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New York Rangers Pregame

Rangers GameDay: I'm going to the game tonight News and Notes

NEW YORK RANGERS at PHOENIX COYOTES
Saturday, Jan. 30, 8:00 p.m.
Jobing.com Arena • Glendale, AZ
Rangers: 24-23-7 (55 pts.)
Coyotes: 31-18-5 (67 pts.)
* All information through NHL games on Jan. 28

TOMORROW'S GAME:
The Rangers face-off against the Phoenix Coyotes tomorrow at Jobing.com Arena (8:00 p.m.), to begin their three-game Western Conference road trip. The Blueshirts currently rank fourth in the Atlantic Division standings, and ninth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 24-23-7 (55 pts.). The Rangers enter tomorrow's contest having been defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. The Coyotes enter the contest with a 31-18-5 (67 pts.) record, and rank fourth in the Western Conference. Following tomorrow's game, the Rangers will continue their three-game Western Conference road trip with the second game of a back-to-back set, tomorrow, Jan. 31, vs. the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center (8:00 p.m.).

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Please note there is no morning skate scheduled for tomorrow, Jan. 30.  Head Coach John Tortorella will be available to the media at 4:00 p.m. MST.
* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

  • TV: MSG Plus
    7:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig and Ron Duguay
    8:00 p.m. - Rangers @ Coyotes
    Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)
  • Radio: 970 The Apple
    7:30 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game with Joe Tolleson
    8:00 p.m. - Rangers @ Coyotes
    Broadcasters: Joe Tolleson (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. COYOTES:

  • All-Time: The Rangers are 35-23-6-0 all-time against the Coyotes franchise: 20-10-2-0 at home and 15-13-4-0 on the road.
  • 2009-10: This is the second and final meeting between the Rangers and Coyotes this season, and the first at Jobing.com Arena. The Rangers own a 1-0-0 record overall thus far, following a 5-2 win on Oct. 26 at MSG.
  • Last Season: New York were 1-0-0 against Phoenix in 2008-09, having defeated the Coyotes, 4-1, on Nov. 24 at MSG. In the contest, the Rangers tallied four unanswered goals to claim the victory after allowing an early goal to Enver Lisin at 4:08 of the first period.
  • The Rangers rank 14th in the NHL on the road with a record of 12-10-3 (27 pts.) in 25 games; the Coyotes have posted a record of 20-8-2 (42 pts.) in 30 home games to rank fourth in the league
  • New York have posted a record of 4-1-0 vs. the Pacific Division; Phoenix have registered a 3-1-1 mark vs. the Atlantic Division
  • The Rangers last win at Phoenix was a 7-3 victory on Oct. 28, 2006
  • Henrik Lundqvist has posted a record of 1-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .938 save percentage in one appearance vs. Phoenix this season; Lundqvist is 3-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average in three career regular season appearances vs. the Coyotes
  • Marian Gaborik (two goals and one assist) and Vinny Prospal (one goal and two assists) lead all skaters in scoring with three points in the season series; Gaborik has tallied a series-high two goals, while Prospal and Michael Del Zotto are tied for the series lead with two assists apiece
  • Marian Gaborik leads the team with 17 goals and 25 points in 25 career regular season contests vs. Phoenix; Vinny Prospal has tallied a team-high 13 assists in 19 career regular season appearances vs. the Coyotes
  • New York lists one former Coyote on their roster: Enver Lisin (2006-07 - 2008-09)
  • Phoenix lists three former Rangers on their roster: Lauri Korpikoski (2007-08 - 2008-09); Jason LaBarbera (2000-01 - 2003-04); Petr Prucha (2005-06 - 2008-09)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

  • Power Play: New York are tied for 16th in the NHL with an 18.1% (36-199) success rate, including a 14.0% (12-86) success rate on the road to rank 23rd in the league. The Rangers have tallied four goals in nine five-on-three (6:32) 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: New York rank sixth in the NHL with an 84.5% (180-213) success rate, and rank 14th with an 83.0% (88-106) success rate away from MSG. The Rangers have surrendered five goals in 17 three-on-five (12:32) attempts, and are eight of nine (7:19) when three-on-four. The Rangers 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 have skated in 66 (96:58) 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:

BACK-TO-BACKS - Tonight's contest begins the Rangers ninth of 13 back-to-back sets on the season.  New York have posted a record of 3-5-0 in the front-end of back-to-back sets thus far, including a 1-3-0 mark when the first game of the set is away from MSG.  The Rangers are 5-2-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season.

SUCCESS AGAINST THE PACIFIC - New York has posted a record of 4-1-0 vs. Pacific Division opponents so far this season.  The Rangers have converted 36.4% (8-22) of their power play attempts in those five games, while surrendering just three goals in 29 shorthanded (89.7%) situations.

SCORING IN THE CLUTCH - Forward Brandon Dubinsky leads the Rangers in game winning goals since the start of the 2008-09 season, with 11 of his 24 goals counting as the game-winner over the last two years. This season, the Rangers have posted a record of 7-0-1 in games when he notches a goal.

A BROADWAY HIT - The Blueshirts currently lead the NHL with 1,524 hits, including 630 hits on the road to rank sixth in the league. Ryan Callahan ranks second in the NHL with 194 hits, and Michael Del Zotto ranks third among all first-year players with 119 hits.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT - Rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto currently leads all NHL rookies in power play assists (12), ranks second in power play points (15), is tied for third in assists (18), fifth in power play goals (three) and ranks sixth in points (24). Artem Anisimov is tied for second on the Rangers overall in even strength goals (eight), and sixth among NHL rookies in goals (nine) and 14th in points (17), following his two-goal performance on Monday vs. Pittsburgh. Matt Gilroy is currently tied for fourth among rookie defensemen with four goals.

WINS LEADERS SINCE 2006-07 - Since the start of 2006-07, Henrik Lundqvist ranks sixth in the NHL with 134 wins, trailing Miikka Kiprusoff (147) by 13, Roberto Luongo (144) by 10, Martin Brodeur (143) by nine, Evgeni Nabokov (142) by eight, and Ryan Miller (138) by four.

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 (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 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:

  • No active streaks

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

  • Chris Drury: 3 points from 600 NHL career
  • Marian Gaborik: 2 points from 500 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
  • Matt Zaba: 1st career NHL game, Jan. 23 at MTL
  • Ryan Callahan: 200th career NHL game, Jan. 25 vs. PIT

INJURIES:
None
Total Man-Games Lost: 51

Remember guys, Blueshirt Banter Radio at 6 PM, I will be live from the parking lot at tonight's game!

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