New York Rangers at Washington Capitals: News and Notes

NEW YORK RANGERS at WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Saturday, Mar. 6, 7:00 p.m.
Verizon Center • Washington, D.C.
Rangers: 29-27-8 (66 pts.)
Capitals: 43-13-8 (94 pts.)
* All information through NHL games on Mar. 4

TOMORROW'S GAME:
The Rangers face-off against the Washington Capitals tomorrow at the Verizon Center (7:00 p.m.), in the first game of a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently rank fourth in the Atlantic Division standings, and ninth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 29-27-8 (66 pts.). The Rangers enter tomorrow's contest having been defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-4, in overtime on Thursday at Madison Square Garden, ending their winning streak at three games. New York is now 4-1-1 in their last six contests, having out-scored their opponents, 20-13, over the span. The Capitals enter the contest with a 43-13-8 (94 pts.) record to rank first in the Eastern Conference. Following tomorrow's contest, the Rangers return home to close out their back-to-back set on Sunday, Mar. 7, when they will face-off against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.).

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Please note there is no morning skate scheduled for tomorrow, Mar. 6.  Head Coach John Tortorella will be available to the media at 5:00 p.m.
* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

• TV: MSG Plus
  6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Ron Duguay
  7:00 p.m. - Rangers @ Capitals
  Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)
• Radio: 970 The Apple
  6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game with Don LaGreca
  7:00 p.m. - Rangers @ Capitals
  Broadcasters: Don LaGreca (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. CAPITALS:

• All-Time: The Rangers are 80-82-18-5 all-time against the Capitals: 45-36-9-2 at home and 35-46-9-3 on the road.
• 2009-10: This is the fourth and final meeting between the Rangers and Capitals this season, and the second at the Verizon Center. The Rangers own a 1-2-0 record thus far, following a 6-5 loss on Feb. 4 at MSG, and are 1-0-0 at Washington.
• Last Season: New York was 1-2-1 against Washington in 2008-09, including a 0-2-0 mark on the road. Ryan Callahan led the Rangers with three goals, four points and 16 shots in the season series vs. the Capitals.
• The Rangers are tied for 12th in the NHL on the road with a record of 15-12-3 (33 pts.) in 30 games; the Capitals have posted a record of 24-3-3 (51 pts.) in 30 home games to rank first in the league
• New York has posted a record of 7-6-3 vs. the Southeast Division; Washington has registered an 11-3-3 mark vs. the Atlantic Division
• Henrik Lundqvist has posted a record of 1-2-0 with a 4.04 goals against average in three appearances vs. Washington this season; Lundqvist is 9-5-2 with a 3.00 goals against average and one shutout in 16 career regular season appearances vs. the Capitals
• Marian Gaborik leads the Rangers with four goals and six points in three games vs. Washington this season; Vinny Prospal has recorded a team-high three assists in the season series vs. the Capitals
• Vinny Prospal has tallied a team-high 29 assists and 41 points in 57 career regular season contests vs. Washington; Olli Jokinen leads the Rangers with 15 goals in 51 career regular season games vs. the Capitals
• Wade Redden leads all team defensemen with 21 assists and 27 points in 48 career regular season contests vs. the Capitals, while Michal Rozsival leads all Rangers defensemen with seven goals in 28 career regular season games vs. Washington
• Hats Off - Olli Jokinen notched his fourth career hat trick at Washington on Feb. 27, 2007
• New York lists no former Capitals on their roster
• Washington lists two former Rangers on their roster: Mike Knuble (1998-99 - 1999-00); Tom Poti (2001-02 - 2005-06)

More after the jump...............

SPECIAL TEAMS:

• Power Play: The Rangers notched two goals in three power play opportunities (5:06) on Thursday vs. Pittsburgh, and have converted at a 30.8% (eight-for-26) success rate with the man advantage over the last seven games. New York ranks 14th in the NHL with an 18.6% (44-237) success rate, including an 11.8% (12-102) success rate on the road to rank 28th in the league. The Rangers notched one five-on-three goal in one chance on Feb. 10 vs. Nashville (0:57), and have now registered six goals in 12 five-on-three attempts (9:16). New York is two-of-five (4:30) with a four-on-three advantage this season. Shorthanded goals allowed (6): 10/26 (V. Fiddler); 12/12 (P. Kaleta); 12/14 (C. Armstrong); 12/26 (B. Comeau); 1/4 (M. Hunwick); 2/2 (A. Kopitar).
• Penalty Killing: New York ranks sixth in the NHL with an 84.2% (218-259) success rate overall, and ranks third with an 85.0% (108-127) success rate away from MSG. The Rangers yielded one goal to the Penguins in one five-on-three attempt on Mar. 4 at MSG, and have now allowed six goals in 20 three-on-five chances (13:40). New York is eight-of-10 (9:16) in three-on-four situations this season, and notched a three-on-four shorthanded goal on Jan. 17 vs. Montreal, the first for the team since Oct. 25, 1996 at Florida (Adam Graves). Shorthanded goals for (5): 10/3 (B. Dubinsky); 10/11 (D. Girardi); 11/14 (V. Prospal); 12/23 (M. Gaborik); 1/17 (B. Dubinsky).
• Four-on-Four: New York has skated in 81 (119:15) four-on-four situations this season. Four-on-Four goals for (4): 10/8 (R. Callahan); 10/17 (B. Dubinsky); 2/12 (O. Jokinen); 2/14 (V. Prospal). Four-on-Four goals allowed (6): 10/24 (M. Cammalleri); 12/9 (D. Byfuglien); 12/17 (A. MacDonald); 1/2 (R. Whitney); 1/23 (S. Gomez and M. Cammalleri).

RANGERS NOTES:

BACK-TO-BACKS - Tonight's contest begins the Rangers 10th of 13 back-to-back sets on the season.  New York has posted a record of 3-6-0 in the front-end of back-to-back sets thus far, including a 1-4-0 mark when the first game of the set is away from MSG.  The Rangers are 6-2-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season.

THE KING'S PERFORMANCE - Henrik Lundqvist stopped 50 of the 55 shots he faced, both career-highs, in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss vs. Pittsburgh. The last time a Rangers goaltender recorded 50 saves in a game was on Oct. 30, 1996, when Mike Richter made 53 saves in a 6-1 win at New Jersey. The 55 shots were the most allowed by the Rangers since they allowed 62 shots on Jan. 31, 1991 at Vancouver (3-3).

BLUESHIRT OLYMPIANS - The Rangers had five players representing their native country at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, with three of the players returning with medals.

Ryan Callahan (USA): 1 assist, 6 games played

Chris Drury (USA): 2 goals, 6 games played

Marian Gaborik (SVK): 4 goals, 1 assist, 7 games played

Olli Jokinen (FIN): 3 goals, 1 assist, 6 games played

Henrik Lundqvist (SWE): 2-1, 1.34 goals against average, .927 save percentage, 2 shutouts, 3 games played

• Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan each captured the Silver Medal with Team USA; Drury finished tied for fifth on the team in goals, second in game winning goals (one) and seventh in plus-minus rating (plus-three), and tied for 12th among all tournament skaters in faceoff winning percentage (58.33%)
• Olli Jokinen helped lead Finland to the Bronze Medal, tying for third in the tournament in power play goals (two) and 10th in goals, and second on the team in goals, points, power play goals and game winning goals (one), and fifth on Finland in shots (14)
• Marian Gaborik led all skaters in shots (31) and tied for first in the tournament in power play goals (three) and second in goals, and led Slovakia in goals and tied for fifth on the team in points en route to a fourth place finish
• Henrik Lundqvist led all tournament goaltenders in goals against average and shutouts (two), and finished fourth in the tournament in save percentage while leading Sweden to a fifth place finish
• In addition, Head Coach John Tortorella and Massage Therapist/Assistant Trainer Bruce Lifrieri earned the Silver Medal with Team USA, and Head Athletic Trainer Jim Ramsay captured the Gold Medal with Canada
• Hartford Wolf Pack forward Andres Ambuhl also made his second Olympic appearance, skating in five games with Switzerland

WINS LEADERS SINCE 2006-07 - Since the start of 2006-07, Henrik Lundqvist ranks sixth in the NHL with 138 wins, trailing Miikka Kiprusoff (151) by 13, Roberto Luongo (147), Evgeni Nabokov (147) and Martin Brodeur (147) by nine, and Ryan Miller (140) by two.

RANGERS STREAKS:

• Sean Avery enters tomorrow's contest riding a three-game point streak, and has registered an assist in each of the last two games (two goals and two assists)
• Brandon Dubinsky enters tomorrow's contest riding a two-game goal/point streak (two goals)
• Wade Redden enters tomorrow's contest riding a two-game assist/point streak (two assists)

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

• Brian Boyle: 2 games from 100 NHL career
• Ryan Callahan: 7 points from 100 NHL career
• Brandon Prust: 3 games from 100 NHL career

RECENT MILESTONES ACHIEVED:

• Olli Jokinen: 250th career NHL goal, Feb. 12 at PIT
• Chris Drury: 600th career NHL point/250th career NHL goal, Feb. 14 vs. TBL

INJURIES:
Marian Gaborik (injured, Feb. 9) - 4 games missed
Total Man-Games Lost: 57

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

• Feb. 24: Recalled goaltender Chad Johnson from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), and assigned goaltender Steve Valiquette to Hartford
• Feb. 26: Recalled goaltender Miika Wiikman from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), and assigned goaltender Chad Johnson to Hartford
• Feb. 27: Claimed goaltender Alex Auld off re-entry waivers from Dallas
• Feb. 27: Assigned goaltender Miika Wiikman to the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL
• Mar. 1: Recalled defenseman Corey Potter from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL)
• Mar. 3: Acquired forward Kris Newbury from Detroit, in exchange for forward Jordan Owens
• Mar. 3: Acquired defenseman Anders Eriksson from Phoenix, in exchange for goaltender Miika Wiikman and a seventh round selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
• Mar. 3: Assigned defenseman Corey Potter to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL)