DETROIT UP NEXT 

NY RANGERS at DETROIT RED WINGS
Monday, Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Joe Louis Arena • Detroit, MI
Rangers: 29-22-4 (62 pts)
Red Wings: 31-15-6 (68 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Feb. 5

TOMORROW’S GAME:

The Rangers will continue a three-game road trip when they face-off against the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow, Feb. 7, at Joe Louis Arena (7:30 p.m.), in an Original Six match-up. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and seventh in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 29-22-4 (62 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having been defeated by the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0, on Saturday at Bell Centre, and are now 4-3-0 in their last seven road games. New York has registered a point in 25 of their last 40 games (22-15-3). The Red Wings enter the contest with a 31-15-6 (68 pts) record to rank second in the Western Conference, and have lost each of their last two games. Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday, Feb. 11, at Philips Arena (7:30 p.m.), to conclude their three-game road trip.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

*       TV: Versus
        7:30 p.m. – Rangers at Red Wings

*       Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio and www.newyorkrangers.com
        7:00 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show
        7:30 p.m. – Rangers at Red Wings
        Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. RED WINGS:

*       All-Time: 210-259-103-1 overall (134-94-58-0 at home, 76-165-45-1 on the road)
*       2010-11: Tonight’s contest marks the first and only meeting this season
*       Last Season: New York was 0-1-0 overall, having lost their only meeting, 3-1, on Dec. 6 at Madison Square Garden
*       New York’s last win against the Red Wings was a 3-1 victory at MSG on Oct. 25, 2003, and their last win at Detroit was Jan. 30, 1999 (3-2)
*       The Rangers rank fourth with a 17-10-1 (35 pts) record on the road; the Red Wings rank 11th with a 15-7-4 (34 pts) mark at home
*       The Rangers are 3-2-0 vs. the Central Division; the Red Wings are 2-2-1 against the Atlantic Division
*       Henrik Lundqvist is 0-3-1 with a 3.78 goals against average in four career regular season appearances vs. Detroit; Martin Biron has posted a record of 1-2-0-0 with a 3.24 goals against average in four career regular season contests vs. Detroit
*       Marian Gaborik has registered a team-high, seven goals, 10 assists and 17 points in 24 career regular season contests vs. Detroit; Chris Drury has also recorded seven goals in 25 career regular season games vs. the Red Wings
*       New York lists one former Red Wing on their roster: Sean Avery (2001-02 – 2002-03)
*       Detroit lists no former Rangers on their roster

SPECIAL TEAMS:

The Blueshirts have posted a plus-seven rating on special teams (PPG+SHG minus PPGA+SHGA) this season, which ranks sixth in the league.                                                 
*       Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in four power play opportunities (8:00) on Saturday at Montreal. New York ranks 23rd overall (31-197, 15.7%) and 20th on the road (13-93, 14.0%). The Rangers are 2-8 (7:01) in five-on-three situations (last – 2/3 vs. NJD), and 0-2 (2:23) when four-on-three (last – 12/3 vs. NYI). Shorthanded goals allowed (4): 11/20 at MIN (Cullen); 12/5 vs. OTT (Kelly); 1/2 at FLA (Weiss); 1/16 vs. PHI (Richards).
*       Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts held the Canadiens scoreless in two shorthanded situations (4:00) on Saturday at Montreal, and are now 113-129 (87.6%) over the last 43 games. New York ranks eighth overall (153-182, 84.1%) and is tied for 11th on the road (85-103, 82.5%). The Rangers are 7-9 (6:45) in three-on-five situations (last – 2/3 vs. NJD), and 4-6 (2:41) when three-on-four (last – 11/15 at PIT). Shorthanded goals for (9): 10/9 at BUF (Dubinsky); 11/5 at NJD (Dubinsky); 11/15 at PIT (Staal); 11/24 at TBL (Boyle); 11/26 at FLA (Prust); 12/5 vs. OTT (Prust); 12/12 vs. WSH (Staal); 12/16 vs. PHX (Prust); 1/7 at DAL (Fedotenko).
*       Four-on-Four: New York did not skate in a four-on-four situation on Saturday at Montreal, and are now plus-three in 43, four-on-four situations (87:22). Four-on-four goals for (5): 10/18 vs. COL (Frolov); 11/11 vs. BUF (Anisimov); 11/15 at PIT (Callahan); 12/12 vs. WSH (Callahan); 1/5 vs. CAR (Zuccarello). Four-on-four goals allowed (2): 10/15 vs. TOR (Kessel); 1/1 at TBL (Thompson).

ORIGINAL SIX SINCE 2005-06

New York has posted a record of 43-24-12 (98 pts) against Original Six opponents since the 2005-06 season, including an 0-3-1 mark vs. Detroit over the span. The Rangers’ .620 winning percentage ranks third, trailing Detroit (.688%, 36-15-5) and Montreal (.633%, 64-35-10), and ahead of Boston (.514%, 48-45-17), Toronto (.509%, 47-45-18) and Chicago (.466%, 24-28-7).

BACK-TO-BACKS:

The Rangers completed their 14th of 18 back-to-back sets on Jan. 25 vs. Florida. New York is 8-5-1 (2-1-0 at home, 6-4-1 on the road) in the first game of back-to-backs. The Blueshirts are 10-4-0 (4-2-0 at home, 6-2-0 on the road) in the second game this season, having out-scored their opponent, 39-24, in those games. Over the last two seasons, New York is 19-6-2 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including an 8-3-1 mark at MSG and 11-3-1 on the road over the span.

COMEBACK KIDS:

New York has posted a record of 7-15-3 when trailing after the second period. The Rangers’ seven wins, 17 points and .280 winning percentage rank first in the NHL.

COMPARED TO LAST SEASON:

The Rangers have registered five more wins and seven more points compared to last season through 55 games (24-24-7, 55 points in 2009-10), having tallied 13 more goals (153 this season, 140 last season) while allowing 18 fewer goals against (135 this season, 153 last season).  New York has also shown a four-goal improvement while shorthanded compared to 2009-10 (nine this season, five last season).

YOUTH IS SERVED:

The Rangers have the sixth youngest team in the league with an average age of 26 years and 210 days, and the youngest defensive corp in the league with an average age of 24 years and 328 days. *based on NHL rosters on Jan. 11

AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS:

The Rangers lead the league in shorthanded goals (nine) and hits (1,562), are tied for first in road wins (17), ninth in wins (29), 11th in points (62), 12th in goals for (153), rank eighth in goals against (135), fourth in blocked shots (854), and eighth with a plus-18 goal differential.

ONE-GOAL GAMES:

The Blueshirts are tied for seventh in the league with a .577 winning percentage in one-goal games, posting a record of 15-7-4 in those contests. Their 15 wins are tied for fourth in the NHL.

WINNING HABIT:

New York is currently seven games over .500 with a 29-22-4 record. New York was never more than six games over .500 last season, having last been at least seven games over on Apr. 12, 2009 (43-30-9).

TEAM EFFORT:

The Rangers have had 17 different players credited with at least one game winning goal this season, which is the most in the NHL.

ALL-STAR RECAP:

The Rangers were represented by Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal and Derek Stepan at the 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina on Jan. 30. Lundqvist, who turned aside the first ever penalty shot attempt in an NHL All-Star Game at 6:13 of the third period, faced 14 shots in the third, allowing three goals in the loss for Team Staal. Marc Staal logged 17:01 of ice time for Team Staal while making his first All-Star Game appearance.  Stepan participated in the SuperSkills competition as part of Team Lidstrom, breaking all four targets in the Accuracy Shooting event and hitting the crossbar on his Elimination Shootout attempt against Lundqvist.

THE HOT LIST:

*       Mats Zuccarello has recorded nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the last 10 games, including five assists in the last four contests
*       Marian Gaborik has recorded nine points (five goals, four assists) in the last eight games
*       Artem Anisimov has registered six points (one goal, five assists) in the last eight games
*       Brian Boyle has tallied six points (four goals, two assists) in the last 10 games, including four points (two goals, two assists) in the last six contests
*       Wojtek Wolski has recorded eight points (three goals, five assists) in 12 games as a Ranger, with seven points (two goals, five assists) in the last nine contests

MILESTONES APPROACHING:

*       Henrik Lundqvist: 2 wins from 200 NHL career
*       Marc Staal: 1 game from 300 NHL career
*       Steve Eminger: 5 games from 400 NHL career

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:

*       Brandon Dubinsky: 100th career NHL assist (2/1 vs. PIT)

INJURIES:

*       Derek Boogaard (injured shoulder on Dec. 9) – 25
*       Alex Frolov (injured knee on Jan. 8, expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season) – 12
*       Ruslan Fedotenko (shoulder separation on Jan. 19/appendectomy on Feb. 2, 3 weeks) – 7
*       Chris Drury (injured knee on Feb. 3) – 1

Total Man-Games Lost: 206

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

*       Feb. 1 – Assigned forward Evgeny Grachev to Connecticut (AHL)
*       Feb. 3 – Assigned forward Kris Newbury to Connecticut (AHL)