NY RANGERS vs. BUFFALO SABRES
Thursday, Nov. 11, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
Rangers: 7-7-1 (15 pts)
Sabres: 4-9-2 (10 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Nov. 9
TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow, Nov. 11, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the third game of their four-game homestand. The Blueshirts currently rank second in the Atlantic Division standings, and eighth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 7-7-1 (15 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having been defeated by the Washington Capitals, 5-3, on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, and are now 0-2-0 on the four-game homestand. The Sabres currently own a 4-9-2 (10 pts) record to rank 14th in the Eastern Conference entering their contest tonight at New Jersey, and have lost five of their last six games. Following tomorrow’s game, the Rangers will conclude their longest homestand of the season when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, Nov. 14, at Madison Square Garden (12:30 p.m.), in a matinee match-up.
RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Prior to the game, the Rangers’ optional morning skate is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the MSG Training Center.
* Schedule and availability subject to change
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
• TV: MSG Network
6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig and Pat LaFontaine
7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Sabres
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. Sabres
Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)
RANGERS vs. SABRES:
• All-Time: The Rangers are 56-69-25-5 all-time against the Sabres: 32-26-15-3 at home and 24-43-10- 2 on the road
• 2010-11: Tonight’s contest marks the second of four meetings between the Rangers and Sabres this season, and the first of two meetings at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers own a 1-0-0 record thus far, following a 6-3 victory in the Blueshirts’ season opener on Oct. 9 at HSBC Arena.
• Last Season: New York was 1-2-1 against Buffalo in 2009-10, including a 0-1-1 mark at home. Three of their four meetings were decided by one goal, including a 2-1 overtime loss on Mar. 7 at MSG.
• The Rangers’ six goals registered at Buffalo on Oct. 9 represents the most scored by New York in a single game this season
• New York ranks 26th in the NHL at home with a record of 2-5-1 (5 pts) in eight games; Buffalo has posted a record of 4-3-1 (9 pts) in eight road games tying for eighth in the league
• The Rangers have posted a record of 4-0-1 vs. the Northeast Division; the Sabres have registered a 1-2-1 mark vs. Atlantic Division opponents
• Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 3.00 goals against average and .917 save percentage in one contest vs. Buffalo this season, and is now 8-6-2 with a 2.49 goals against average in 16 career regular season games against the Sabres; Martin Biron is 7-3-1 with a 2.89 goals against average and two shutouts in 12 career regular season appearances vs. Buffalo
• Derek Stepan leads the Rangers in scoring with three goals in one game vs. Buffalo in the season series
• Brandon Dubinsky has registered 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 11 career regular season contests vs. Buffalo; Todd White has notched 12 goals in 30 career appearances vs. the Sabres
• New York lists two former Sabres on their roster: Martin Biron (1995-96 – 2006-07); Chris Drury (2003-04 – 2006-07)
• Buffalo lists no former Rangers on their roster
SPECIAL TEAMS:
• Power Play: The Rangers tallied one goal in four power play opportunities (4:47) on Tuesday vs. Washington, and are now 8-39 (20.5%) with the man advantage over the last 10 games. New York ranks 15th in the NHL with a 17.2% (10-58) success rate, and ranks 20th at home with a 14.7% (5-34) success rate. The Rangers did not convert on one, five-on-three chance (1:38) on Tuesday vs. the Capitals, and are now 0-2 on five-on-three attempts (2:08). New York is 0-1 (1:05) with a four-on-three advantage this season. Shorthanded goals allowed (0).
• Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts surrendered one goal to the Capitals in four shorthanded situations (4:54) on Tuesday at MSG, and are now 9-10 (90.0%) over the last three games. New York ranks 26th in the NHL with a 77.8% (49-63) success rate, and are 27th in the league at home with a 75.0% (24-32) success rate. The Rangers held the Maple Leafs scoreless in one, three-on-five situation (0:31) on Oct. 30 at Toronto, and are 4-6 on three-on-fives (5:08) this season. The Blueshirts yielded one goal in two, three-on-four situations on Tuesday vs. Washington, and are now 3-5 (2:34) in those situations this season. Shorthanded goals for (2): 10/9 at BUF (Dubinsky); 11/5 at NJD (Dubinsky).
• Four-on-Four: New York did not tally/yield a goal in three, four-on-four situations (1:52) on Tuesday vs. Washington, and are now even in 13, four-on-four situations (13:49) this season. Four-on-four goals for (1): 10/18 vs. COL (Frolov). Four-on-four goals allowed (1): 10/15 vs. TOR (Kessel).
A NORTHEAST FEAST
The Rangers have posted a record of 4-0-1 (nine pts) in five games vs. Northeast Division opponents this season, having out-scored their opponent, 16-10, in those contests. The Blueshirts are now 15-6-4 (34 pts) vs. the Northeast Division since the start of 2009-10, after posting an 11-6-3 (25 pts) mark against the Northeast Division in 20 games last season.
TEAM EFFORT
The Rangers have had a different player credited with the game winning goal in each of their seven wins, giving New York the most players in the league with at least one game winner on the season. Washington and Los Angeles have also had seven different game winning goal scorers this season entering tonight’s action.
BLOCK PARTY
The Blueshirts currently lead the NHL with 277 blocked shots on the season, averaging a league-high, 18.5 blocked shots per contest. Dan Girardi ranks first in the NHL with 48 blocked shots, and Ryan Callahan leads all NHL forwards with 25 blocked shots.
A BROADWAY HIT
The Rangers currently rank first in the NHL with 429 hits on the season, and lead the league with an average of 28.6 hits per contest. Ryan Callahan leads the team and is tied for second in the NHL with 56 hits, and Brian Boyle is tied for 17th in the league with 40 hits on the season.
THE HOT LIST:
• The Blueshirts’ penalty kill has surrendered just one goal in their last three contests, registering a 90.0% success rate (9-10) over the span
• The Rangers have tallied eight power play goals in the last 10 games, registering a 20.5% (8-39) success rate over the span
• Brian Boyle has tallied three goals in the last three games
• Brandon Dubinsky has notched five goals in the last five games and 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in the last 10
• Ryan Callahan has registered 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his last 10 games, including multiple points in four of his last eight
• Henrik Lundqvist is 5-3-0 in his last eight starts, registering a 2.15 goals against average, .923 save percentage and two shutouts over the span
• Artem Anisimov has tallied eight points (two goals, six assists) in the last 11 games, including six assists in the last eight
ALL-TIME RANGERS SHUTOUTS
Henrik Lundqvist posted his first shutout of the season with a 36-save performance on Oct. 30 at Toronto and, in the process, passed Mike Richter, Chuck Rayner and Lorne Worsley for fourth on the Rangers’ all-time regular season shutouts list with 25 career regular season shutouts.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Based on opening day rosters, the Rangers have the ninth youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 27 years and 44 days, and the second youngest defensive corp in the league, trailing only Los Angeles with an average age of 25 years and 51 days.
MILESTONES IN SIGHT:
• John Tortorella: 4 wins from 300 NHL career
• Artem Anisimov: 2 games from 100 NHL career
• Michael Del Zotto: 5 games from 100 NHL career
• Dan Girardi: 5 games from 300 NHL career
MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:
• Michael Sauer: 1st career NHL assist/point (10/23 at BOS)
• Ryan Callahan: 100th career NHL point (10/23 at BOS)
• Evgeny Grachev: 1st career NHL game (10/29 vs. CAR)
• Sean Avery: 500th career NHL game (11/1 vs. CHI)
INJURIES:
• Vinny Prospal (IR on Sept. 24/knee surgery on Oct. 18, 6-8 weeks) – 15
• Marian Gaborik (IR – separated shoulder on Oct. 15, 2-4 weeks) – 12
• Chris Drury (IR – fractured finger on Oct. 15, 6 weeks) – 12
Total Man-Games Lost: 45
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
• Oct. 28: Recalled forward Evgeny Grachev from Hartford
• Nov. 8: Assigned forward Evgeny Grachev to Hartford
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