RANGERS GET FIRST WIN 

      VERSUS     

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
New York Rangers 4, Vancouver Canucks 0
October 18, 2011 (Game 4, Away Game 4)
Rogers Arena – Vancouver, British Columbia

Team Notes:
-The Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 4-0, tonight at Rogers Arena for their first win of the 2011-12 regular season.

-After two scoreless periods, the Rangers tallied four goals in the third period to record the victory.

-The win was New York’s first in Vancouver since Oct. 11, 1997 (6-3).

-The Blueshirts held Vancouver scoreless in eight shorthanded situations (12:29) to improve to 24 of 27 on the penalty kill.  Their 88.9% success rate ranks seventh in the league.

-New York out-hit Vancouver, 31-22 in the contest, and have now out-hit their opponents, 79-46, in their last three games.

-The Rangers were also credited with 23 blocked shots in the game.

Player Notes:
–Henrik Lundqvist turned aside all 40 shots faced to record his first shutout of the season, and improve to 1-1-2 with a 1.69 goals against average and a .947 save percentage through four games.  Lundqvist, who was making his 30th consecutive regular season start dating back to Feb. 11, 2011 at Atlanta (35th consecutive start including playoffs), is now one shutout shy of 40 career total shutouts (36 regular season, three playoff).  Tonight’s performance marked the third time in his career he posted a 40+ save shutout, and he improved to 6-0-5 in 11 career 40 or more save games.

–Ryan McDonagh notched a goal and added an assist to record his first career multi-point performance.  He also posted a plus-three rating, and was credited with three hits and three blocked shots in 24:30 of ice time.  McDonagh now leads all team defensemen in goals (one), assists (two) and points (three), and is tied for second on the team in scoring and plus/minus rating (plus-two), and third in assists.  He also ranks 13th in the NHL and second on the team in average ice time (25:08).

-Brandon Prust tallied two assists in the contest, including one on the game-winning goal, and he has now registered three points (one goal, two assists) in the last two games.  Prust is tied for second on the team in scoring with three points, and third with two assists on the season.

–Mike Rupp registered his first point as a Ranger with the game-winning goal at 2:22 of the third period, and was credited with four hits.  He is now tied for third on the team with 10 hits on the season.

–Marian Gaborik recorded an even strength goal at 17:39 of the third period and tied for the team-high with three shots on goal.  He has now tallied a goal in three of the Rangers’ four games this season, including each of the last two contests.  Gaborik leads the team in goals (three), is tied for second in points (three) and ranks second in shots on goal (17).

–Brian Boyle notched his first goal of the season with an even strength tally at 11:30 of the third period, and led all forwards with three blocked shots.

-Brad Richards registered an assist on Gaborik’s third period goal to extend his scoring streak to four games (one goal, three assists over the span), having recorded a point in each of the Rangers’ four games to begin the season.  He is now one assist shy of 500 career NHL assists.  Richards also led all team forwards with 21:11 of ice time.  He leads the team in scoring with four points and is tied for first with three assists on the season.

–Michael Del Zotto tallied the primary assist on Rupp’s game-winning goal, and posted a plus-one rating in the contest.  He has now posted a plus or even rating in each of the Rangers’ four games to begin the season, and he leads the team with a plus-four rating.

-Brandon Dubinsky recorded the primary assist on McDonagh’s third period goal, was credited with four hits and won a team-high seven faceoffs in 13 attempts (54%).  He ranks second on the team with a 56.3% faceoff winning percentage (27-48).

-Ruslan Fedotenko registered the primary assist on Boyle’s third period goal and has now tallied an assist in three of the team’s four games to begin the season, including each of the last two contests.  He is tied for the team lead in assists (three) and is tied for second in points (three) on the season.

-Artem Anisimov notched an assist on McDonagh’s third period goal, and is now tied for third on the team with two assists on the season.

–Dan Girardi was credited with three blocked shots and posted a plus-three rating in a game-high 28:53 of ice time.  He leads the NHL in average ice time (29:21), and leads the team in blocked shots (11).

-Derek Stepan was credited with a team-high five hits and logged 20:35 of ice time, and he is now tied for the team lead with 11 hits on the season.

-Steve Eminger led all skaters with four blocked shots, and was credited with three hits in the contest.  He ranks second on the team with 10 blocked shots.

-Forward Kris Newbury registered two hits while making his season debut following his recall from Connecticut (AHL) on Saturday.

Team Schedule:
-The Blueshirts’ practice schedule for tomorrow, October 19, is 9:45 a.m. PT at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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