RANGERS SHOOTOUT KINGS

NY RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

February 17, 2011 – NY Rangers 4, LA Kings 3 SO (Game No. 59, Home No. 29)

Click Here For The Official Game Summary

• The Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 4-3, in the shootout tonight at Madison Square Garden to improve to 31-24-4 overall, including a 14-12-3 mark at home.  New York is now 12-7-2 in their last 21 games at home.  Erik Christensen and Mats Zuccarello (game-deciding goal) each tallied shootout goals for the Rangers.
• Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves through regulation and overtime, and turned aside two of three shootout attempts to record his 200th career win.  He is now tied with John Vanbiesbrouck for fourth on the Rangers all-time wins list.  Lundqvist improved to 23-18-4 overall, including a 10-9-3 mark at home.
• Ryan Callahan notched one goal, added an assist and was credited with four hits to capture first star honors.  He has registered seven points (five goals, two assists) in seven games since returning from injury on Feb. 1 vs. Pittsburgh, including five points (three goals, two assists) in the last two contests.
• Artem Anisimov tallied one goal, added an assist and was credited with a season-high, five hits.  He has now registered nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last 12 games.  The Rangers improved to 10-1-1 when he tallies a goal, and are 16-4-2 when he registers a point.
• Marian Gaborik notched one goal to extend his scoring streak to four games (one goal, four assists over the span), and has now recorded a point in eight of the last nine games (two goals, seven assists).  Gaborik has registered 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in the last 12 games.
• Brandon Dubinsky registered one assist to extend his scoring streak to four games (two goals, two assists), and has recorded five points (two goals, three assists) in seven games since returning from injury on Feb. 1.  He also posted a plus-two rating, and was credited with four hits.
• Michael Sauer recorded the only assist on Gaborik’s third period goal, and posted a career-high, plus-three rating.  The Rangers improved to 6-1-0 when he registers a point.
• Derek Stepan tallied the primary assist on Callahan’s second period goal, and has now registered six points (two goals, four assists) in the last seven home games.
• The Rangers won 34 of 54 face-offs for a 63% winning percentage, led by Brian Boyle’s 13 faceoff wins in 19 attempts (68%).  Boyle also tied for the game-high with six shots on goal, and was credited with a season-high-tying, seven hits.
• New York was credited with 50 hits in the contest, led by Dan Girardi’s career-high, eight hits.  Girardi also registered three blocked shots and logged 28:23 of ice time.  The Blueshirts now lead the league with 1,695 hits on the season.
• Ryan McDonagh registered a team-high four blocked shots, and tied for the game-high with a plus-three rating.
• The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the New Jersey Devils tomorrow, Feb. 18, at Prudential Center (7:00 p.m.), in the second game of a back-to-back set.  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio and www.newyorkrangers.com.

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on Ryan Callahan…

“The last couple of games you can see he’s coming back. I thought he started off well statistics wise, with a couple of goals early, then I thought he had a tough time finding his game for a couple of games. He’s a very important guy if we want to get where we want to be.”

Ryan Callahan on tonight’s game…

“We know they weren’t going to give up or let up. That’s a good team over there. They work hard. It was really tough to get through the neutral zone and I thought we really struggled with that early on, getting pucks deep. We kept at it and kept with the game plan and it paid off in the end.”

Henrik Lundqvist on his 200th career win…

“It’s a great feeling to reach that. It’s a milestone for me. I’m happy I’ve been able to be here for almost six years now. I just hope I get the opportunity to stay here and get another 200. I’m very happy to reach that, it’s a sign that I’ve been part of good teams. Over the last couple of years I’ve been able to play a lot too.”

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