RANGERS THUMP CAPITALS

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

December 12, 2010 – New York Rangers 7, Washington Capitals 0 (Game No. 32, Home No. 16)

Click Here For The Official Game Summary

• The Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals, 7-0, tonight at Madison Square Garden, to improve to 18-13-1 overall and 7-8-1 at home.  New York has won eight of their last 12 games (8-4-0), and is now tied for fourth in the NHL with 18 wins and ranks sixth overall with 37 points.
• The last time the Rangers defeated the Capitals by seven goals was Mar. 24, 1978 (11-4) at Washington.
• The Blueshirts improved to 8-0-0 in the second game of back-to-back sets, with a 3-0-0 mark when the second game is at MSG.  Over the last two seasons, the Rangers have posted a record of 17-2-2 in the second game of back-to-backs, including a 7-1-1 mark at home over the span.
• Today marks the first time since Nov. 26, 2005, that both the Rangers and Knicks (NBA) won on the same day at Madison Square Garden.  On that day, the Rangers defeated the Capitals, 3-2, following an NHL record 15-round shootout, while the Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 105-102, in overtime earlier in the day.  *statistic courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau
• Seven different Blueshirt players registered two points, marking the first time since Oct. 12, 2009 (7-2 win vs. Toronto at MSG, eight players) that seven or more players posted multi-point performances for the Rangers in a game.
• Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 31 shots to post his fifth shutout of the season, and 29th of his career, and improved to 13-11-1 overall with a 4-6-1 mark at home.  He is now 6-3-0 with a 1.64 goals against average, a .937 save percentage and three shutouts in the last nine games.  Lundqvist’s five shutouts are tied for first in the NHL.
• Marc Staal notched a shorthanded goal and added a power play assist to capture First Star honors.  He has now registered eight points (three goals, five assists) in the last 10 games, including three shorthanded points (one goal, two assists) over the span.  Staal also led all skaters with 25:01 of ice time and posted a plus-three rating.
• Brandon Dubinsky registered a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, with one goal, one assist and a fighting major, and posted a career-high, plus-four rating.  He has now recorded eight points (two goals, six assists) in the last eight games.
• Brandon Prust opened the game’s scoring with an even strength tally at 17:57 of the first period, and added an assist on Staal’s shorthanded goal at 10:42 of the second to post his first multi-point effort of the season and second of his career.  Prust has now registered five points (three goals, two assists) in the last six games.
• Ryan Callahan notched two, third period goals, posted a career-high, plus-four rating, and was credited with a team-high, six hits.
• Brian Boyle recorded a career-high, two assists, including one on the game-winning goal and the primary assist on Staal’s shorthanded goal, and led all skaters with a career-high, seven blocked shots.  He has now registered four points (one goal, three assists) in the last five games.
• Artem Anisimov tallied an unassisted goal in the opening minute of the second period, and added an assist for his fifth multi-point effort of the season.  He also posted a career-high, plus-three rating in the contest.
• Dan Girardi registered two assists, blocked three shots and posted a plus-two rating in 22:51 of ice time.  He now leads the team with 14 assists on the season.
• Marian Gaborik notched a power play goal at 3:07 of the second period, and has now tallied 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in his last 15 games.
• Alex Frolov and Michal Rozsival each recorded an assist for the Rangers.  Frolov registered the primary assist on the game-winning goal, and Rozsival assisted on Gaborik’s power play goal and posted a plus-three rating.
• After an off-day tomorrow, the Blueshirts’ next practice is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14, at the MSG Training Center.
• The Rangers will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 15, when they will begin their ninth back-to-back set of the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center (7:00 p.m.), before returning home to host the Phoenix Coyotes at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Dec. 16 (7:00 p.m.).

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on tonight’s game…
“What we talked about prior to the game was that we should feel good about ourselves.  The puck went in tonight.  The biggest message about this game was to feel good about yourself and play the right way.”           

Brandon Dubinsky on tonight’s game…
“We have played well in back-to-backs all year long.  Last night we thought we played well enough to get points but we didn’t put the puck in the net.  To come back and play well like that – everyone chipped in.  It was a huge win against a good hockey team.  Hopefully something to build on and get ready for Pittsburgh.”

Henrik Lundqvist on the Rangers’ defense…
“It was good for us to respond this way.  They have been great all year especially lately.  They have been playing great defensively.  It was a nice surprise to see how hard they worked the last ten minutes, the whole game really.”

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