Rangers Look to Avoid History in MSG

Oftentimes in sports, making history is something you want to be a part of. But on Monday night, the Rangers will do everything they can to avoid making history they do not wish to be associated with (7PM on MSG).

Rangers	Rankings	Wild
3-3-1	Record	2-3-1
14th	League Rank	24th
30th	Goals For	24th
2nd	Goals Against	27th
23rd	Power play	1st
9th	Penalty Kill	26th

Rangers vs Wild

7:19 into the first period is all the Rangers have to avoid history. If the Blueshirts have not scored with 12:41 left in the first period – the Rangers will set an NHL record for going the longest to open a season on home ice without a goal.
- The only team that went longer without an opening goal on home ice was the Pittsburgh Pirates (no – not the baseball team) back in 1928. Nearly 100 years ago.
- The Pirates went 187:19 before scoring a goal
The ironic thing is the Blueshirts have scored at least four goals on the road in three of four games. They also are creating a ton of scoring chances but often are getting robbed by the opposing netminder or failing to execute on a one timer or receiving a pass
The Blueshirts will have a pretty ideal opponent to try and break the doubt as they take on the team that has allowed the sixth most goals per game
- Minnesota allows 3.67 goals against per game – over one per period
- Filip Gustavsson will be in the net for the Wild. Gustavsson is 1-3-0 with an .888 save percentage and a 3.56 goals-against average
The key to beating the Minnesota Wild will be to stay out of the penalty box. Minnesota struggles to score goals at even strength and are 24th in the league at scoring goals. If you take away their top ranked power play operating just shy of 40%, they would be much lower
The Wild are led on offense by Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov. Both wingers play on the same line and each have nine points on the season
- One player to keep an eye on is Zeev Buium on the backend. Buium is an offensive defenseman who quarterbacks the top power-play unit in the league. The former 12th overall selection from San Diego, California has five points in six games to start the season
Igor Shesterkin will be back in goal for the Blueshirts. Shesterkin saw backup netminder Jonathan Quick record his first win of the season in Montreal. Shesterkin is 2-2-1 with a .962 save percentage
Carson Soucy will return to the lineup for the Rangers. Matthew Robertson got the chance to play in his absence and he has impressed head coach Mike Sullivan. Urho Vaakanainen will be the healthy scratch for Soucy’s return. Scott Morrow has been sent back down to Hartford
Vincent Trocheck is not eligible to return until the beginning of November and currently he has not resumed skating