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GameNight: Rangers @ Panthers

by Mike Nichols on November 28th, 2008 at 6:32 pm

The Game:

The first-place Rangers (16-7-2) face-off against the Panthers (8-11-2) tonight in the first game of a home-and-home set at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, starting at 7:30 pm.

The Goaltenders:

Henrik Lundqvist (14-5-2, 2.08 GAA) starts in net for the Rangers.

Craig Anderson (3-1-2, 2.01 GAA) gets the start for the Panthers.

The Notes:

The Rangers are 20-for-121 (16.5%) in power play attempts this season, including 8-for-51 (15.7%) on the road.

Scott Gomez is two assists shy of 400 for his career.

The Rangers are second in the league with a 90% penalty kill rate.

Markus Naslund has 18 points ( 6 G, 12 A) in 22 career games versus the Panthers.

The Panthers have lost four of their last six games.

Monzo’s Keys To The Game:

  • Get the lead.  The Panthers score 2.29 goals a game, which is 29th in the league.  Force them to play from behind and take chances — which leads to mistakes.
  • Hit David Booth and Nathan Horton hard.  Their two best players have a combined 17 goals — hold them down and the Panthers don’t have a lot of firepower.
  • Kill penalties.  The Rangers have the 2nd best PK at 89.6% while the Panthers PP is 27th in the league at 13.9.

How To Catch It:

Tonight’s game can be seen locally on MSG and heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.
  • waynefromwestbury

    coincidence or fact of life, Rangers haven’t lost since Gomez has returned!!!

  • waynefromwestbury

    need to see good defensive hockey. no giveaways. the scoring chances will come against the panthers. fundamental defense first. it would also be nice to see the rangers finish their checks especially in their own end. that alone will go along way in the fundamental hockey theory. take it to em boys tonight and sunday, LETS GO RANGERS!!!!!!

  • waynefromwestbury

    still not disciplined enough defense for this ranger fan against the horton-less panthers. the boys have got to tighten it up a bit more than this. staal is great more hitting please and rush the puck more . that will equate into norris trophy for staal

  • SouthJerseyBlue

    Too many high pressure games too early in the season. King Henrik will get his Vezina posthumously. This will wear us down come March.

  • waynefromwestbury

    the league has got such parity that every game is important no matter who you play. 41 shots on goal for the panthers is not the kind of defense i was hoping for. another win solely on the shoulders of lundqvist. i’ve mentioned before that henrik should be “limited” to 60-62 games during the regular season keeping him fresh for the playoffs. the defense has to get better. the giveaways have to stop, don’t they brandon dubinsky????? he’s not the only culprit, everyone on the team needs to be accountable. they have got to start putting things together. schedule gets a bit tougher again after sunday matinee w/ panthers at msg. let s ee if they can put it all together vs fla. good defense, sharp passing, no giveaways, and could you please SHOOT THE PUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!