BATTLE DOWN SOUTH 

NY RANGERS vs. CAROLINA HURRICANES
Tuesday, Feb. 22, 7:00 p.m.
RBC Center • Raleigh, North Carolina
Rangers: 31-26-4 (66 pts)
Hurricanes: 28-24-8 (64 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Feb. 20

TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow, Feb. 22, at RBC Center (7:00 p.m.), in their fourth game in six days. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and seventh in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 31-26-4 (66 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having been defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, and are now 2-1-0 in their last three home games. The Hurricanes enter the contest with a 28-24-8 (64 pts) record to rank eighth in the Eastern Conference, and have lost seven of their last 10 games (3-5-2). Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Washington Hurricanes on Friday, Feb. 25, at Verizon Center (7:00 p.m.), in their second of three consecutive games vs. Southeast Division opponents.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
*       TV: MSG Network
        6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Ron Duguay
        7:00 p.m. – Rangers at Hurricanes
        Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)
*       Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio & newyorkrangers.com
        6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show
        7:00 p.m. – Rangers at Hurricanes
        Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. HURRICANES:
*       All-Time: 54-48-7-2 overall (34-17-4-2 at home, 20-31-3-0 on the road)
*       2010-11: Tonight is the fourth and final meeting, and second at RBC Center. New York is 1-2-0 thus far, following a 4-1 loss at Carolina on Jan. 20.
*       Last Season: New York was 2-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 on the road. Three of their four meetings were decided by two goals or less, including one that required overtime on Jan. 2 at MSG (1-2).
*       The Rangers rank eighth with a 17-13-1 (35 pts) record on the road; the Hurricanes rank 19th with a 15-10-2 (32 pts) mark at home
*       The Rangers are 5-8-2 vs. the Southeast Division; the Hurricanes are 6-7-3 vs. the Atlantic Division
*       Henrik Lundqvist is 9-8-1 with a 2.42 goals against average and one shutout in 18 career regular season games vs. the Hurricanes; Martin Biron is 10-4-1-2 with a 2.53 goals against average and one shutout in 19 career regular season games vs. Carolina
*       Vinny Prospal has tallied a team-high, 19 goals, 26 assists and 45 points in 53 career regular season games vs. Carolina
*       New York lists no former Hurricanes on their roster
*       Carolina 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. The Rangers did not skate in a power play on Sunday vs. Philadelphia, marking the second time this season they were not awarded a power play opportunity (Nov. 15 at PIT).
*       Power Play: The Rangers did not skate in a power play opportunity on Sunday vs. Philadelphia, and are now 7-40 (17.5%) with the man advantage in their last 10 games. New York ranks 25th overall (35-217, 16.1%) and 24th on the road (14-103, 13.6%). The Rangers are 2-9 (7:45) in five-on-three situations (last – 2/7 at DET), and 0-3 (4:23) when four-on-three (last – 2/17 vs. LAK). 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 surrendered one goal to the Flyers in three shorthanded situations (4:23) on Sunday at MSG, and have allowed only six power play goals against in the last 19 games (50-56, 89.3% over the span). New York ranks ninth overall (169-202, 83.7%) and is tied for 11th on the road (92-111, 82.9%). 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 Sunday vs. Philadelphia, and are now plus-three in 46, four-on-four situations (91:57). The Rangers are even in one, three-on-three situation (2:00) this season (2/17 vs. LAK). 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).

SIBLING RIVALRY:
Rangers’ defenseman Marc Staal has faced off against his older brother, Carolina forward Eric Staal, 15 times in his career, amassing a 7-7-1 record with five points (two goals, three assists) and 10 penalty minutes. Eric has registered an 8-5-2 mark behind five goals and five assists, along with eight penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating in those 15 games.

BACK-TO-BACKS:
The Rangers completed their 15th of 18 back-to-back sets on Friday at New Jersey. New York is 9-5-1 (3-1-0 at home, 6-4-1 on the road) in the first game of back-to-backs. The Blueshirts are 10-5-0 (4-2-0 at home, 6-3-0 on the road) in the second game this season, having out-scored their opponent, 39-25, in those games. Over the last two seasons, New York is 19-7-2 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including an 8-3-1 mark at MSG and 11-4-1 on the road over the span.

200 WINS:
Henrik Lundqvist posted his 200th career win in a 4-3 shootout win vs. Los Angeles on Thursday, becoming only the fifth goalie in franchise history to reach the 200-win mark and moving into a tie with John Vanbiesbrouck for fourth on the Rangers’ all-time wins list.

STRONG RETURNS:
Rangers’ forwards Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Vinny Prospal have each made strong returns since returning from injury earlier this month. Callahan has registered seven points (five goals, two assists) in nine games since returning from injury on Feb. 1 vs. Pittsburgh, following a 19-game hiatus due to a broken hand suffered on Dec. 15 at Pittsburgh. Dubinsky also returned on Feb. 1 after missing five games with a stress fracture on his left fibula, and has recorded five points (two goals, three assists) over the span. Prospal made his season debut on Feb. 3 vs. New Jersey after missing the first 53 games of the season with a knee injury, and has tallied three points (two goals, one assist) and 20 shots on goal.

COMEBACK KIDS:
New York has posted a record of 7-18-3 when trailing after the second period. The Rangers’ seven wins, 17 points and .250 winning percentage rank first in the NHL. The Blueshirts have out-shot their opponent, 135-65, in the third period of their last 11 games.

COMPARED TO LAST SEASON…
The Rangers have registered four more wins and five more points compared to last season through 61 games (27-27-7, 55 points in 2009-10), having tallied 12 more goals (168 this season, 156 last season) while allowing 15 fewer goals against (152 this season, 167 last season).  New York has also shown a four-goal improvement while shorthanded compared to 2009-10 (nine this season, five last season).

AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS:
The Rangers lead the league in hits (1,740), are tied for second in shorthanded goals (nine), rank fourth in blocked shots (963), seventh in goals against (152), are tied for fifth in road wins (17), rank ninth in penalty killing (83.7%), and ninth with a plus-16 goal differential.

ONE-GOAL GAMES:
The Blueshirts have skated in 30 one-goal games this season, tied for fourth most in the league, having posted a record of 16-10-4 in those contests. Their 16 wins are tied for fifth in the NHL. Seventeen of the Rangers’ last 23 games have been decided by one goal, including nine of their last 12 road games.

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.

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

THE HOT LIST:
*       Ryan Callahan has recorded seven points (five goals, two assists) in the last nine games, including five points (three goals, two assists) in the last four
*       Marc Staal has tallied four points (one goal, three assists) in the last five games
*       Brandon Dubinsky has registered four points (two goals, two assists) in the last six games
*       Artem Anisimov has tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the last four games
*       Michael Sauer has registered two assists in the last three games
*       Derek Stepan has recorded seven points (three goals, four assists) in the last eight home games
*       Marian Gaborik has recorded a point in eight of the last 11 games (two goals, seven assists), including five points (one goal, four assists) in the last six games; he has tallied 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his last 14 games

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:
*       Henrik Lundqvist: 200th career NHL win (2/17 vs. LAK)

INJURIES:                                 
*       Derek Boogaard (injured shoulder on Dec. 9) – 31
*       Alex Frolov (injured knee on Jan. 8, expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season) – 18
*       Ruslan Fedotenko (shoulder separation on Jan. 19/appendectomy on Feb. 2, 3 weeks) – 13
*       Chris Drury (injured knee on Feb. 4, 6 weeks) – 7
Total Man-Games Lost: 230

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
*       Feb. 20: Recalled forward Kris Newbury from Connecticut