The New York Rangers will face the Philadelphia Flyers for the second time this season. This will be the fifth and final game of their longest road trip of the season. Gerard Gallant, Ryan Reaves, and Julien Gauthier cleared COVID protocol and expected back tonight.
Here’s the game day preview by the numbers.
NYR: 24-10-4 (52 POINTS)
PHI: 13-16-7 (33 POINTS)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022 – 7:00 PM ET, WELLS FARGO CENTER
TV: MSG PLUS
RADIO: ESPN 1050 AM
Rangers last game: 3-0 win over San Jose Sharks
New York Rangers vs Philadelphia Flyers
All-Time: 137-125-37-10 (72-53-23-6 at home; 65-72-14-4 on the road)
The Blueshirts beat the Flyers 4-1 earlier this season. They are 4-2-1 in their last seven matches against Philadelphia.
Rangers that can ground Flyers:
Artemi Panarin – 23 GP, 10G-22A=32 PTS – Panarin has tallied a point in nine of his last 10 games against Philadelphia (four goals, 11 assists) and 15 of his last 17 games (7G-20A).
Mika Zibanejad – 35 GP, 13G-14A=27 PTS – Zibanejad has points in six-straight games against the Flyers, including back-to-back six-point games on March 17 and March 25.
Chris Kreider – 33 GP, 13G-8A=21 PTS – Kreider has a point in four of his last six games against the Flyers (2G-3A). On Feb. 24, 2021, Kreider recorded his third career hat trick.
Per New York Rangers Game Notes
Rangers key numbers
Point Distribution: The Blueshirts are one of three teams (Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning) in the NHL to have 4 players with at least 30 points (Fox 37, Panarin 36, Zibanejad 34, Kreider 34).
Road Warriors: This will be the Rangers 24th road game of the season, which is the most in the NHL. After this trip, 26 of the final 43 games will be at MSG.
Czar of NY: Igor Shesterkin has back-to-back shutouts with a streak of 126:57 without giving up a goal. He is 11-0-0 lifetime when facing 37+ shots.
Key Rangers:
Igor Shesterkin is 2-3-0 with a 932 SV%, and 2.64 GAA in his career vs Flyers.
Adam Fox’s 37 points is ranks third in scoring among defensemen.
Chris Kreider’s 12 PPG ranks 2nd in the NHL, his 23 goals ranks 3rd.
Mika Zibanejad has 8 goals in his last 10 games
Rangers Milestones within reach
Chris Kreider is 1 point from passing Tomas Sandstrom for 18th in all-time team scoring (380), and 2 PPG from tying Mark Messier for 8th all-time in team history (72).
Mika Zibanejad is 1 overtime goal away from tying Cecil Dillon, Butch Keeling and Brian Leetch (7 each) for the most overtime goals by a player in Rangers history. 1 SHG to tie for top 10 in shorthanded goals. 1 goal from 150 as a Ranger.
Ryan Reaves is 1 goal away from 50 in his career.
Kaapo Kakko is 2 games shy of 150 in his career.
Rangers Special Teams
- NYR PP is running at 22.73% (10th)
- NYR PK is working at 85.45% (3rd)
*Some Stats and Info courtesy New York Rangers
Three Keys for victory
- Don’t play down to the opponent, Flyers under .500
- Get up early and take it to them
- Get Panarin going, he still hasn’t scored since his return
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