NY RANGERS vs. CALGARY FLAMES PREVIEW 

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. CALGARY FLAMES
Monday, Nov. 22, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
Rangers: 11-9-1 (23 pts)
Flames: 8-10-1 (17 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Nov. 21

TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Calgary Flames tomorrow, Nov. 22, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their third consecutive game vs. a Northwest Division opponent. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and seventh in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 11-9-1 (23 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having defeated the Minnesota Wild, 5-2, on Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center, to improve to 5-0-0 in the second game of back-to-back sets. The Flames enter the contest with a 8-10-1 (17 pts) record to rank 14th in the Western Conference, and have lost four of their last five games (0-3-1). Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will begin a three-game road trip when they face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, Nov. 24, at the St. Pete Times Forum (7:30 p.m.).

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
* TV: MSG Network
6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig and Mike Keenan
7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Flames
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. Flames
Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. FLAMES:
* All-Time: The Rangers are 37-53-15-0 all-time against the Flames’ franchise: 25-24-5-0 at home and 12-29-10-0 on the road

* 2010-11: Tonight’s contest marks the first and only meeting between the Rangers and Flames this season

* Last Season: New York was 0-1-0 against Calgary in 2009-10, following a 3-1 loss to the Flames on Nov. 7 at Calgary. The Rangers out-shot the Flames, 33-22, including a 13-5 advantage in the third period.

* The Rangers last win against the Flames at Madison Square Garden was a 4-2 victory on Jan. 10, 2006. Henrik Lundqvist recorded the win, stopping 19 of 21 shots in net.

* New York ranks 25th in the NHL at home with a record of 4-6-1 (9 pts) in 11 games; Calgary has posted a record of 3-5-0 (6 pts) on the road to rank 28th in the league

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

* Henrik Lundqvist is 1-2-0 with a 3.02 goals against average in three career regular season games against the Flames; Martin Biron is 3-3-0 with a 2.41 goals against average in seven career regular season contests vs. Calgary

* Marian Gaborik leads the team with 13 goals, 22 assists and 35 points in 41 career regular season contests vs. Calgary; Alex Frolov has registered 14 assists and 20 points in 26 career regular season games vs. the Flames

* New York lists two former Flames on their roster: Chris Drury (2002-03); Brandon Prust (2006-07 – 2008-09, 2009-10)

* Calgary lists two former Rangers on their roster: Olli Jokinen (2009-10); Ales Kotalik (2009-10)

SPECIAL TEAMS:
* Power Play: The Rangers notched one goal in five power play opportunities (7:11) on Saturday at Minnesota. New York ranks 22nd in the NHL with a 15.0% (12-80) success rate, and ranks 26th at home with a 13.0% (6-46) 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 (1): 11/20 at MIN (Cullen).

* Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts held the Wild scoreless in four shorthanded situations (6:22) on Saturday at Minnesota, and are now 28-29 (96.6%) over the last nine games. New York is tied for 13th in the NHL with a 82.9% (68-82) success rate, and are 24th in the league at home with a 80.0% (32-40) 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 Nov. 15 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 tally/yield a goal in one, four-on-four situation (1:38), on Saturday at Minnesota, 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
The Rangers completed their fifth of 18 back-to-back sets with a 5-2 win on Saturday at Minnesota, improving to 5-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season having out-scored their opponent, 16-5, and are 4-0-0 when the second game is on the road. Over the last two seasons, New York is 14-2-2 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including a 9-1-1 mark away from MSG over the span.

JOHN TORTORELLA REACHES 300 WINS
With Saturday’s 5-2 win at Minnesota, Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella recorded his 300th career NHL victory to become the 40th head coach in league history to reach the mark. Tortorella has posted a record of 300-274-37-52 in 663 career regular season games over 11 seasons with the Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning, and ranks 12th among active NHL head coaches on the NHL’s all-time wins list and first among U.S.-born coaches with 300 career victories.

TEAM EFFORT
The Rangers have had eight different players credited with at least one game winning goal this season, which is tied for third most in the league. New York trails Washington (10) and Montreal (nine), and is tied with Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay entering tonight’s action.

BLOCK PARTY
The Blueshirts currently lead the NHL with 359 blocked shots on the season, averaging a league-high, 17.1 blocked shots per contest. Dan Girardi ranks first in the NHL with 65 blocked shots, and Ryan Callahan leads all NHL forwards with 30 blocked shots.

A BROADWAY HIT
The Rangers currently rank first in the NHL with 612 hits on the season, and lead the league with an average of 29.1 hits per contest. Ryan Callahan currently ranks second in the NHL with 80 hits.

THE HOT LIST:
* The Rangers’ penalty kill has yielded just one goal in their last nine games, registering a 96.6% success rate (28-29) over the span

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

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

* Dan Girardi has tallied six assists in the last nine games

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

* Matt Gilroy has recorded three assists and a plus-five rating in the last five games

* Ryan Callahan has registered 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his last 16 games

* Brandon Dubinsky has tallied 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in the last 16 games

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

* Artem Anisimov has registered eight points (four goals, four assists) in the last 11 games

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

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:
* Ruslan Fedotenko: 2 games from 700 NHL career

* Erik Christensen: 5 games from 300 NHL career

* Alex Frolov: 8 points from 400 NHL career

* Dan Girardi: 9 points from 100 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)

* John Tortorella: 300th career NHL win (11/20 at MIN)

INJURIES:
* Vinny Prospal (IR on Sept. 24/knee surgery on Oct. 18, 6-8 weeks) – 21

* Chris Drury (IR – fractured finger on Oct. 15, 6 weeks) – 18

* Michal Rozsival (shoulder strain, 7-10 days) – 6

Total Man-Games Lost: 64

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
* Nov. 11: Acquired forward Chad Kolarik from Columbus in exchange for forward Dane Byers