RANGERS 3-0 WITH HAGELIN AND MITCHELL, KNOCK OFF PENGUINS 4-3 

VERSUS

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES

November 29, 2011 (Game 21, Home Game 9)

Madison Square Garden – New York, New York

Team Notes:

– The Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3, tonight at Madison Square Garden to extend their home winning streak to seven games, and have now won their last three contests overall.

– New York improved to 13-5-3 (29 pts) on the season, including a 7-1-1 record at home.

– The Rangers tied their season-high for goals in a period, tallying all four of their goals in the second.  It is the fourth time this season New York has registered four goals in the second period.  The last time was in a 6-3 win at Washington on Friday.

– The Blueshirts have out-scored their opponents, 26-10, during their current seven-game home winning streak, having held the opposition to one goal or less in four of the seven games.  The Rangers are 7-35 (20.0%) on the power play during the home winning streak, while surrendering just two goals against in 19 shorthanded situations (89.5%).

– The Rangers’ 7-1-1 start through nine games at Madison Square Garden is their best start at home since they posted a record of 7-1-1 through nine home games to begin the 1992-93 season.

– The Blueshirts are 4-13 (30.8%) on the power play during their current three-game winning streak.

– The Rangers have now registered at least one point in eight of their last nine meetings with the Penguins (6-1-2 over the span), including wins in their last three.  New York has out-scored Pittsburgh, 14-8, in their last three meetings.

– The Rangers improved to 8-0-1 when leading after the second period, including a 4-0-1 mark when leading after two at Madison Square Garden.

– The Blueshirts out-shot the Penguins in the contest, 30-27, and remain the only team in the NHL who are undefeated when out-shooting their opponent (7-0-0).  New York has now out-shot their opponent in each of the last three games (95-77 over the span).

– New York was credited with 43 hits and 20 blocked shots in the contest.  The Rangers had 16 of 18 players register at least one hit, with eight players recording three or more hits.  The Blueshirts now rank second in the NHL in hits per contest (26.7) and fourth in the league in blocked shots per contest (16.0).

– The Blueshirts registered a 70% success rate on faceoffs in the game, winning 40 of 57 faceoff attempts.  Brad Richards led all skaters with 13 faceoff wins in 16 opportunities (81%), while Brandon Dubinsky (11-16, 69%) and Brian Boyle (11-15, 73%) each registered 11 faceoff wins.

– The Rangers are now three wins shy of 2,500 wins, having won 2,497 games all-time in franchise history.

Player Notes:

– Marian Gaborik notched the game-winning goal, on the power play, added a power play assist and registered four shots on goal in 22:49 of ice time to earn first star honors.  He has tallied 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in the last 14 games, including four points (two goals, two assists) in the last four.

– Brad Richards registered his second three-point performance of the season with one goal and two power play assists, and won a game-high 13 of 16 faceoffs (73%) in 20:48 of ice time.  He has tallied 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in the last 13 games, and six points (three goals, three assists) in the last three.  Richards has also notched a goal in three straight games.

– Ryan Callahan recorded a power play goal, added an assist and tied for the game-high with six hits in 19:41 of ice time.  He has registered 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in the last 13 games, including nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last seven.

– Carl Hagelin registered an assist, led all skaters with six shots on goal and was credited with three blocked shots in 11:50 of ice time.  He has now tallied a point in three straight games to begin his career, and is the first Ranger rookie to do so since Steven King registered a point in four consecutive games to begin his career in 1992-93.

– Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves to improve to 10-4-3 on the season, including a 5-1-1 mark at Madison Square Garden.  Lundqvist completed the month of November with a record of 8-1-0, along with a 1.88 goals against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout.

– John Mitchell notched his first goal as a Ranger with an even strength tally at 14:09 of the second period.  He has now tallied a point in each of his three games as a Blueshirt following his recall from Connecticut (AHL) on Thursday (one goal, two assists over the span).

– Michael Del Zotto tallied the primary assist on Gaborik’s power play, game-winning goal, was credited with five hits and two blocked shots, and led all skaters with a season-high, 27:41 of ice time.  He has recorded an assist in each of the last two games.

– Brian Boyle registered an assist and four shots, and won 11 of 15 faceoffs (73%) in 15:36 of ice time.  He was also credited with three hits and three blocked shots.  Boyle has tallied two points (one goal, one assist) in the last three games, and has posted a plus or even rating in 11 straight (plus-seven).

– Ruslan Fedotenko recorded the primary assist on Richards’ goal at 15:39 of the second, and has now tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the last three games.

– Brandon Prust tied for the game-high with a season-high, six hits in the contest.  Dan Girardi was credited with four hits and four blocked shots, and now ranks second on the team in hits (57) and first in blocked shots (56).

Post-Game Quotes:

– John Tortorella on John Mitchell…

“He’s bringing it. He’s doing the work along the walls, scores a big goal for us. He and (Carl) Hagelin have stepped right in and added some speed, handled the puck and made plays. Hopefully we continue.”

– Marian Gaborik on playing at Madison Square Garden…

“Home games should be an advantage and I think we took advantage so far this year.  Like I said it’s a long year but hopefully we can keep it up.  The fans are behind us which is great and we feel very confident playing here.”

– Henrik Lundqvist on the team…

“It’s important to have your top guys play strong in big games and Gaby (Marian Gaborik) and (Brad) Richards were really good out there, but I think all four lines played a really good game. We’re building confidence right now and we’re winning in different ways.”

Team Schedule:

– The Blueshirts’ practice schedule for tomorrow, November 30, is 12:00 p.m. at the MSG Training Center.

– The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, December 1, at RBC Center (7:00 p.m.), to begin a two-game Southeast road trip.  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.