Marc Staal will sit out with an upper body injury so Libor Hajek will take his place tonight. In addition to that, Ryan Lindgren is banged up but he is good to go against the defending champs. Last note has Haley replacing Fogarty on the 4th line with Hank in net.
Pre-game Notes:
- All-Time: 81-44-16-2 (48-14-6-1 at home; 33-30-10-1 on the road)
- 2019-20: Tonight’s game is the first of two meetings between the Rangers and Blues, and the only meeting between the two teams at St. Louis. Following tomorrow’s game, the Rangers and Blues will face each other on the following date: Mar. 3 (at MSG).
- Henrik Lundqvist – 12 GP, 5-6-0, 2.14 GAA, .929 SV%, 1 SO – Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last three appearances (2-1-0 record, 1.01 GAA, .969 SV%, 1 SO) and in four of his last five appearances (3-2-0 record, 1.41 GAA, .954 SV%, 1 SO) against St. Louis.
- Artemi Panarin – 14 GP, 4-11-15 – Panarin has posted a multi-assist/point game in each of his last two games against St. Louis, registering five assists over the span. He has recorded an assist/point in six of his last eight games against the Blues, tallying 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) over the span.
- Tony DeAngelo established single-game career-highs with three goals, five points, and seven shots on goal, and tied a single-game career-high with two assists on Jan. 9 vs. New Jersey. He tied single-game franchise records for goals (three) and points (five) by a defenseman in the contest. DeAngelo became the first Rangers defenseman to register a hat trick since Reijo Ruotsalainen on Mar. 17, 1982 vs. Philadelphia. DeAngelo’s five-point game was the third by a Rangers defenseman in franchise history, and the first by a defenseman other than Brian Leetch, who did so on Feb. 17, 1989 vs. Toronto and Apr. 18, 1995 at Pittsburgh. He also became the first NHL defenseman to record five primary points in a game since Gary Suter on Dec. 29, 1995. DeAngelo has established career-highs in goals (11) and points (36) this season, and he is the first Rangers defenseman who has registered at least 36 points through the team’s first 43 games of a season since Leetch in 2000-01. DeAngelo, who registered 30 points last season, is the first Rangers defenseman who has posted back-to-back 30-point seasons at age 24 or younger since Sergei Zubov in 1993-94 and 1994-95. He has posted a multi-assist/point game in each of the last two games, and he has registered seven points (three goals, four assists) over the span.
