Game Day Preview: Rangers & Knights take game five to London Thursday
Kitchener, Ont. – The Rangers get set for game five of the best-of-seven series Thursday in a must-win game against the Knights. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at a sold out Budweiser Gardens (capacity, 9,036) in London.
Coverage Links:
- Tickets: Buy Online | (519) 578-1570
- TV: Rogers TV, cable 20 (Kitchener)
- TV: Rogers TV, cable 13 (London)
- TV: Super Sports Pack, cable 463 (Ontario)
- Video Stream: OHLLive.com | CHL App
- Radio: CityNews 570 AM CKGL
- Live Stats
- Live Tweets
- Rangers Vision Videos
Head-to-Head:
Both Kitchener and London swept their first round series over the Windsor Spitfires and Owen Sound Attack respectfully. Kitchener made history as the first-ever eighth seed to sweep a first seed in the OHL, knocking out the Western Conference regular season champions in four-straight games.
Now in the second round of the best-of-seven playoff series, the Knights won the first two games in London 5-1 and 8-4 before the Rangers took game three in Kitchener 6-1 on Sunday. London earned a 5-0 victory over the Rangers in Kitchener Tuesday in game four. The Rangers need a win tonight to force a game six back on home ice in Kitchener this Sunday.
Of note, the last time London had a 3-1 series lead in the second round of the postseason was again the Guelph Storm in the 2019 OHL Playoffs. Guelph posted four-straight victories to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
The team that has scored first has won each of the four games this series. The home team won games one-through-three before the Knights captured game four on the road.
Between these two teams last season, the Rangers, as a seventh-seed, upset second-seed London in the first round by earning an overtime road victory in game seven to complete the 4-3 series victory. (Watch Highlights)
Scouting the Rangers:
Rangers’ forward Mitchell Martin leads the team with nine points (4G, 5A) in eight games playoff games. Rangers Captain Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles King) has seven points (4G, 3A) in five playoff games this campaign. He finished second on the team during the regular season with an impressive 90 points (41G, 49A) in 60 games. Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars) led the Rangers during the regular season with 91 points (48G, 43A) in 71 games played. He is second on the Rangers roster this post-season with seven points (5G, 2A) in eight games.
In net, Marco Costantini has the ninth-best goals against average (3.07) and holds a .908 save percentage (SAV%) in eight playoff games.
Francesco Arcuri (Dallas Stars), Tomáš Hamara (Ottawa Senators), Filip Mešár (Montréal Canadiens), Francesco Pinelli (Los Angeles Kings), Roman Schmidt (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Danny Zhilkin (Winnipeg Jets) are six Kitchener skaters that are both drafted, and signed, by their NHL clubs respectively.
Scouting the Knights:
Sean McGurn leads the Knights this postseason with 16 points (6G, 10A) in eight games. Denver Barkey follows with 11 points (4G, 7A) in eight games. Logan Mailloux (Montreal Canadiens) leads the London defence with nine points (3G, 6A) in eight playoff games.
Between-the-pipes, Brett Brochu has played in all eight playoff games, holds a 1.82 goals against average (GAA) and a .930 save percentage (SAV%).
Jackson Edward (Boston Bruins), Isaiah George (New York Islanders), Logan Mailloux (Montreal Canadiens), Max McCue (San Jose Sharks), Landon Sim (St. Louis Blues), and Ryan Winterton (Seattle Kraken) are the six London skaters that are drafted by their NHL clubs respectively.
Broadcast Coverage:
All Rangers playoff games will be televised live throughout Kitchener and the Waterloo Region on Rogers TV, cable channel 20. In addition, the games can be watched across the province of Ontario on the Super Sports Pack, with Thursday’s game slated for channel 463 for cable subscribers.
The games will be streamed live online in a web browser at OHLLive.com, and on the CHL App for mobile devices including smart TV’s such as Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire.
Additionally, fans can listen to Rangers games on the radio on CityNews 570 AM CKGL. Mike Farwell (play-by-play) and Chris Pope (colour commentary) will call the game on the radio. Fans can tune in to the radio pregame show 30 minutes prior to puck drop. For more information on Kitchener Rangers broadcast coverage, click here.
Next Up:
With a win tonight in London, the Rangers will host the Knights in Kitchener this Sunday for game six at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online here.
Photo Credit: Tiffany Luke / Kitchener Rangers
For inquiries, contact:
Dominic Hennig
Senior Director, Broadcasting, Communications & Hockey Operations
Kitchener Rangers Hockey Club
519-497-9342
[email protected]
