New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers: Pregame News and Notes

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Saturday, Feb. 6, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
Rangers: 25-26-7 (57 pts.)
Devils: 35-18-2 (72 pts.)
* All information through NHL games on Feb. 4

TONIGHT'S GAME:
The Rangers continue their three-game homestand tomorrow when they will face-off against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in a matchup between Atlantic Division rivals.  The Blueshirts currently rank fourth in the Atlantic Division standings, and 10th in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 25-26-7 (57 pts.).  The Rangers enter tomorrow's contest having been defeated by the Washington Capitals, 6-5, on Thursday at Madison Square Garden, despite tallying four power play goals in the contest, the most in a single game since they notched five power play goals in a 6-1 win on Dec. 29, 2007 at Toronto.  The Devils currently own a record of 35-18-2 (72 pts.) to rank second in the Eastern Conference, entering their contest tonight vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Following tomorrow's game, the Rangers will conclude their three-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 10, vs. the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.).

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Please note there is no morning skate scheduled for tomorrow, Feb. 6.  Head Coach John Tortorella will be available to the media at 5:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose room, located on the fifth floor of Madison Square Garden.
* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

• TV: MSG 2
  6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig
  7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Devils
  Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), Dave Maloney, Al Trautwig and John Giannone (In-Game Reporters)
• Radio: 970 The Apple
  6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game with Joe Tolleson
  7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Devils
  Broadcasters: Joe Tolleson (Play-By-Play), Pete Stemkowski (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. DEVILS:

• All-Time: The Rangers are 92-79-27-5 all-time against the Devils' franchise: 51-28-20-2 at home and 41-51-7-3 on the road.
• 2009-10: This is the fourth of six meetings between the Rangers and Devils this season, and the third and final meeting at Madison Square Garden.  The Rangers own a 1-1-1 record overall thus far, and are 0-1-1 at home, following a 1-0 shootout loss on Jan. 12 at MSG.
• Last Season: New York was 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.
• The Rangers rank 27th in the NHL at home with a record of 12-14-4 (28 pts.) in 30 games; the Devils have posted a record of 17-9-2 (36 pts.) in 28 road games to rank fifth in the league
• New York has posted a record of 3-9-2 vs. the Atlantic Division; New Jersey has registered a 10-4-0 mark vs. the Atlantic Division
• Henrik Lundqvist has posted a record of 1-1-1 with a 1.63 goals against average and one shutout in three appearances vs. New Jersey this season; Lundqvist is 16-6-5 with a 1.78 goals against average and four shutouts in 27 career regular season appearances vs. the Devils
• Vinny Prospal leads the team with three assists in three games vs. New Jersey this season, and Michael Del Zotto, Marian Gaborik and Matt Gilroy have each tallied one goal apiece vs. the Devils in the season series.
• Vinny Prospal leads the team with 21 assists and 30 points in 44 career regular season contests vs. New Jersey; Chris Drury has tallied a team-high 11 goals in 36 career regular season appearances vs. the Devils
• HATS OFF - Marian Gaborik tallied his sixth career hat trick at New Jersey on Feb. 17, 2004
• New York lists no former Devils on their roster
• New Jersey lists one former Ranger on their roster: Mike Mottau (2000-01 - 2001-02)

RANGERS NOTES:

POWER RANGERS - The Blueshirts tallied four goals in six power play opportunities in Thursday's 6-5 loss vs. Washington, the most since they notched five power play goals in a 6-1 win on Dec. 29, 2007 at Toronto.  Eight Rangers players registered at least one power play point in the contest - Ryan Callahan, Olli Jokinen, Vinny Prospal, Michael Del Zotto, Marian Gaborik, Brandon Dubinsky, Matt Gilroy, and Artem Anisimov - the most for the Rangers in a single game since a 4-1 win on Mar. 15, 2009 vs. Philadelphia (eight players).

GABORIK'S WESTERN TOUR - Marian Gaborik finished the Rangers Western Conference road trip earlier this week with five goals in three games.  He kicked off the road trip by tallying his 30th goal of the season at 9:42 of the third period in a 3-2 loss on Saturday, Jan. 30, at Phoenix, marking the sixth time in his nine NHL seasons he has reached the 30-goal plateau.  The last time a Ranger accomplished the feat was Jaromir Jagr, who registered 30 goals during the 2006-07 season.  Gaborik continued the Western tour by notching all three Rangers' goals in a 3-1 win at Colorado to record his first hat trick as a Blueshirt, the 10th of his career and first since posting five goals vs. the Rangers on Dec. 12, 2007, as a member of the Minnesota Wild.  It was the first hat trick by a Ranger since Chris Drury notched three goals vs. Tampa Bay on Nov. 6, 2008.  Gaborik's first goal at 13:53 of the first period was also the 250th of his career, and his 500th career NHL point.  Gaborik completed the road trip by tallying his 34th goal of the season in Tuesday's 2-1 loss at Los Angeles.  With his five goals on the three-game road trip, Gaborik now ranks fourth in the NHL overall.

WINS LEADERS SINCE 2006-07 - Since the start of 2006-07, Henrik Lundqvist ranks sixth in the NHL with 134 wins, trailing Miikka Kiprusoff (149) by 15, Martin Brodeur (144) and Roberto Luongo (144) by 10, Evgeni Nabokov (143) by nine, and Ryan Miller (139) by five.

BLUESHIRT OLYMPIANS - The Blueshirts will have six players representing their native country at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada next month.  Rangers Captain Chris Drury (3rd Olympic appearance - 2002, 2006) and Ryan Callahan (1st Olympic appearance) will represent the United States, 2006 Winter Olympic Gold Medalist Henrik Lundqvist (2nd Olympic appearance - 2006) will represent Sweden, 2006 Winter Olympic Silver Medalist Olli Jokinen (3rd Olympic appearance - 2002, 2006) will represent Finland, and Marian Gaborik (2nd Olympic appearance - 2006) will represent Slovakia.  Hartford Wolf Pack forward Andres Ambuhl (2nd Olympic appearance - 2006), who signed with the Rangers on May 27, will represent Switzerland.  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.

RANGERS STREAKS:

• Marian Gaborik enters tomorrow's contest riding a four-game point streak (five goals and two assists)

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

• Chris Drury: 3 points from 600 NHL career

RECENT MILESTONES ACHIEVED:

• Marian Gaborik: 500th career NHL point/250th career NHL goal, Jan. 31 at COL
• Chad Johnson: 1st career NHL win, Jan. 31 at COL

INJURIES:
None
Total Man-Games Lost: 51

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

• Jan. 26: Recalled goaltender Chad Johnson from Hartford (AHL), and assigned goaltender Matt Zaba to Hartford
• Feb. 2: Acquired forwards Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust from Calgary, in exchange for forwards Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik