REGULAR SEASON GAME  FIFTY-FIVE- 2/22/2020

Rapid City Rush @ Idaho Steelheads - 7:10 p.m. MDT

CenturyLink Arena

THIS SEASON

Idaho: 54gp, 30-17-3-4, 67pts (3rd Mountain)

• Last Game - 2/21 vs Rapid City (3-2 W/SO)

Rush: 54gp, 27-21-5-1, 60pts (4th Mountain)

• Last Game - 2/21 @ Idaho (3-2 SOL)

HEAD TO HEAD - 9 of 13 Games Played

Idaho: 3-5-0-1, 7pts

• Power Play: 14.3% (5/35)
• Penalty Kill: 81.2% (26/32)
• Leading Scorer(s): Marc-Olivier Roy (9gp, 2g-5ast-7pts)

Rush: 6-0-2-1, 15pts

• Power Play: 18.8% (6/32)
• Penalty Kill: 85.7% (30/35)
• Leading Scorer(s): Peter Quenneville (7gp, 2g-9ast-11pts)

NOTES

THE BIG PICTURE: Coming into tonight’s series finale against Idaho, the Rush are currently in the last playoff spot, and have 18 games remaining in the season, all against Mountain Division opponents. Of the 18 remaining games this year, 9 are against current playoff teams (1 against Allen, 4 against Idaho, and 4 against Utah), while the remaining 9 games are against chasers of the Rush (4 against Tulsa, 5 against Kansas City). Here’s a look at the Mountain Division Standings, and upcoming matchups this week:

1)  Allen: 55gp, 35-12-6-2, 78pts; This week: 2/22 vs WIC, 2/23 @ TUL (MAGIC #: 11)

2)  Utah: 54gp, 32-15-5-2, 71pts; 2/22 vs KC, 2/23 vs KC, 2/24 vs KC (MAGIC ##: 18)

3)  Idaho: 54gp, 30-17-3-4, 67pts; 2/22 vs RC (MAGIC #: 22)

4)  RUSH: 54gp, 27-21-5-1, 60pts; This week: 2/22 @ ID (MAGIC #: 29)

5)  Tulsa: 57gp, 26-25-5-1, 58pts; This week: 2/23 vs ALN

6) Wichita: 56gp, 21-27-8-0, 50pts; This week: 2/22 @ ALN

7) Kansas City: 54gp, 22-28-3-1, 48pts; This week: 2/22 @ UT, 2/23 @ UT, 2/24 @ UT

FIRST OF THE YEAR: For the first time in four tries this season, the Rush fell in a shootout round to their opposition. Of the previous three appearances, two had gone to seven rounds. Last season, the Rush finished the year 7-5 in shootouts. Previous to last night, the last shootout appearance for the season was over a month ago on January 4th at Utah, a 3-2 win.  The Rush have now lost three straight post-regulation appearances.

QUICK EXCHANGE: The Rush used quick-fire offense in the opening frame take an early 2-0 lead over the Steelheads last night, marking the sixth such exchange this season, and second one in Boise. Tyler Coulter and Cedric Montminy scored 41 seconds apart to give the Rush an early jumpstart before Idaho’s Brett Supinski came back to tie it in the first and second period. The fastest exchange for the Rush this season was between Matteo Gennaro and Brennan Saulnier, who scored 14 seconds apart in a 5-2 win over Utah on January 5th.

BACK IN BOISE: The Rush have a 6-0-2-1 record against the Steelheads in the previous nine meetings, and are 3-0-2-1 in Boise this season. Dating back to last year, the Rush boast a 7-2-4-2 showing at CenturyLink Arena, and are currently on both a 10-game point streak in Boise (6-0-2-2) dating back to February 16, 2019, and an 12-game point streak overall against the Steelheads (8-0-2-2) dating back to March 27, 2019. The Rush are 12-12-4-3 in Boise all-time since becoming division rivals in the 2015-16 season.