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New York Rangers Pregame

Rangers GameDay: Pregame News and Notes 1-19-2010

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Tuesday, Jan. 19, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
Rangers: 23-19-7 (53 pts.)
Lightning: 18-19-10 (46 pts.)
* All information through NHL games on Jan. 17


TODAY'S GAME:
The Rangers face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), their fifth game in eight days. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 23-19-7 (53 pts.). The Rangers enter tomorrow's contest having defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 6-2, Sunday at Madison Square Garden, and have now recorded a point in 13 of their last 16 contests (9-3-4). The six goals were the most recorded by the Blueshirts in a game since they tallied seven goals on Nov. 23 vs. Columbus at MSG. The Lightning currently own an 18-19-10 (46 pts.) record, and rank 13th in the Eastern Conference. Following tomorrow's game, the Rangers will face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, Jan. 21, at the Wachovia Center (7:00 p.m.), in a matchup between Atlantic Division rivals.

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
The Blueshirts' morning skate is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. at the MSG Training Center.
* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
* TV: Versus
7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Lightning
Broadcasters: Rick Peckham (Play-By-Play), Andy Brickley (Analyst), Bob Harwood (In-Game Reporter)
* Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio
6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game with Kenny Albert
7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Lightning
Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. LIGHTNING:

  • All-Time: The Rangers are 34-27-5-3 all-time against the Lightning: 19-12-2-2 at home and 15-15-3-1 on the road.
  • 2009-10: This is the second of four meetings between the Rangers and Lightning this season, and the first at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers own a 0-1-0 record thus far, following a 5-1 loss on Nov. 27 at St. Pete Times Forum.
  • Last Season: New York were 4-0-0 against Tampa Bay in 2008-09, including a 2-0-0 mark at MSG. Three of their four meetings last season were decided by one goal, including a 3-2 shootout victory on Nov. 26 at Tampa Bay.
  • The Rangers rank 22nd in the NHL at home with a record of 11-11-4 (26 pts.) in 26 games; the Lightning have posted a record of 7-13-5*** (19 pts.) in 25 road games to rank 25th in the league
  • New York have posted a record of 5-4-3 vs. the Southeast Division; Tampa Bay have registered a 5-5-2 mark vs. the Atlantic Division
  • Henrik Lundqvist has posted a record of 10-5-2 with a 2.04 goals against average and one shutout in 17 career regular season appearances vs. Tampa Bay
  • Wade Redden leads the team with 15 assists and 23 points in 46 career regular season contests vs. Tampa Bay; Chris Drury has tallied a team-high 10 goals in 27 career regular season appearances vs. the Lightning
  • Hats Off - Chris Drury recorded his second career hat trick on Nov. 6, 2008 vs. Tampa Bay
  • New York lists one former Lightning on their roster: Vinny Prospal (2001-02 - 2002-03, 2005-06 - 2007-08, 2008-09)
  • Tampa Bay lists no former Rangers on their roster


SPECIAL TEAMS:

  • Power Play: New York rank 14th in the NHL with an 18.7% (34-182) success rate, including a 21.8% (22-101) success rate at home to rank seventh in the league.  The Rangers have tallied four goals in eight five-on-three (6:22) chances, and are two of four (4:10) with a four-on-three advantage.  Shorthanded goals allowed (5): 10/26 (V. Fiddler); 12/12 (P. Kaleta); 12/14 (C. Armstrong); 12/26 (B. Comeau); 1/4 (M. Hunwick).
  • Penalty Killing: The Rangers notched a three-on-four shorthanded goal on Sunday vs. Montreal, and have held their opponents scoreless on the man advantage in seven of their last nine games, posting a 93.1% (27-29) success rate over the span.  New York are tied for fifth in the NHL with an 86.1% (167-194) success rate, and rank fifth with an 87.5% (84-96) success rate at MSG. The Rangers have surrendered two goals in 13 three-on-five (9:19) attempts, and are seven of eight (6:47) when three-on-four. 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 have skated in 58 (87:33) four-on-four situations. Four-on-Four goals for (2): 10/8 (R. Callahan); 10/17 (B. Dubinsky). Four-on-Four goals allowed (4): 10/24 (M. Cammalleri); 12/9 (D. Byfuglien); 12/17 (A. MacDonald); 1/2 (R. Whitney)./


RANGERS NOTES:
RARE GOAL - Brandon Dubinsky tallied a three-on-four shorthanded goal at 8:28 of the second period in Sunday's 6-2 win vs. Montreal at Madison Square Garden, marking the first time a Ranger notched a goal in that situation since Adam Graves accomplished the feat on Oct. 25, 1996 at Florida (L, 4-6).
POWER RANGERS - In their four meetings last season, the Rangers tallied six goals in 25 (24.0%) power play opportunities vs. Tampa Bay, which is the most power play goals New York registered against any team during the 2008-09 season.
BLUESHIRT OLYMPIANS - The Blueshirts will have five players representing their native country at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada next month. Rangers Captain Chris Drury will be making his third Olympic appearance with Team USA (2002, 2006). He will be joined on Team USA by Ryan Callahan, who will be making his first Olympic appearance. Henrik Lundqvist, who helped Sweden capture the Gold Medal at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, will return for his second Olympic appearance. Marian Gaborik will also be making his second Olympic appearance with Slovakia (2006). Hartford Wolf Pack forward Andres Ambuhl, who signed with the Rangers on May 27, will represent Switzerland in his second Olympic appearance (2006). In addition, Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella will serve as an assistant coach for Team USA, Head Athletic Trainer Jim Ramsay will serve as an athletic therapist for Team Canada, and Massage Therapist/Assistant Trainer Bruce Lifrieri will serve as the massage therapist for Team USA.
A BROADWAY HIT - The Blueshirts currently rank second in the NHL with 1,369 hits, including 792 hits at home to rank third in the league. Ryan Callahan ranks fourth in the NHL with 169 hits, and Michael Del Zotto ranks third among all first-year players with 112 hits.
RING LEADER - Rangers Captain Chris Drury registered a season-high 19 faceoff wins, and recorded a 79% (19-24) success rate on Thursday vs. Ottawa. Drury has now recorded a 50%-or-better faceoff winning percentage in each of the last eight games, registering a 61.5% (88-143) success rate over the span, and ranks 17th in the NHL with a 53.8% (412-766) success rate on the season.
YOU CAN'T HAVE JUST ONE - Marian Gaborik (one goal and two assists) and Brandon Dubinsky (two goals and one assist) each recorded three points in Sunday's 6-2 win vs. Montreal at Madison Square Garden, to record their 18th and eighth multi-point effort on the season, respectively. Both Gaborik and Dubinsky have tallied two-or-more points in a game more often than they have registered just one point - 18 multi-point games to 16 one-point games for Gaborik and eight multi-point games to seven one-point games for Dubinsky.
WINS LEADERS SINCE 2006-07 - Since the start of 2006-07, Henrik Lundqvist ranks sixth in the NHL with 133 wins, trailing Miikka Kiprusoff (147) by 14, Martin Brodeur (141) by eight, Roberto Luongo (139) by six, Evgeni Nabokov (138) by five, and Ryan Miller (136) by three.

RANGERS STREAKS:
* No active streaks

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:
* Chris Drury: 5 points from 600 NHL career

RECENT MILESTONES ACHIEVED:
* Brandon Dubinsky: 100th career NHL point, Jan. 4 vs. BOS
* Brandon Dubinsky: 200th career NHL game, Jan. 6 vs. DAL
* Chad Johnson: 1st career NHL assist/point, Jan. 7 at ATL
* Michal Rozsival: 600th career NHL game, Jan. 9 at BOS

INJURIES:
None
Total Man-Games Lost: 51

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
* Jan. 10: Recalled goaltender Matt Zaba from Hartford (AHL), and assigned goaltender Chad Johnson to Hartford
* Jan. 11: Recalled goaltender Chad Johnson from Hartford (AHL), and assigned goaltender Matt Zaba to Hartford

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