NY RANGERS at MINNESOTA WILD GAME PREVIEW 

NEW YORK RANGERS at MINNESOTA WILD
Saturday, Nov. 20, 8:00 p.m. EST
Xcel Energy Center • St. Paul, MN
Rangers: 10-9-1 (21 pts)
Wild: 10-6-2 (22 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Nov. 19

TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Minnesota Wild tomorrow, Nov. 20, at the Xcel Energy Center (8:00 p.m.), to close out their fifth back-to-back set of the season. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and seventh in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 10-9-1 (21 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having been defeated by the Colorado Avalanche, 5-1, earlier tonight at the Pepsi Center, and are now 3-2-0 in their last five contests. The Wild enter the contest with a 10-6-2 (22 pts) record to rank eighth in the Western Conference having won each of their last three games, including two straight in overtime. Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will return home to face-off against the Calgary Flames on Monday, Nov. 22, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to close out a three-game stretch vs. Northwest Division opponents.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
* TV: MSG Network
7:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Ron Duguay
8:00 p.m. – Rangers at Wild
Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)

* Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio
7:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game with Bob Galerstein
8:00 p.m. – Rangers at Wild
Broadcasters: Joe Tolleson (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)
* All times are eastern standard time

RANGERS vs. WILD:
* All-Time: The Rangers are 7-4-0-0 all-time against the Wild: 4-1-0-0 at home and 3-3-0-0 on the road

* 2010-11: Tomorrow’s contest marks the first of two meetings between the Rangers and Wild this season, and the first and only meeting at Xcel Energy Center

* Last Season: New York was 0-1-0 against Minnesota in 2009-10, following a 3-2 loss at Minnesota on Oct. 30. The Rangers penalty kill held the Wild scoreless in three power play attempts.

* New York is tied for fourth in the NHL on the road with a record of 6-3-0 (12 pts.) in nine games; Minnesota has posted a record of 6-3-1 (13 pts.) at home, tying for eighth in the league

* The Rangers have posted a record of 1-2-0 vs. Northwest Division opponents; the Wild have not faced an Atlantic Division opponent this season

* Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 29 shots in last season’s 3-2 loss at Minnesota, and is now 2-2-0 with a 2.87 goals against average in four career regular season games against the Wild; Martin Biron is 3-3-0-0 with a 2.19 goals against average in six career contests vs. the Wild

* Artem Anisimov, who assisted on Marc Staal‘s goal at 5:01 of the third period, posted a team-high, plus-two rating in last season’s meeting with the Wild

* Alex Frolov has tallied a team-high, five goals and six assists for 11 points in 26 career regular season contests vs. Minnesota; Todd White has registered two assists and three points in five career regular season games vs. the Wild

* New York lists three former Wild on their roster: Derek Boogaard (2005-06 – 2009-10); Marian Gaborik (2000-01 – 2008-09); Todd White (2005-06 – 2006-07)

* Minnesota lists one former Ranger on their roster: Matt Cullen (2006-07)

SPECIAL TEAMS:
* Power Play: The Rangers did not convert in five power play opportunities (10:00) earlier tonight at Colorado. New York ranks 24th in the NHL with a 14.7% (11-75) success rate, and ranks 12th on the road with a 17.2% (5-29) success rate. The Rangers did not convert on one, five-on-three chance (1:44) on Wednesday vs. the Bruins, and are now 0-4 on five-on-three attempts (4:31). New York is 0-1 (1:05) with a four-on-three advantage this season. Shorthanded goals allowed (0).

* Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts held the Avalanche scoreless in one shorthanded situation (2:00) earlier tonight at Colorado, and are now 24-25 (96.0%) over the last eight games. New York ranks 16th in the NHL with a 82.0% (64-78) success rate, and are 11th in the league on the road with a 84.2% (32-38) 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 held the Penguins scoreless in one, three-on-four situation on Monday at Pittsburgh, and are now 4-6 (2:41) in those situations this season. Shorthanded goals for (3): 10/9 at BUF (Dubinsky); 11/5 at NJD (Dubinsky); 11/15 at PIT (Staal).

* Four-on-Four: New York did not skate in a four-on-four situation earlier tonight at Colorado, and are now plus-two in 19, four-on-four situations (26:08) this season. Four-on-four goals for (3): 10/18 vs. COL (Frolov); 11/11 vs. BUF (Anisimov); 11/15 at PIT (Callahan). Four-on-four goals allowed (1): 10/15 vs. TOR (Kessel).

BACK-TO-BACKS
Tomorrow’s contest will conclude the Rangers’ fifth of 18 back-to-back sets this season. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 4-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season, including a 3-0-0 mark on the road following a 3-2 overtime win at Pittsburgh on Monday. Over the last two seasons, New York is 13-2-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets, including a 8-1-1 mark away from MSG over the span, having posted a record of 9-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 on the road last season.

MARIAN GABORIK‘S WILD DAYS
Marian Gaborik, who was Minnesota’s first ever NHL Entry Draft pick (third overall in 2000) and skated with the team for eight seasons (2000-01 – 2008-09), will make his first career appearance vs. the Wild in tomorrow’s contest. Entering the 2010-11 season, Gaborik was the Wild’s franchise leader in 44 offensive categories, including the following:
* Goals – 219
* Assists – 218
* Points – 437
* Goals in a season – 42
* Goals by a rookie – 18
* Goals in a game – 5
* Points in a game – 6 (twice) – last, 12/20/07 vs. NY Rangers (five goals, one assist)
* Power play goals – 59
* Game winning goals – 43
* Overtime goals – 4 (tied)
* Points in a season – 83 (42 goals, 41 assists)
* Points in a season by a rookie – 36 (18 goals, 18 assists)
* Power play points – 145
* Plus/Minus – plus-54
* Multi-point games – 114
* Multi-point games in a season – 22
* Shots – 1,694

MILESTONE GAME
Tonight’s contest at Colorado marked Dan Girardi‘s 300th career NHL appearance, while Michael Del Zotto skated in his 100th NHL contest.

TEAM EFFORT
The Rangers have had seven different players credited with at least one game winning goal this season, which is tied for sixth most in the league. New York trails Washington (10), Montreal (nine), Boston (eight), Detroit (eight), and Los Angeles (eight), and are tied with Anaheim, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Vancouver entering tomorrow’s action.

BLOCK PARTY
The Blueshirts currently lead the NHL with 346 blocked shots on the season, averaging a league-high, 17.3 blocked shots per contest. Dan Girardi ranks first in the NHL with 62 blocked shots, and Ryan Callahan leads all NHL forwards with 30 blocked shots.

A BROADWAY HIT
The Rangers currently rank second in the NHL with 581 hits on the season, and lead the league with an average of 29.1 hits per contest. Ryan Callahan currently leads the NHL with 79 hits.

THE HOT LIST:
* The Rangers’ penalty kill has yielded just one goal in their last eight games, registering a 96.0% success rate (24-25) over the span

* Marian Gaborik has notched six points in the last four games, including four goals during the stretch

* Derek Stepan has recorded four points in the last four games, with three assists over the span

* Ryan Callahan has registered 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his last 15 games

* Brandon Dubinsky has tallied 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in the last 15 games

* Ruslan Fedotenko has registered five points (two goals, three assists) in the last five games

* Erik Christensen has registered four points (one goal, three assists) in the last four games

* Artem Anisimov has registered seven points (three goals, four assists) in the last 10 games

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: 1 win from 300 NHL career

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:
* Artem Anisimov: 100th career NHL game (11/14 vs. EDM)
* Michael Del Zotto: 100th career NHL game (11/19 at COL)
* Dan Girardi: 300th career NHL game (11/19 at COL)

INJURIES:
* Vinny Prospal (IR on Sept. 24/knee surgery on Oct. 18, 6-8 weeks) – 20
* Chris Drury (IR – fractured finger on Oct. 15, 6 weeks) – 17
* Michal Rozsival (shoulder strain, 7-10 days) – 5
Total Man-Games Lost: 61