New York Rangers
LW Artemi Panarin enters December tied for 7th in the league in points (22). He’s on track to finish with over 80 but still short of the 95 points in 69 games in the 2019-20 season. On the 1st line with Mika Zibanejad and Sammy Blais, the pairing has tallied 21 goals.
2nd half of December
Dec 17 – VGK
Dec 22 – MTL (1-1)
Dec 27 – DET
Dec 29 – @ FLA (1-0)
Dec 31 – @ TBL
1st half December
Dec 1 – Flyers, L
Dec 3 – Sharks, W
Dec 4 – Black Hawks, L
Dec 7 – @ Black Hawks, W
Dec 8 – Avalanche, L
Dec 10 – @ Sabres, W
Dec 12 – Predators, W
Dec 14 – @ Avalanche, W
Dec 15 – @ Coyotes, L
Mid-Dec Rankings
GFPG: 3.42 (3rd)
GAPG: 2.71 (8th)
PP: 22.0% (5th)
PK: 83.5% (13th)
Fox: 29 PTS
Fox: 25 AST
Blais, Strome 12 goals
Around the NHL
Front Office Update
They Coyotes rallied from two goals down and defeated the Rangers 4-3 to snap New York's 3-game winning streak.
New York blew a 3-1 lead and lost 4-3 to the Coyotes at Gila River Arena to close out the first half of December’s action. The win by Arizona snapped New York’s three-game wining streak. The Rangers took a 2-1 lead into the third period then increased it to 3-1 when Sammy Blais scored his 12th of the season (and first in seven games) 3:18 into the frame. Next, the Coyotes offense either woke up or the Rangers defense went to sleep.
Jay Beagle score five minutes after Blais to make it a 3-2 game, then Lawson Crouse found the net nine minutes in to level the score 3-3. With overtime looming, the Coyotes’ pressure in the Rangers’ zone produced a screen that Ryan Dzingel exploited and slapped home the go-ahead goal inside the far right post with less than a minute to play.
The Rangers ended the first half of the month with 42 points and tied for second with the Detroit Red Wings. Toronto still holds on to first place with 47 points. (Standings)
Alexis Lafrienre scored two goals to lead the Rangers past the Sabres by a 5-2 final. The win was an important one which kept Buffalo from tying New York for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. Jack Eichel was kept out of the net but assisted with both Sabres goals. The Rangers without Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, both sidelined with injuries.
The Rangers extended their winning streak to three games after smoking the Avalanche 5-0 at Ball Arena. The offense was fueled by RW Barclay Goodrow and defenseman Tarmo Reunanen who scored two goals each. Igor Shesterkin (16-5-2, .910 SV%, 2.500 GAA) earned his second shutout of the season. During the streak, New York has outscored their opponent 14-4.
The Rangers took another big hit on December 9th when center Mika Zibanejad (26 GP, 5 G, 10 AST) went down with an MCL sprain and isn’t expected to return until early January. Zibanajed was improving on offense after a slow start and was tied with Adam Fox for the most points (24) on the team. To replace Zibanejad, New York called up RW Julien Gauthier from Hartford.
Artemi Panarin went down with a shoulder injury in the Rangers 3-2 loss to the Flyers on December 1st and is expected to miss 6 games if he doesn’t return until the 17th. K’Andre Miller will also miss time with a sore foot and is expected to return December 11.
The Rangers begin December with 32 points and in third place in the East, just three points behind 1st place Toronto, a team they’ve beaten twice already early in the season. The Rangers will be tested the first half of the month when seven out of eight teams they’ll face have winning records.
Team Rankings Tracker
GFPG: 3.41 (4th) > 3.42 (3rd) > TBD
GAPG: 2.82 (11th) > 2.71 (8th) > TBD
PP: 18.8% (10th) > 22.0% (5th) > TBD
PK: 81.1% (21st) > 83.5% (13th) > TBD
Rankings best / worst
GFPG: Buffalo 3.50 / Arizona 2.26
GAPG: Detroit 2.13 / Boston 3.47
PP: Winnipeg 27.6% / Seattle 5.9%
PK: Dallas 90.6% / Colorado 75.0%
Can Lightning find a spark to turn there season around?
Sharks and Kings battling for West supremacy. Where they stand mid-December
Can Eichel maintain his pace as league points leader?
12/15 UPDATE
The Lightning climbed out of the East cellar up to 13th place after going 5-3-2 in their last 10 heading into mid-December. They’re still struggling on offense, dipping 16 points in GFPG to 2.46. On defense, they improved slightly (3.38 to 3.25 GAPG). They still have work to do as they trail 8th place NY Islanders by 7 points.
The Sharks (43 points) and Kings (42 points) are still battling it out for West supremacy. Who will blink first? Los Angeles has the better GFPG (3.33) while San Jose has the better GAPG (2.24).
Jack Eichel hasn’t slowed his pace, still leading the NHL in points (39). He also leads the league in assists (26). Behind him, Chicago’s Patrick Kane is 2nd in points (36).
