More photos » Paul J. Bereswill - AP

Browse more photos »

Some pregame notes for tonight's game

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Tuesday, Jan. 12, 7:00 p.m.

Madison Square Garden New York, NY

Rangers: 22-17-6 (50 pts.)
Devils: 31-11-1 (63 pts.)

The Rangers face-off against the New Jersey Devils tomorrow at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in a matchup between Atlantic Division rivals.  The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 22-17-6 (50 pts.).  The Rangers enter tomorrow's contest having defeated the Boston Bruins, 3-1, on Saturday at TD Garden, and have now recorded a point in 11 of their last 12 contests (8-1-3). 

The Devils enter the contest with a 31-11-1 (63 pts.) record, and rank first in the Eastern Conference.  Following tomorrow's game, the Rangers will face-off against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, Jan. 14, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their third of four meetings this season.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

• TV: Versus
  7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Devils
  Broadcasters: Mike Emrick (Play-By-Play), Eddie Olczyk (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. Devils
  Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. DEVILS:

• All-Time: The Rangers are 92-79-27-4 all-time against the Devils: 51-28-20-1 at home and 41-51-7-3 on the road.
• 2009-10: This is the third of six meetings between the Rangers and Devils this season, and the second at MSG.  New York own a 1-1-0 record thus far, following a 4-2 loss on Oct. 22 at Madison Square Garden.
• Last Season: New York were 3-3-0 against New Jersey in 2008-09, including a 2-1-0 mark at home.  Five of their six meetings last season were decided by three goals.
• New York have posted a record of 11-4-1 vs. New Jersey since the start of the 2007-08 season
• Henrik Lundqvist has registered a career 15-3-4 mark vs. Martin Brodeur
• The Rangers are tied for 22nd in the NHL at home with a record of 10-10-3 (23 pts.) in 23 games; the Devils have posted a record of 15-4-1 (31 pts.) in 20 road games to rank second in the league
• New York have posted a record of 3-7-1 vs. the Atlantic Division; New Jersey have registered an 8-3-0 mark vs. the Atlantic Division
• Henrik Lundqvist has posted a record of 1-1-0 with a 2.52 goals against average in two appearances vs. the Devils this season; Lundqvist is 16-6-4 with a 1.85 goals against average and three shutouts in 26 career regular season contests vs. New Jersey
• Vinny Prospal leads the team with 21 assists and 30 points in 43 career regular season contests vs. New Jersey; Chris Drury has notched a team-high 11 goals in 35 career regular season appearances vs. the Devils
• New York lists no former Devils on their roster:
• New Jersey lists one former Ranger on their roster; Mike Mottau (2000-01 - 2001-02)

More after the jump......

SPECIAL TEAMS:

• Power Play: New York rank 12th in the NHL with a 19.4% (33-170) success rate, including a 23.1% (21-91) success rate at home to rank sixth in the league. 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 are tied for second in the NHL with an 86.3% (157-182) success rate, and rank fifth with an 87.5% (77-88) success rate at MSG. Shorthanded goals for (4): 10/3 (B. Dubinsky); 10/11 (D. Girardi); 11/14 (V. Prospal); 12/23 (M. Gaborik).
• Four-on-Four: New York have skated in 52 (78:04) 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:

• ONE-ON-ONE WITH LUNDQVIST - Henrik Lundqvist faced his first penalty shot of the season on Saturday at Boston, stopping Marco Sturm's attempt at 14:50 of the first period. Lundqvist has now turned aside five of eight penalty shots faced in his career.
• 20 WINS FOR LUNDQVIST - Henrik Lundqvist registered his 20th win of the season for the fifth straight year with a 3-1 win on Saturday at Boston, becoming the third goalie in franchise history to record five consecutive 20-win seasons (Ed Giacomin: 8 seasons, 1966-67 - 1973-74; Mike Richter: 7 seasons, 1995-96 - 2001-02).
• THE RANGERS ON PIX 11 - MSG will Partner with PIX 11 in New York to air two New York Rangers games in January. PIX 11 will televise games against St. Louis and Montreal on Saturday, Jan. 16th, and Saturday, Jan. 23rd, respectively. Each of the games will be produced in HD featuring MSG announcers, and will be followed by MSG's popular weekly hockey roundup show "Hockey Night Live" on MSG Network.
• 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 third in the NHL with 1,246 hits, including 696 hits at home to rank third in the league. Ryan Callahan ranks fourth in the NHL with 153 hits, and Michael Del Zotto ranks third among all first-year players with 101 hits.
• JOHNSON LENDS A HELPING HAND - Goaltender Chad Johnson recorded an assist on Thursday at Atlanta, and finished with 31 saves while stopping three of five shootout attempts in his first career NHL start. The last goalie to register an assist in his first career start was Alex Auld on Jan. 23, 2002.
• THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT - Rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto is tied for second among all first-year skaters in assists (16), ranks sixth in points (22) and is tied for ninth in goals (six). Artem Anisimov is tied for seventh among rookies in goals (seven) and 12th in points (15), while Matt Gilroy is tied for third among rookie defensemen in goals (four).
• GABY'S GOALS - Marian Gaborik has recorded 28 goals through the team's first 45 games, trailing Vic Hadfield's mark of 30 through 45 in 1971-72 by two goals, and Adam Graves' 29 through 45 in 1993-94 and Jaromir Jagr's mark of 29 through 45 in 2005-06 by one goal. Gaborik has notched 38 goals in his last 53 games, including 10 goals in his final 10 games of last season.
• WINS LEADERS SINCE 2006-07 - Since the start of 2006-07, Henrik Lundqvist ranks sixth in the NHL with 132 wins, trailing Miikka Kiprusoff (147) by 15, Martin Brodeur(140) by eight, Roberto Luongo (138) by six, Evgeni Nabokov (136) by four, and Ryan Miller (135) by three.
• DALE WEISE NAMED AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Rangers prospect Dale Weise was named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 10, tallying five goals in four games with Hartford during their four-game road trip. The Rangers fourth round choice, 111th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Weise has registered 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points, along with 67 penalty minutes in 41 games with Hartford this season.

RANGERS STREAKS:

• No current streaks

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

• Chris Drury: 7 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:
Vinny Prospal (injured, Dec. 26) - 7 games missed
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