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New York Rangers Pregame

Rangers Pregame: New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators News and Notes

NEW YORK RANGERS at OTTAWA SENATORS
Tuesday, Mar. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Scotiabank Place • Ottawa, ON
Rangers: 28-27-7 (63 pts.)
Senators: 36-23-4 (76 pts.)

TOMORROW'S GAME:
The Rangers resume their regular season schedule tomorrow, Mar. 2, when they will face-off against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place (7:30 p.m.), in their first game back from the Olympic break. The Blueshirts currently rank fourth in the Atlantic Division standings, and 10th in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 28-27-7 (63 pts.). The Rangers enter tomorrow's contest having defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2, on Feb. 14 at Madison Square Garden, to enter the Olympic Break riding a two-game winning streak. The Senators enter the contest with a 36-23-4 (76 pts.) record to rank third in the Eastern Conference. Following tomorrow's contest, the Rangers will return to action on Thursday, Mar. 4, when they will face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in an Atlantic Division matchup.

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Prior to the game, the Blueshirts' morning skate is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Scotiabank Place.
* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

  • TV: MSG Network
    7:00 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Mike Keenan
    7:30 p.m. - Rangers @ Senators
    Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)
  • Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio
    7:00 p.m. - Rangers Pre-Game with Kenny Albert
    7:30 p.m. - Rangers @ Senators
    Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. SENATORS:

  • All-Time: The Rangers are 29-32-3-1 all-time against the Senators: 14-19-0-0 at home and 15-13-3-1 on the road.
  • 2009-10: This is the fourth and final meeting between the Rangers and Senators this season, and the second at Scotiabank Place. The Rangers own a 2-1-0 record thus far, following a 2-0 loss on Jan. 14 at MSG, and are 1-0-0 at Ottawa after a 2-1 shootout victory on Nov. 14.
  • Last Season: New York was 2-2-0 against Ottawa in 2008-09, including a 1-1-0 mark on the road. The Rangers penalty kill registered a 93.8% (15-16) success rate in the season series.
  • The Rangers rank 15th in the NHL on the road with a record of 14-12-3 (31 pts.) in 29 games; the Senators have posted a record of 23-8-3 (49 pts.) in 34 home games to rank second in the league
  • New York has posted a record of 9-3-1 vs. the Northeast Division; Ottawa has registered a 9-7-1 mark vs. the Atlantic Division
  • Henrik Lundqvist has posted a record of 2-1-0 with a 1.31 goals against average and a .961 save percentage in three appearances vs. Ottawa this season; Lundqvist is 7-10-0 with a 2.03 goals against average and one shutout in 18 career regular season appearances vs. the Senators
  • Brandon Dubinsky is tied for the series lead with two goals and three points in two games vs. Ottawa this season; Marian Gaborik is tied for the series lead with two assists and three points in three games vs. the Senators; Vinny Prospal is tied for the series lead with two goals in three games vs. Ottawa this season
  • Forwards Olli Jokinen (10 goals and 16 assists) and Vinny Prospal (five goals and 21 assists) are tied for the team lead with 26 points in 36 career regular season contests vs. Ottawa; Jokinen's 10 goals leads the Rangers, while Prospal's 21 assists are also a team-high
  • Hats Off - Marian Gaborik notched his seventh career hat trick on Mar. 16, 2004 vs. Ottawa
  • First Goal - Michael Del Zotto tallied his first NHL goal in his second career game on Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Ottawa
  • NHL Debut - Chris Drury made his NHL debut on Oct. 10, 1998 vs. Ottawa
  • New York lists three former Senators on their roster: Alex Auld (2008-09); Vinny Prospal (1997-98 - 2000-01); Wade Redden (1996-97 - 2007-08)
  • Ottawa lists two former Rangers on their roster: Matt Cullen (2006-07); Alex Kovalev (1992-93 - 1998-99; 2002-03 - 2003-04)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

  • Power Play: The Rangers have converted at a 27.3% (six-for-22) success rate with the man advantage over the last five games. New York ranks 18th in the NHL with an 18.0% (42-233) success rate, including an 11.9% (12-101) success rate on the road to rank 28th in the league. The Rangers notched one five-on-three goal in one chance on Feb. 10 vs. Nashville (0:57), and have now registered six goals in 12 five-on-three attempts (9:16). 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 surrendered one goal to the Lightning in three shorthanded situations (3:17) on Feb. 14 at MSG, and are now 34-for-40 (85.0%) in the last eight games. New York ranks fifth in the NHL with an 84.6% (214-253) success rate overall, and ranks third with an 84.7% (105-124) success rate away from MSG. The Rangers held the Devils scoreless in one five-on-three attempt on Feb. 6 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 77 (111:30) four-on-four situations this season. Four-on-Four goals for (4): 10/8 (R. Callahan); 10/17 (B. Dubinsky); 2/12 (O. Jokinen); 2/14 (V. Prospal). 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:

A NORTHEAST FEAST - The Rangers have posted a record of 9-3-1 (19 pts.) against the Northeast Division, and have out-scored their opponents, 39-28, in 13 games this season.  New York's penalty kill has surrendered just five goals in 50 shorthanded chances for a 90.0% success rate.

BLUESHIRT OLYMPIANS - The Rangers had five players representing their native country at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, with three of the players returning with medals.

Ryan Callahan (USA): 1 assist, 6 games played

Chris Drury (USA): 2 goals, 6 games played

Marian Gaborik (SVK): 4 goals, 1 assist, 7 games played

Olli Jokinen (FIN): 3 goals, 1 assist, 6 games played

Henrik Lundqvist (SWE): 2-1, 1.34 goals against average, .927 save percentage, 2 shutouts, 3 games played

  • Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan each captured the Silver Medal with Team USA; Drury finished tied for fifth on the team in goals, second in game winning goals (one) and seventh in plus-minus rating (plus-three), and tied for 12th among all tournament skaters in faceoff winning percentage (58.33%)
  • Olli Jokinen helped lead Finland to the Bronze Medal, tying for third in the tournament in power play goals (two) and 10th in goals, and second on the team in goals, points, power play goals and game winning goals (one), and fifth on Finland in shots (14)
  • Marian Gaborik led all skaters in shots (31) and tied for first in the tournament in power play goals (three) and second in goals, and led Slovakia in goals and tied for fifth on the team in points en route to a fourth place finish
  • Henrik Lundqvist led all tournament goaltenders in goals against average and shutouts (two), and finished fourth in the tournament in save percentage while leading Sweden to a fifth place finish
  • In addition, Head Coach John Tortorella and Massage Therapist/Assistant Trainer Bruce Lifrieri earned the Silver Medal with Team USA, and Head Athletic Trainer Jim Ramsay captured the Gold Medal with Canada
  • Hartford Wolf Pack forward Andres Ambuhl also made his second Olympic appearance, skating in five games with Switzerland

WINS LEADERS SINCE 2006-07 - Since the start of 2006-07, Henrik Lundqvist ranks sixth in the NHL with 137 wins, trailing Miikka Kiprusoff (151) by 14, Roberto Luongo (146), Evgeni Nabokov (146) and Martin Brodeur (146) by nine, and Ryan Miller (140) by three.

RANGERS STREAKS:

  • Vinny Prospal enters tomorrow's contest riding a three-game goal/point streak (three goals and four points)
  • Michal Rozsival enters tomorrow's contest riding a two-game assist/point streak (two assists)
  • Chris Drury enters tomorrow's contest riding a two-game point streak (one goal and one assist)

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

  • Ryan Callahan: 9 points from 100 NHL career

RECENT MILESTONES ACHIEVED:

  • Chris Drury: 600th career NHL point/250th career NHL goal, Feb. 14 vs. TBL

INJURIES:
Michael Del Zotto (injured, Feb. 12) - 1 game missed
Marian Gaborik (injured, Feb. 9) - 2 games missed
Total Man-Games Lost: 54

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

  • Feb. 12: Acquired forward Jody Shelley from San Jose, in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
  • Feb. 13: Assigned forward Donald Brashear to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), and recalled defenseman Corey Potter from Hartford
  • Feb. 14: Assigned defenseman Corey Potter to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL)
  • Feb. 15: Recalled goaltender Steve Valiquette from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), and assigned goaltender Matt Zaba to Hartford
  • Feb. 24: Recalled goaltender Chad Johnson from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), and assigned goaltender Steve Valiquette to Hartford
  • Feb. 26: Recalled goaltender Miika Wiikman from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), and assigned goaltender Chad Johnson to Hartford
  • Feb. 27: Claimed goaltender Alex Auld off re-entry waivers from Dallas
  • Feb. 27: Assigned goaltender Miika Wiikman to the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL
  • Mar. 1: Recalled defenseman Corey Potter from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL)

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