RANGERS ANNIHILATE PANTHERS 

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES

December 11, 2011 (Game 27, Home Game 12)

Madison Square Garden – New York, New York 

Team Notes:

–        The Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers, 6-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden, to sweep their weekend back-to-back set.  The Blueshirts out-scored their opponents, 10-2, during the weekend set.

–        New York improved to 17-6-4 (38 pts) on the season, including an 8-2-2 record at home.

–        Their six goals tied the Rangers season-high for most goals in a game, while their four goals in the second period tied the team mark for most goals in a single period.  New York has tallied four goals in a period five times this season, including three times in the second period.

–        The Rangers’ six regulation losses are the fewest in the league.

–        New York has registered a point in 16 of their last 19 games (14-3-2), and has out-scored their opponent, 67-42, during the stretch.

–        The Rangers have won six of their last nine games against the Panthers, having out-scored Florida 24-13 over the span.

–        The Blueshirts opened the game’s scoring with two power play goals in the first period, and finished the contest 2-3 (5:03) with the man advantage.  New York is now 10-37 (27.0%) on the power play in their last nine games, and have notched a power play goal in eight straight home games (10-40, 25.0% over the span).

–        The Blueshirts’ 38 points through 27 games (17-6-4) is their best start to the season since the 1993-94 Stanley Cup Championship team posted 40 points in 27 games (19-6-2).

–        The Rangers improved to 3-0-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season, including a 3-0-0 mark when the game is played at Madison Square Garden.  Since, 2009-10, New York is 24-8-3 in the second game of back-to-backs, with a 12-3-1 mark at MSG over the span.

Player Notes:

–        Derek Stepan notched three points, including two goals and one assist, tied for the game-high with four shots on goal and posted a plus-three rating to capture first star honors.  He has now tallied 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in the last 19 contests, including eight points (three goals, five assists) in the last six.

–        Henrik Lundqvist made 20 saves to improve to 12-5-4 overall, including a 6-2-2 mark at home.  He is now 10-2-1 with a 1.91 goals against average, .934 save percentage and one shutout in his last 13 games.

–        Artem Anisimov tallied the game-winning, power play goal, added an assist and posted a plus-two rating in the contest.  He has tallied seven points (four goals, three assists) in the last six games, and is now nine points shy of 100 career NHL points.

–        Michael Del Zotto recorded an assist, tied for the team-high with four hits and three blocked shots, tied for the game-high with four shots on goal and posted a career-high, plus-four rating.  Del Zotto extended his assist streak to four games (five assists over the span), and has tallied eight assists in the last eight games.  He is now tied for ninth in the NHL, and ranks third among league defensemen, with a plus-15 rating.

–        Marian Gaborik posted his sixth multi-point effort of the season with a goal and an assist, and posted a plus-two rating in the contest.  He has tallied eight points (five goals, three assists) in the last seven games, and is now tied for eighth in the NHL with 15 goals on the season.  Gaborik is also tied for the team lead in scoring with 25 points.

–        Steve Eminger notched a goal and posted a season-high, plus-four rating in 19:16 of ice time to earn third star honors.  He has now registered three points (one goal, two assists) in the last two games.

–        Brad Richards opened the game’s scoring with a power play goal at 11:40 of the first period, and tied for the game-high with four shots on goal in 15:35 of ice time.  He has now tallied 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in the last 19 games, including 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in the last nine.

–        Anton Stralman registered his first point as a Ranger with a power play assist on the game-winner, and was credited with three blocked shots in 15:49 of ice time.

–        John Mitchell and Brian Boyle each tallied an assist on Eminger’s goal at 10:43 of the second period.  Mitchell recorded the primary assist, and has now registered five points (one goal, four assists) in nine games with the Rangers following his recall from Connecticut (AHL) on Nov. 24.  Boyle also tied for the game-high with four hits, and the Rangers improved to 8-0-0 when he registers a point.

–        Ryan Callahan recorded the lone assist on Richards’ power play goal at 11:40 of the first period, and tied for the game-high with four hits in the contest.  He extended his point streak to three games (two goals, one assist over the span), and has tallied 10 points (four goals, six assists) in the last nine games.

–        Erik Christensen tallied the primary assist on Anisimov’s power play, game-winning goal, and won 5-6 faceoffs (83%) while making his return to the lineup after not skating in the last eight games.

Post-Game Quotes:

       –        John Tortorella on tonight’s game…

“The way we tried to approach the game is that you don’t do too much thinking. It’s not a lot of information and leading. It’s really just trying to play with energy. That’s the biggest point we try to make and try to play simple. We ended up getting some fortunate rebounds and scored some goals. I thought our penalty killing was really good. In a 6-1 game, I thought everyone contributed and just played.”

–        Henrik Lundqvist on the team…

“I think we raised the bar this year. We’re not satisfied with just playing okay and getting a point here and there. So many players in the room now are challenging each other to be better and we have four pretty good lines out there.  It helps to have good players and guys that have been here a couple of years so they know what to expect from the coaching staff and each other. It’s a great feeling and I’m happy to see way we’re playing and the way we push ourselves through the ups and downs.”

–        Brad Richards on the power play…

“We’re scoring and winning. I like playing wherever. It’s been good and we’ve created some opportunities to score. We’ve been opportunistic. I guess that’s the main thing. I think we’ve sustained pressure and been good that way.”

Team Schedule:

–    The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, December 13, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their fourth game in six days.  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.