ZUCCARELLO OUTSHINES THE STARS 

VERSUS

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
January 7, 2011 – New York Rangers 3, Dallas Stars 2 SO (Game No. 42, Away No. 22)

* The Rangers defeated the Dallas Stars, 3-2, in the shootout tonight at American Airlines Center to improve to 24-15-3 overall, including a league-leading 14 wins on the road (14-7-1).  Mats Zuccarello notched the only goal in the shootout to give the Blueshirts’ the win, and he is now two for two in shootouts.  New York is 7-2-2 in their last 11 games, and has registered a point in 19 of their last 27 games (17-8-2).

* New York ranks first in the NHL with 13 points when trailing after two periods, having registered a 5-9-3 mark in those games.  Their five wins are tied for first in the league.

* Henrik Lundqvist stopped 28 shots through regulation/overtime, and turned aside all three shootout attempts he faced to improve to 18-12-3 with a 12-6-1 mark on the road.  He is now 11-4-2 with a 1.78 goals against average, a .934 save percentage and three shutouts in his last 17 games.  Lundqvist also registered an assist on the game-tying power play goal at 8:04 of the third period, and has now recorded an assist in each of the last two games.  The last goalie to register an assist in consecutive games is Rick DiPietro (NYI) on Dec. 26, 2008 and Jan. 2, 2009, and the last Ranger to accomplish the feat is Wayne Thomas on Oct. 25, 1980 and Dec. 5, 1980 (Lundqvist is the first Ranger goalie to accomplish the feat in consecutive team games since the 1967-68 expansion season).  Lundqvist now leads the league with 12 road wins, is tied for first with three assists and fifth with 18 wins.  His three assists on the season are also a career-high.

* Artem Anisimov notched the game-tying goal, on the power play, at 8:04 of the third period to capture first star honors, and has now registered seven points (three goals, four assists) in the last 11 games with four points (one goal, three assists) in the last seven contests.  The Rangers improved to 8-1-0 when he tallies a goal, and are 13-3-1 when he registers a point.  Anisimov has now recorded 10 goals, and is the sixth Ranger to reach the 10 goal mark this season.

* Ruslan Fedotenko tallied a shorthanded goal at 2:49 of the second period to get the Rangers on the board.  It was the Rangers’ league-leading, ninth shorthanded goal of the season, and Fedotenko’s third goal in the last seven games.

* Marc Staal recorded the primary assist on Anisimov’s power play, game-tying goal in the third period, and logged a career-high, 33:06 of ice time.  Staal has logged 63:16 of ice time in the last two games.

* Dan Girardi logged a career-high, 31:31 of ice time, and was credited with a game-high five hits and a team-high three blocked shots.  It is the second time in his career Girardi has logged 30 or more minutes of ice time in a game.

* Defenseman Ryan McDonagh logged 12:03 of ice time while making his NHL debut.

* The Rangers will conclude their back-to-back road set when they face-off against the St. Louis Blues tomorrow, Jan. 8, at Scottrade Center (8:00 p.m.).  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio and www.newyorkrangers.com.

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