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New York Rangers Pregame

Nashville Predators at New York Rangers: GameDay News and Notes

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
Rangers: 26-26-7 (59 pts.)
Predators: 31-22-4 (66 pts.)
* All information through NHL games on Feb. 8

TOMORROW'S GAME:
The Rangers conclude their three-game homestand tomorrow when they will face-off against the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.). The Blueshirts currently rank fourth in the Atlantic Division standings, and 10th in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 26-26-7 (59 pts.). The Rangers enter tomorrow's contest having defeated the New Jersey Devils, 3-1, on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and are now 12-4-2 vs. New Jersey since the start of the 2007-08 season. The Predators currently own a record of 31-22-4 (66 pts.) to rank eighth in the Western Conference, entering their contest tonight at the New York Islanders. Following tomorrow's game, the Rangers will face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, Feb. 12, at Mellon Arena (7:30 p.m.), in a matchup between Atlantic Division opponents.

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Please note there is no morning skate scheduled for tomorrow, Feb. 10.  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 Network
    6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto
    7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Predators
    Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)
  • Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio
    6:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game with Don LaGreca
    7:00 p.m. - Rangers vs. Predators
    Broadcasters: Don LaGreca (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. PREDATORS:

  • All-Time: The Rangers are 6-4-1-2 all-time against the Predators: 2-3-1-1 at home and 4-1-0-1 on the road.
  • 2009-10: This is the first and only meeting between the Rangers and Predators this season.
  • Last Season: New York was 1-0-0 against Nashville in 2008-09, having won their only meeting of the season, 4-2, on Mar. 12 at the Sommet Center. Ryan Callahan and Marc Staal each finished with one goal and one assist apiece, and Staal notched his first career game-winning goal at 17:29 of the second period.
  • The Rangers rank 25th in the NHL at home with a record of 13-14-4 (30 pts.) in 31 games; the Predators have posted a record of 15-11-2 (32 pts.) in 28 road games to rank 10th in the league, entering their contest tonight at Long Island
  • New York has posted a record of 1-2-1 vs. the Central Division; Nashville has registered a 1-0-0 mark vs. the Atlantic Division, entering their contest tonight at Long Island
  • The Rangers' last win vs. Nashville at Madison Square Garden was a 5-1 victory on Jan. 31, 2000
  • Henrik Lundqvist posted a record of 1-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average in one appearance vs. Nashville last season; Lundqvist is 2-1-0 with a 2.02 goals against average in three career regular season appearances vs. the Predators
  • Marian Gaborik leads the team with 12 goals and 23 points in 26 career regular season contests vs. Nashville; Olli Jokinen has tallied a team-high 13 assists in 19 career regular season appearances vs. the Predators; Wade Redden leads all team defensemen with four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 11 career regular season games vs. Nashville
  • Hats Off - Marian Gaborik recorded his fourth career hat trick vs. Nashville on Nov. 23, 2002
  • NHL Debut - Enver Lisin made his NHL debut at Nashville on Oct. 14, 2006, registering three shots on goal in 15:00 of icetime
  • New York lists no former Predators on their roster
  • Nashville lists no former Rangers on their roster

SPECIAL TEAMS:

  • Power Play: The Rangers have tallied a power play goal in each of the last two games, going five-for-nine (55.6%) with the man advantage during the stretch. New York is tied for 12th in the NHL with an 18.6% (41-220) success rate, including a 23.8% (29-122) success rate at home tying for third in the league. The Rangers notched one five-on-three goal in one chance on Thursday vs. Washington (0:07), and have now registered five goals in 11 five-on-three attempts (8:19). 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: The Rangers held the Devils scoreless in five shorthanded situations (8:09) in Saturday's 3-1 win at MSG, and are now 27-for-30 (90.0%) on the penalty kill in the last five games. New York ranks fourth in the NHL with an 85.2% (207-243) success rate overall, and rank seventh with an 85.1% (103-121) success rate at MSG. The Rangers held the Devils scoreless in one five-on-three attempt on Saturday at MSG, and have now yielded five goals in 19 three-on-five chances (13:00). New York is eight-of-nine (7:19) 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 71 (102:26) four-on-four situations. Four-on-Four goals for (2): 10/8 (R. Callahan); 10/17 (B. Dubinsky). 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:

SUCCESS IN NUMBERS - The Rangers power play has converted at a 55.6% (five-for-nine) success rate over the last two games. The Blueshirts' tallied four power play goals in six 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). New York followed that performance up with one power play goal in three attempts in Saturday's 3-1 win vs. New Jersey. Five Rangers players have recorded multiple power play points in the two games, led by Alternate Captains Ryan Callahan and Vinny Prospal who have both tallied one goal and two assists apiece. Marian Gaborik and Olli Jokinen have notched one goal and one assist apiece, and Michael Del Zotto has registered two assists in the two games.

STRENGTH ON THE PENALTY KILL - The Rangers' penalty kill has registered a 96.2% (25-26) success rate in their last five games vs. Western Conference opponents, dating back to a 5-2 win on Jan. 6 vs. Dallas.

JOKINEN AND PRUST GET THEIR FIRSTS AS A RANGER - Recently acquired forwards Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust have both gotten off to a good start with the Rangers. Jokinen notched a pair of power play points in just his second game with the Blueshirts, registering one goal and one assist in Thursday's 6-5 loss vs. Washington. Jokinen has recorded two points (one goal and one assist) and a 68.8% (22-32) success rate in the faceoff circle in three games with New York. Prust tallied his first point as a Ranger in Saturday's 3-1 win vs. New Jersey, recording an assist on Chris Drury's goal at 9:59 of the second period. The third-year player has registered one assist and 29 penalty minutes in three games with the Rangers. Both players were acquired from Calgary, in exchange for Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik, on Feb. 2.

A BROADWAY HIT - The Blueshirts currently rank second in the NHL with 1,692 hits, including 967 hits at home to rank second in the league. Ryan Callahan ranks second in the NHL with 222 hits, and Michael Del Zotto ranks third among all first-year players with 126 hits.

WINS LEADERS SINCE 2006-07 - Since the start of 2006-07, Henrik Lundqvist ranks sixth in the NHL with 135 wins, trailing Miikka Kiprusoff (150) by 15, Martin Brodeur (145), Roberto Luongo (145) and Evgeni Nabokov (145) by 10, and Ryan Miller (139) by four.

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 five-game point streak (six goals and two assists)
  • Ryan Callahan has registered a goal and an assist in each of the last two games (two goals and two assists)
  • Michael Del Zotto has tallied a power play assist in each of the last two games (two assists)
  • Matt Gilroy has recorded an assist in each of the last two games (two assists)

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

  • Chris Drury: 2 points from 600 NHL career; 1 goal from 250 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

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