Official Presidential Notes from the New York Rangers

–        TOP OF THE HEAP – As a result of tonight’s game, the Rangers have earned the Presidents’ Trophy as the 2014-15 Regular Season Champions. The Rangers have now won the Presidents’ Trophy three times in franchise history (1991-92, 1993-94, 2014-15), and they finished the season with the league’s top record for the fourth time in franchise history (1941-42, 1991-92, 1993-94, 2014-15). New York is the second NHL team to have won the Presidents’ Trophy at least three times and is the only Wales/Eastern Conference team to have won the Presidents’ Trophy three times.

–        MAKING HISTORY – The Blueshirts tied a single-season franchise record by earning their 52nd win of the season in tonight’s contest. Only one other Rangers team has recorded 52 wins in one season in franchise history (1993-94). The Rangers’ 111 points are the second-most a Blueshirts team has earned in one season in franchise history, one shy of their franchise record (112 in 1993-94).

–        ROAD WARRIORS – The Rangers earned their 27th road win as well as their 55th and 56th road points of the season, extending their single-season franchise records for road wins and road points. The Blueshirts are the first NHL team to record 27 road wins in one season since Vancouver did so in 2010-11 (the Canucks’ head coach in 2010-11 was Alain Vigneault). New York is also the first Eastern Conference team to earn at least 27 road wins in one season since New Jersey won 28 in 1998-99. The Rangers have won nine of their last 10 road games (9-1-0) and have earned at least one point in 10 of their last 11 road contests (9-1-1). The Blueshirts have won 14 of their last 17 road games (14-2-1), 16 of their last 21 road contests (16-4-1), 20 of their last 26 road games (20-5-1), and 24 of their last 31 road contests (24-6-1). The Rangers lead the NHL in road wins, road points, and road point percentage (.700) this season.

–        POINT TAKEN – New York has earned at least one point in 25 of its last 30 games (22-5-3), including 15 of its last 19 games (14-4-1). The Blueshirts have won 22 of their last 29 contests (22-5-2), including 18 of the last 24 games (18-5-1). The Rangers have also recorded at least one point in 28 of their last 34 games (25-6-3). The Blueshirts have won 45 of their last 62 games (45-14-3), including 43 of their last 59 games (43-13-3) and 41 of their last 55 contests (41-11-3). The Rangers have earned at least one point in 58 of their last 76 games (51-18-7), including 51 of their last 66 games (46-15-5).

–        RIGHT BACK AT IT – The Rangers have posted a 10-3-1 record in the second half of back-to-back games this season, including a 10-1-1 record in the second half of their last 12 back-to-back sets.

–        FIRST IN SCORE – New York outscored New Jersey, 2-1, in the first period in the contest and has outscored its opponents, 82-54, in the first period this season. The Rangers lead the NHL in first period goals and first period goal differential (plus-28) in 2014-15.

–        FINISHING THE JOB – The Blueshirts have posted a 35-0-1 record when leading after two periods this season. New York has registered a 149-1-9 record in its last 159 regular season games when leading after 40 minutes. The 159-game stretch began on Feb. 6, 2010 vs. New Jersey. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rangers are the only NHL team since 1999-2000 (the first year when teams earned a point for a loss after regulation) to have no more than one regulation loss over a span of 150 or more regular season games when leading after two periods.

–        DEVIL OF A TIME – The Rangers swept their four-game season series with the Devils and extended their winning streak against New Jersey to six games. New York swept a season series against New Jersey for the first time since 1993-94 (6-0-0) and earned a point in all of its regular season matchups against the Devils in one season for the first time since 2007-08 (7-0-1).

–        BOUNCING BACK – Three of the last four Presidents’ Trophy winners were eliminated in the Stanley Cup Finals the season prior to winning the trophy (NY Rangers – 2014-15, Boston – 2013-14, Vancouver – 2011-12).

–        Kevin Hayes tied a single-game season/career-high with three points (one goal, two assists) and posted a plus-two rating in 14:42 of ice time. He has notched 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in the last 11 games, 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the last 16 games, and 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in the last 23 contests. As of the conclusion of tonight’s game, Hayes ranks fifth among NHL rookies in points (43) and ranks sixth among NHL rookies in goals (16) and assists (27) this season.

–        James Sheppard recorded the game-winning goal, registered two shots on goal, was credited with one hit, blocked one shot, and posted a plus-one rating in 12:05 of ice time. Sheppard tallied his first game-winning goal since Mar. 25, 2013, and he has recorded a career-high seven goals in 2014-15.

–        Ryan McDonagh registered a power play goal and recorded five shots on goal while skating in a game-high 24:17 of ice time. The Rangers captain has established a new career-high in power play goals (three). McDonagh has recorded a point in five of the last six games, tallying seven points (one goal, six assists) over the span.

–        Alain Vigneault is the second head coach in NHL history who has earned a Presidents’ Trophy three times in his career (Scotty Bowman – four). Vigneault is also the fourth head coach who has earned a Presidents’ Trophy with two different teams in his career (Vancouver and the Rangers), joining Bowman (Pittsburgh and Detroit), Mike Keenan (Chicago and the NY Rangers), and Joel Quenneville (St. Louis and Chicago).

–        Carl Hagelin tallied two points (one goal, one assist), led all skaters with seven shots on goal, and posted a plus-two rating in 13:28 of ice time. Hagelin has tied his career-high in goals (17) and he ranks fifth on the team in goals this season. Hagelin has also tallied 58 career goals, passing Jan Erixon and Ulf Nilsson for the fourth-most goals a Swedish-born player has registered with the Rangers in franchise history.

–        Cam Talbot made 19 saves to earn his 21st victory of the season. The 2014-15 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award recipient has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of his last 13 appearances, posting a 9-3-1 record, along with a 1.83 GAA, a .946 SV%, and 1 SO over the span.

–        Martin St. Louis notched an assist, recorded two shots on goal, and posted a plus-two rating in 17:16 of ice time. The Rangers alternate captain extended his point streak to three games (one goal, two assists over the span). He has tallied 36 points (11 goals, 25 assists) in his last 31 regular season games against New Jersey. St. Louis has reached the 50-point plateau in each of the last 12 seasons, and the Blueshirts have posted a 21-0-1 record in the last 22 contests in which he has notched a point.

–        Keith Yandle recorded a power play assist and registered three shots on goal in 21:37 of ice time. He extended his assist/point streak to three games (one goal, three assists over the span), and he has registered 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in his last 10 games. As of the conclusion of tonight’s game, Yandle leads all NHL defensemen in assists (46) and power play assists (27) this season.

–        Dominic Moore notched an assist on the game-winning goal, registered two shots on goal, and posted a plus-one rating in 14:49 of ice time. Moore has tallied a point in three of the last four games, registering four points (three goals, one assist) over the span.

–        Marc Staal tallied an assist on the game-winning goal, recorded two shots on goal, and posted a plus-two rating in 19:03 of ice time. The Rangers alternate captain is one assist away from registering his 100th career NHL assist.