Rangers GameDay: Pregame News and Notes

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. OTTAWA SENATORS
Thursday, Jan. 14, 7:00 p.m.

Madison Square Garden New York, NY

Rangers: 22-17-7 (51 pts.); 6^th in Eastern Conference
Senators: 22-21-4 (48 pts.); 8^th in Eastern Conference
* All information through NHL games on Jan. 12

TONIGHT'S GAME:
The Rangers face-off against the Ottawa Senators tomorrow at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their third of four meetings this season.  The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 22-17-7 (51 pts.).  The Rangers enter tomorrow's contest having been defeated by the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, in the shootout on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, and have now recorded a point in 12 of their last 13 contests (8-1-4).  The Senators enter the contest with a 22-21-4 (48 pts.) record, and rank eighth in the Eastern Conference.  Following tomorrow's game, the Rangers will face-off against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, Jan. 16, at Scottrade Center (8:00 p.m.), in the first game of a back-to-back set.

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Please note there is no morning skate scheduled for the Rangers prior to tomorrow's game.  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 Network
  6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig
  7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Senators
  Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), Al Trautwig and John Giannone (In-Game Reporters)
• Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio
  6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game with Don LaGreca
  7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Senators
  Broadcasters: Don LaGreca (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. SENATORS:

• All-Time: The Rangers are 29-31-3-1 all-time against the Senators: 14-18-0-0 at home and 15-13-3-1 on the road.
• 2009-10: This is the third of four meetings between the Rangers and Senators this season, and the second at MSG.  New York own a 2-0-0 record thus far, following a 2-1 shootout win on Nov. 14 at Scotiabank Place.
• Last Season: New York were 2-2-0 against Ottawa in 2008-09, including a 1-1-0 mark at MSG.  The Rangers penalty kill held the Senators to a 93.8% (15-16) success rate in the season series.
• The Rangers rank 23rd in the NHL at home with a record of 10-10-4 (24 pts.) in 24 games; the Senators have posted a record of 6-13-1 (13 pts.) in 20 road games to rank 29th in the league
• New York have posted a record of 8-1-1 vs. the Northeast Division; Ottawa have registered a 5-7-1 mark vs. the Atlantic Division
• Henrik Lundqvist has posted a record of 2-0-0 with a 1.44 goals against average in two appearances vs. the Senators this season; Lundqvist is 7-9-0 with a 2.09 goals against average and one shutout in 17 career regular season contests vs. Ottawa
• Vinny Prospal leads the team with 21 assists and 26 points in 35 career regular season contests vs. Ottawa; Marian Gaborik has notched five goals and 11 points in eight career regular season appearances vs. the Senators
• Hats Off - Marian Gaborik (Mar. 16, 2004) and Christopher Higgins (Apr. 6, 2009) have each recorded a hat trick vs. Ottawa
• First Goal -  Ales Kotalik (Mar. 19, 2002) and Michael Del Zotto (Oct. 3, 2009) both tallied their first career NHL goal vs. Ottawa
• NHL Debut - Donald Brashear (Nov. 15, 1993) and Chris Drury (Oct. 10, 1998) each made their NHL debut vs. the Senators
• New York lists two former Senators on their roster: Vinny Prospal (1997-98 - 2000-01); Wade Redden (1996-97 - 2007-08)
• Ottawa lists one former Ranger on their roster: Alex Kovalev (1992-93 - 1997-98, 2002-03 - 2003-04)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

• Power Play: New York rank 12th in the NHL with a 19.2% (33-172) success rate, including a 22.6% (21-93) success rate at home to rank fifth 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 rank third in the NHL with an 86.4% (159-184) success rate, and rank fifth with an 87.8% (79-90) 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 53 (83:04) 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:

• A NORTHEAST FEAST - The Rangers have posted a record of 8-1-1 (17 pts.) against the Northeast Division, and have out-scored their opponents, 33-18, in 10 games this season. New York's penalty kill has surrendered just two goals in 39 shorthanded chances for a 94.9% success rate.
• BUSY NIGHT - Henrik Lundqvist established a new single-game career-high with 45 saves through regulation/overtime, and stopped three of four shootout attempts, in Tuesday's 1-0 shootout loss vs. New Jersey. It also marks just the fifth time in his career Lundqvist has registered 40 or more saves in a game.
• 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 1,279 hits, including 729 hits at home to rank third in the league. Ryan Callahan ranks fourth in the NHL with 159 hits, and Michael Del Zotto ranks third among all first-year players with 101 hits.
• 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.
• JOHNSON LENDS A HELPING HAND - Goaltender Chad Johnson recorded an assist on Jan. 7 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.
• GABY'S GOALS - Marian Gaborik has recorded 28 goals through the team's first 46 games, trailing Vic Hadfield's mark of 30 through 46 in 1971-72 and Adam Graves' 30 through 46 in 1993-94 by two goals, and Jaromir Jagr's mark of 29 through 46 in 2005-06 by one goal. Gaborik has notched 38 goals in his last 54 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(141) by nine, Roberto Luongo (138) and Evgeni Nabokov (138) by six, and Ryan Miller (135) by three.
• THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT - Rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto is tied for third 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).
• 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 active 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:
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