RANGERS GO DUCK HUNTING THURSDAY

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. ANAHEIM DUCKS
Thursday, Nov. 3, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden – New York, New York
Rangers: 4-3-3 (11 pts)
Ducks: 5-5-2 (12 pts)

* All information through NHL games on Nov. 1

TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the first of three games in four days. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and 10th in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 4-3-3 (11 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having defeated the San Jose Sharks, 5-2, on Monday at Madison Square Garden, and have now registered at least one point in five of their last seven games (4-2-1). The Ducks enter the contest with a 5-5-2 (12 pts) record to rank 11th in the Western Conference, and have lost six of their last seven games (1-4-2). Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will open a back-to-back home set when they face-off against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, Nov. 5, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in an Original Six match-up. New York will close out their six-game homestand on Sunday, Nov. 6, vs. the Winnipeg Jets (7:00 p.m.).

Tomorrow’s game will allow fans to experience the first phase of the three year, top-to-bottom historic Madison Square Garden Transformation.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

• TV: MSG Network
  6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig
  7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Ducks
  Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)

· Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio and newyorkrangers.com
6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show
7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Ducks
Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. DUCKS:

· All-Time: 9-13-1-1 overall (5-6-1-0 at home; 4-7-0-1 on the road)

· 2011-12: Tonight is the second and final meeting this season, and the only meeting at Madison Square Garden. New York is 0-0-1 thus far, following a 2-1 shootout loss on Oct. 8 at Stockholm, Sweden.

· Last Season: New York was 0-1-0 following a 5-2 loss against the Ducks on Mar. 9 at Anaheim. Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik each notched a goal, and Artem Anisimov, Ryan Callahan and Derek Stepan each tallied an assist. The Rangers were 1-3 (33.3%) on the power play.

· The Rangers have registered at least one point in seven of their last 10 meetings with the Ducks, posting a record of 6-3-1 over the span.

· New York has won each of their last two games vs. Anaheim at Madison Square Garden, on Jan. 20, 2009 (4-2) and Oct. 11, 2009 (3-0).

· New York ranks 28th with a 1-1-1 (3 pts) record at home; Anaheim is tied for 14th with a 2-3-2 (6 pts) mark on the road

· The Rangers have posted a 1-0-2 record vs. Pacific Division opponents; the Ducks are 1-0-0 vs. the Atlantic Division

· Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 2-2-1 record with a 2.57 GAA in five career regular season contests vs. Anaheim; Martin Biron is 8-0-0-1 with a 1.76 GAA and three shutouts in nine career regular season games vs. the Ducks

· Brad Richards leads the Rangers with 11 goals, 11 assists and 22 points in 23 career regular season contests vs. Anaheim; Marian Gaborik has tallied 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 25 games vs. the Ducks

· New York lists two former Ducks on their roster: Erik Christensen (2008-09 – 2009-10); Steve Eminger (2009-10)

· Anaheim lists no former Rangers on their roster

SPECIAL TEAMS:

· Power Play: The Rangers tallied one goal in five power play opportunities (8:36) on Monday vs. San Jose, and are now 6-24 (25.0%) with the man advantage in the last six games. New York ranks 19th overall (6-40, 15.0%) and tied for fifth at home (3-12, 25.0%). The Rangers are 0-2 (1:05) in five-on-three situations (last – 10/22 at EDM), and 0-3 (2:04) when four-on-three (last – 10/27 vs. TOR). Shorthanded goals allowed (0).

· Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts held the Sharks scoreless in three shorthanded situations (6:00) on Monday at Madison Square Garden, and are now 26-29 (89.7%) in the last seven games. New York is tied for sixth overall (42-48, 87.5%) and ranks sixth at home (10-11, 90.9%). The Rangers are 2-2 (0:44) in three-on-five situations (last – 10/15 at NYI), and 0-1 (1:17) when three-on-four (last – 10/7 at LAK). Shorthanded goals for (1): 10/20 at CGY (Prust).

· Four-on-Four: New York did not skate in a four-on-four situation on Monday vs. San Jose. The Rangers are now plus-three in 19 four-on-four situations (32:56), and even in one three-on-three situation (0:01). Four-on-four goals for (3): 10/18 at VAN (Gaborik); 10/20 at CGY (McDonagh); 10/27 vs. TOR (Girardi). Four-on-four goals allowed (0).

BACK-TO-BACKS
The Rangers completed their first of 14 back-to-back sets this season with a 2-1 shootout loss against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 8 at Ericsson Globe Arena. New York has posted a record of 0-0-1 (0-0-0 at home, 0-0-1 on the road) in the first game of the set, and are 0-0-1 (0-0-0 at home, 0-0-1 on the road) in the second game. Since 2009-10, New York is 21-8-3 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including a 9-3-1 mark at MSG and 12-5-2 on the road over the span. The Rangers’ next back-to-back set is Nov. 5-6 vs. Montreal and Winnipeg, both games to be played at Madison Square Garden.

JOINING THE RUSH
New York defensemen have accounted for 20.0% of the team’s scoring, which is tied for seventh in the league. Ranger blueliners have tallied five goals combined through 10 games to begin the season. Ryan McDonagh leads all Blueshirt defensemen and is tied for second among NHL blueliners with three goals.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Rangers finished their season-opening seven-game road trip with a 3-2-2 mark. The trip set a new franchise record for longest stretch away from Madison Square Garden to begin a season, breaking the old record of five games set in 1952-53 and 1953-54. It was only the seventh time in franchise history that the Rangers had a road trip of seven games or longer at any point in the season – 1955-56 (4-4-1-0), 1959-60 (1-5-1-0), 1981-82 (5-1-2-0), 1984-85 (0-6-1-0), 1987-88 (4-2-1-0), and 1997-98 (2-3-2-0) – and the third time they posted a winning record on such a trip (1981-82, 1987-88). The Blueshirts opened their home schedule with a 4-2 loss on Oct. 27 vs. Toronto, their latest home opener since they opened the 1948-49 season on Oct. 27, 1948 (excluding the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season).

O CANADA
New York completed a four-game Western Canada road trip from Oct. 18-24 with a 3-1-0 record. The Rangers began the trip by defeating Vancouver (4-0) and Calgary (3-2, OT), marking the first time the team has won in those two cities in the same season since 1986-87. On Oct. 24, the Blueshirts visited Winnipeg for the first time since they faced the former Winnipeg Jets franchise on Nov. 17, 1995 (3-6). New York came away with a 2-1 victory, marking the first time they won in Winnipeg since Nov. 21, 1992 (5-4).

WORKHORSE
Defenseman Dan Girardi enters the contest ranked second in the NHL in average ice time, logging 27:57 per contest. He has logged 30:00+ of ice time twice this season, including a career-high 33:14 of ice time on Saturday vs. Ottawa.

NEW FACES
New York has seen six new faces in their lineup during the 2011-12 season. The Rangers had three players make their Rangers debut in the team’s season opener on Oct. 7 against the Kings – Tim Erixon (NHL debut), Brad Richards (one assist) and Mike Rupp. In addition, defenseman Jeff Woywitka made his Rangers debut on Oct. 15 at Long Island, while defenseman Brendan Bell made his Blueshirts debut on Oct. 22 at Edmonton. Forward Andre Deveaux made his Rangers debut on Monday vs. San Jose, following his recall on Sunday.

COUNTDOWN TO 2,500 WINS
The Rangers are currently 12 wins shy of 2,500 wins, having won 2,488 games all-time in franchise history.

THE HOT LIST:

· The Rangers are 6-24 (25.0%) with the man advantage in the last six games

· Ryan Callahan has tallied five points (four goals, one assist) in the last four games

· Dan Girardi has recorded five points (one goal, four assists) in the last four games

· Brad Richards has tallied four points (two goals, two assists) in the last two games

· Derek Stepan has registered a point in each of the last two games (one goal, one assist)

· Michael Del Zotto has posted a plus or even rating in each of the team’s 10 games this season

· Brandon Dubinsky has registered five assists in six games vs. Western Conference opponents

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

· Brian Boyle: 1 game from 200th NHL career

· Ryan Callahan: 6 games from 300th NHL career

· Steve Eminger: 9 points from 100th NHL career

· Wojtek Wolski: 2 games from 400th NHL career; 9 goals from 100th NHL career

· John Tortorella: 2 wins from 100th win as Rangers Head Coach

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:

· Brad Richards: 500th career NHL assist (10/20 at CGY)

INJURIES:

• Marc Staal (concussion, IR on 10/5) – 10
• Mike Rupp (knee, 10/24) – 3

Total Man-Games Lost: 22

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

• Oct. 29 – Assigned forward Kris Newbury to Connecticut (AHL)
• Oct. 29 – Assigned defenseman Tim Erixon to Connecticut (AHL)
• Oct. 30 – Recalled forward Andre Deveaux from Connecticut (AHL)
• Nov. 1 – Recalled forward Sean Avery from Connecticut (AHL)