RANGERS WIN AT HOME – BIRON SHINES

VERSUS

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

November 22, 2010 – New York Rangers 2, Calgary Flames 1 (Game No. 22, Home No. 12)

Click Here For The Official Game Summary

• The Rangers defeated the Calgary Flames, 2-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden to improve to 12-9-1 overall, including a 5-6-1 mark at home.  New York has won each of their last two games, and are 5-2-0 in their last seven contests.
• Tonight’s win was the first for the Rangers against the Flames at Madison Square Garden since Jan. 10, 2006 (4-2).
• The Blueshirts tallied the game’s first goal for the 16th time this season, and improved to 11-4-1 in those contests.
• Martin Biron stopped 31 of 32 shots to improve to 5-2-0 on the season, including a 3-2-0 mark at MSG.  Biron has held opponents to two or fewer goals in six of his seven starts this season, and is now 4-1-0 with a 1.83 goals against average and .930 save percentage in his last six games.
• Dan Girardi notched the game-winning goal, on the power play, at 12:41 of the second period and added an assist for his second straight multi-point effort.  He has now registered eight points (one goal, seven assists) in the last 10 games.  Entering tonight’s contest, Girardi was tied for 13th among NHL defensemen in assists and 18th in points.
• Girardi’s game-winning goal was his first of the season.  The Rangers now have nine different players credited with at least one game-winning goal, which is tied for second most in the league trailing Washington (10) by one, and tied with Detroit and Montreal.
• Brian Boyle opened the game’s scoring at 2:08 of the second period, and was credited with four shots and seven hits.  He also led the team with nine faceoff wins in 15 attempts (60%).  Boyle has recorded a point in each of the last two games (one goal, one assist).
• Derek Stepan registered an assist on Girardi’s power play, game-winning goal at 12:41 of the second period, and has now recorded six points (one goal, five assists) in the last six games.
• Ryan Callahan registered a career-high, 11 hits in the contest, and now leads the NHL with 91 hits on the season.
• Steve Eminger tied for the game-high with four blocked shots, and registered five hits in 20:53 of ice time.
• New York held Calgary scoreless in two power play opportunities tonight and are now 96.8% (30-31) on the penalty kill in their last 10 games, yielding just one goal and tallying two shorthanded goals over the span.
• The Blueshirts’ practice schedule for tomorrow, Nov. 23, is 2:30 p.m. at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa Bay, FL.
• 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.).  Prior to the game, the Blueshirts’ morning skate is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at the St. Pete Times Forum.  The contest will be televised live on MSG 2, and can be heard on 970 The Apple.

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on tonight’s game…

“We don’t change our game.  We certainly try to play a lot behind their net.  I think our goaltending has been really good in the third period.  We just have to play in there behind their net, try to grind it and get scoring chances that way.”

Dan Girardi on tonight’s game…

“It was a good job for our team to hold the lead for that long in a game.  We really needed a win at home.”

Martin Biron on tonight’s game…

“A lot of teams are victimized coming back home not having any legs, not being able to play physical.  I think that was the total opposite for us – the physicality on our side of the game was top level.  We responded really well.”

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