhawks to within one, albeit with not enough time to do anything else.

Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves for the Rangers, picking up 445th NHL win to tie him for sixth place on the all-time list with Terry Sawchuk.

The Rangers are now 3-6-0 in their past nine games.

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, have lost five straight.

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

WATCH LIVE: Blackhawks visit Rangers on NBCSN

By Sean LeahyJan 17, 2019, 6:00 PM EST
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NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Thursday’s matchup between the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Last season was the first since 2003-04 in which both the Blackhawks and Rangers failed to make the postseason. The Blackhawks had made nine straight postseason appearances prior to last season, while the Rangers had made the postseason in 11 of the previous 12 seasons prior to last year. However, both teams continue to struggle this season.

The Blackhawks have lost six of their seven games in the new year (1-3-3), including four straight losses (0-2-2). Since Jeremy Colliton took charge on November 6, Chicago has lost 23 of their 33 games under their new head coach (10-17-6) after going 6-6-3 in 15 games under former head coach Joel Quenneville. The Hawks are coming off a disappointing 8-5 loss at New Jersey on Monday, which included an eight-goal second period in which Chicago was outscored 5-3.

Chicago has won four of their last six on the road (4-1-1) after winning just four of their first 18 away games this season (4-12-2). Recent notable road wins have come at Colorado (Dec 29) and at Pittsburgh (Jan 6). The Blackhawks will look to continue this good away run, with four of their next six games coming on the road.

After losing six of seven games, the Rangers were called out by head coach David Quinn, who called the team’s performance in a 7-5 loss against Columbus “a freaking joke,” saying the team “failed miserably.” They responded with a 6-2 win vs Carolina on Tuesday, led by a four-point night from Mika Zibanejad (2G-2A). It was the Rangers’ most goals scored this season and their biggest win since November 21.

Mats Zuccarello has seven points in his last five games (3G-4A), after having just six points in his previous 19 games. The forward is currently on a three-game point streak (3G-3A), and is coming off a three-assist performance against Carolina, which included this no-look through-the-legs pass for Zibanejad’s second goal. Zuccarello has been the Rangers’ top scorer each of the past three seasons, but has been rumored with a trade away from New York as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

What: Chicago Blackhawks at New York Rangers
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Thursday, Jan. 17, 6 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Blackhawks-Rangers stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

BLACKHAWKS
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Alex DeBrincat
Drake Caggiula – Dylan Strome – Patrick Kane
Chris Kunitz – Artem Anisimov – Brendan Perlini
David Kampf – Marcus Kruger – Dominik Kahun

Duncan Keith – Erik Gustafsson
Henri Jokiharju – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Connor Murphy

Starting goalie: Collin Delia

RANGERS
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Mats Zuccarello
Filip Chytil – Ryan Strome – Jesper Fast
Jimmy Vesey – Boo Nieves – Vladislav Namestnikov
Cody McLeod – Brett Howden – Pavel Buchnevich

Marc Staal – Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei – Adam McQuaid
Ryan Lindgren – Kevin Shattenkirk

Starting goalie: Henrik Lundqvist

John Walton (play-by-play) and Brian Boucher will have the call from Madison Square Garden.

WATCH LIVE: Rangers host Penguins on Wednesday Night Hockey

By Sean LeahyJan 2, 2019, 6:00 PM EST

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with the Wednesday Night Hockey matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Both of these teams are headed in the right direction after rough stretches earlier this season. For Pittsburgh, a 1-7-2 mark from late October into November dropped its record to 7-8-4 and they sat last in the Metro. They’ve since turned things around and their current win streak has catapulted them into the top-3 in the division on the strength of both a strong offensive and defensive showing.

New York, meanwhile, and first-year head coach David Quinn, began the season 0-3-0 and lost 11 of 14 (3-6-5) since Thanksgiving before going on the road and winning its last two games at Nashville and St. Louis. The Rangers return home now, but only briefly as they are in the midst of a period that takes them on the road (see schedule below) after they ended 2018 with a majority of home games.

Pittsburgh’s “Big 3” is leading the way once again as Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin are the top three on the team in points. Crosby has 48 points (18G-30A) in 36 games this season, a 1.33 points per game clip. He hasn’t had a scoring rate that high in a full season since 2009-10 (1.35 ppg).

Perhaps the best story on the Rangers this season has been the play of Chris Kreider, who leads the team with 20 goals (2nd-best is Mika Zibanejad w/ 11). You’ll remember he missed 24 games last season with a blood clot. Kreider has an active 5-game point streak (5G-3A)

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

What: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Wednesday, Jan. 2, 6 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Penguins-Rangers stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

PENGUINS
Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Dominik Simon – Evgeni Malkin – Patric Hornqvist
Tanner Pearson – Derick Brassard – Phil Kessel
Zach Aston-Reese – Matt Cullen – Riley Sheahan

Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – Jack Johnson
Olli Maatta – Juuso Riikola

Starting goalie: Matt Murray

RANGERS
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Jesper Fast
Vladislav Namestnikov – Kevin Hayes – Mats Zuccarello
Boo Nieves – Brett Howden – Pavel Buchnevich
Cody McLeod – Ryan Strome – Filip Chytil

Marc Staal – Neal Pionk
Brady Skjei – Adam McQuaid
Fredrik Claesson – Kevin Shattenkirk

Starting goalie: Henrik Lundqvist

Kenny Albert (play-by-play) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will call Penguins-Rangers from Madison Square Garden.

WATCH LIVE: Rangers visit Flyers in 2018 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown

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By Sean LeahyNov 23, 2018, 12:50 PM EST

NBC’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Friday’s NHL Thanksgiving Showdown between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at 1 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

It’s a meeting of two teams currently heading in different directions. The Flyers have spun their wheels for most of the season while dealing with numerous injuries to their goaltending. That’s led to a 9-10-2 start and a seat near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. It was only two weeks ago they were on a nice 5-0-1 run.

The Rangers, on the other hand, have come around after a slow start under new head coach David Quinn. The Blueshirts are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games and find themselves tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets atop the Metropolitan Division.

“We were 3-7-1 at one point, and I don’t think the feeling in this room was that (bad). We felt we had a chance to win a lot of those games,” said forward Kevin Hayes. “We stuck with it. We’re a hard-working team. Our coach preaches hard work, and I feel like we do that all year and now we’re stringing together some wins.”

One of the nice surprises during this run has been 19-year-old Filip Chytil, who is riding a five-game goal streak. That makes him the 20th different teenager in NHL history to record a goal in five or more consecutive team games

How important is playoff position on Thanksgiving Day? History says it’s a good indication of which teams will be in the postseason. Here are how things have shaped up since the NHL adopted its current playoff format:

Since 2001-02, at least three teams each season have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs after being outside the postseason picture at Thanksgiving.

While Philadelphia does not currently occupy a playoff spot, the Flyers were not in playoff position on Thanksgiving last season and ultimately made the playoffs by going 34-17-9 (77 pts) the rest of the way.

[WATCH LIVE – 1 PM ET – NBC]

What: New York Rangers at Philadelphia Flyers
Where: Wells Fargo Center
When: Friday, November 23rd, 1 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Live stream: You can watch the Rangers-Flyers stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

RANGERS
Vladislav Namestnikov – Mika Zibanejad – Jesper Fast
Mats Zuccarello – Lias Andersson – Steven Fogarty
Chris Kreider – Kevin Hayes – Filip Chytil
Jimmy Vesey – Brett Howden – Ryan Strome

Brady Skjei – Tony DeAngelo
Marc Staal – Neal Pionk
Fredrik Claesson – Kevin Shattenkirk

Starting goalie: Henrik Lundqvist

FLYERS
Claude Giroux – Sean Couturier – Travis Konecny
Dale Weise – Nolan Patrick – Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk – Jordan Weal – Wayne Simmonds
Oskar Lindblom – Scott Laughton – Tyrell Goulbourne

Ivan Provorov – Robert Hagg
Shayne Gostisbehere – Christian Folin
Travis Sanheim – Radko Gudas

Starting goalie: Calvin Pickard

Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

Stars lose Ben Bishop to injury

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By James O'BrienNov 19, 2018, 9:41 PM EST
1 Comment

Monday is looking like an all-around tough night for the Dallas Stars.

Heading into the third period tied 1-1 with the New York Rangers, the Stars had to replace starter Ben Bishop with Anton Khudobin. Bishop’s night was over thanks to a lower-body injury.

Khudobin only allowed one goal against the Rangers, yet Filip Chytil‘s tally ended up being the game-winner as New York prevailed 2-1. So, the Stars lost the game and their starting goalie in this one, and the hope is that Bishop doesn’t miss much more time from there.

The bad news is that the Stars are missing a goalie who’s quietly been quite effective so far in 2018-19. Bishop came into this contest with a strong .923 save percentage. It’s also no secret that Bishop has been hounded by injuries during his career, including during his days with Dallas.

(After the game, the Stars labeled Bishop day-to-day.)

On the bright side, Anton Khudobin’s been strong so far, too. His save percentage was .926 before this contest, so perhaps the experienced backup can hold down the fort even if Bishop is on the shelf for a while?

Either way, the Stars could stand to give their goalies more run support. Dallas only managed 17 shots on goal against Henrik Lundqvist on Monday, only managing a power-play goal by Tyler Seguin.

MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.