RANGERS AND DEVILS AND MSG TONIGHT 

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY
Rangers: 33-12-5 (71 pts)
Devils: 30-19-3 (63 pts)

* All information thru NHL games on Feb. 5

TONIGHT’S GAME

The Rangers will faceoff against the New Jersey Devils at  Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), in their second meeting in a week. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 33-12-5 (71 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden for their fourth win in five games, and are now 16-4-1 in their last 21 games. New York has posted a record of 30-9-3 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Devils enter the contest with a 30-19-3 (63 pts) record to rank sixth in the Eastern Conference, and have won their last four games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to conclude their three-game homestand.

RANGERS vs. DEVILS:

All-Time: 99-82-27-6 overall (54-29-20-2 at home; 45-53-7-4 on the road)

• 2011-12: Tonight is the third of six meetings this season, and the first of three at MSG. New York is 1-0-1 overall (0-0-0 at home; 1-0-1 on the road) following a 4-3 shootout loss on Tuesday at Prudential Center. The Rangers have out-scored the Devils, 7-4, in the series, including a 5-2 advantage in the third period. Marian Gaborik leads the team in scoring with five points (two goals, three assists) and a plus-four rating in two games. Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .968 Sv%, while Martin Biron is 0-0-1 in 2.77 GAA and .897 Sv%.
• Last Season: New York was 4-2-0 overall (2-1-0 at home; 2-1-0 on the road). The Rangers held the Devils to one or fewer goals in four of the six meetings, and out-scored New Jersey, 16-8, in the series. Brandon Dubinsky led the team with four goals and seven points, while Artem Anisimov tallied a team-high, five assists in six games. Henrik Lundqvist was 4-2-0 with a 1.44 GAA, .953 Sv% and one shutout.
• The Rangers are one win shy of 100 all-time against the New Jersey Devils’ franchise
• 10 of their last 14 meetings have been decided by two goals or less
• Martin Biron’s start in net on Jan. 31 at New Jersey ended Henrik Lundqvist’s streak of 32 consecutive starts against the Devils. The last Rangers goalie other than Lundqvist to start against New Jersey was Kevin Weekes on Dec. 17, 2006.
• New York ranks eighth with a 16-5-2 (34 pts) record at home; New Jersey is tied for sixth with a 15-10-1 (31 pts) mark on the road
• The Rangers are 10-2-1 vs. the Atlantic Division; the Devils are 7-5-0 vs. the Atlantic Division
• New York lists one former Devil on their roster: Mike Rupp (2002-03 – 2003-04, 2006-07 – 2008-09)
• New Jersey lists one former Ranger on their roster: Petr Sykora (2005-06)

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. DEVILS:

• Henrik Lundqvist — 37 GP, 23-9-5, 1.82 GAA, 5 SO
• Martin Biron — 31 GP, 8-15-2-3, 3.14 GAA, 2 SO
• Brad Richards — 34 GP, 5-26-31
• Marian Gaborik — 20 GP, 8-12-20
• Dan Girardi — 31 GP, 0-11-11

SPECIAL TEAMS:

• The Blueshirts penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in 14 of the last 17 games (43-46, 93.5% over the span), and is 68-75 (90.7%) with five shorthanded goals in the last 26 contests. The Rangers are tied for fourth in the NHL with six shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 16-1-2 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 24-6-2 when not allowing a power play goal.
• Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in five power play attempts (8:53) on Sunday vs. Philadelphia. New York ranks 27th overall (23-173, 13.3%) and is tied for 15th at home (15-91, 16.5%). The Rangers are 2-12 (8:51) in five-on-three situations (last – 12/23 vs. PHI), and 1-6 (8:52) when four-on-three (last – 2/1 at BUF). Shorthanded goals allowed (3): 12/5 vs. TOR (Steckel); 12/8 vs. TBL (Moore); 12/17 at PHX (Korpikoski).
• Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts surrendered one goal to the Flyers in six power play attempts (9:02) on Sunday at MSG. New York ranks fourth overall (146-167, 87.4%) and fourth at home (61-70, 87.1%). The Rangers are 6-7 (4:07) in three-on-five situations (last – 2/1 at BUF), and 1-2 (1:39) when three-on-four (last – 2/1 at BUF). Shorthanded goals for (6): 10/20 at CGY (Prust); 12/8 vs. TBL (Anisimov); 12/10 at BUF (Hagelin); 12/10 at BUF (Callahan); 12/20 at NJD (Hagelin); 1/6 at PIT (Dubinsky).
• Four-on-Four: New York did not tally/yield a goal in one four-on-four situation (1:07) on Sunday vs. Philadelphia. The Rangers are plus-four in 52 four-on-four situations (96:29), and even in one three-on-three situation (0:01). Four-on-four goals for (4): 10/18 at VAN (Gaborik); 10/20 at CGY (McDonagh); 10/27 vs. TOR (Girardi); 1/2 vs. FLA (Gaborik). Four-on-four goals allowed (0).

SINCE 2007-08

• The Rangers are 18-7-3 overall (9-3-1 at home; 9-4-2 on the road) against the Devils since 2007-08, dating back to a 2-0 win on Oct. 25, 2007. Henrik Lundqvist has registered a 2.07 GAA, .926 Sv% and five shutouts in 27 games over the span.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

• Henrik Lundqvist has faced-off against Martin Brodeur in 31 career regular season games, posting a record of 21-5-5 with a 1.79 GAA, .933 Sv% and four shutouts over the span.

HOME SWEET HOME

• The Rangers have posted a 9-3-0 record in their last 12 home games. The Blueshirts’ 16-5-2 (34 pts) mark at MSG is their best start at home through 23 games since 1995-96 (17-2-4, 38 pts).

FAMILIAR FOE

• The Rangers are 10-2-1 against Atlantic Division opponents this season, including a nine-game winning streak from Nov. 15 – Jan. 6.  New York has out-scored their opponent, 42-27, in divisional play.

PLACE IN HISTORY

• The Rangers’ .710 win% through 50 games is the team’s best start in 40 years, when the 1971-72 Blueshirts began the season with a 32-10-8 record (.720 win%), and is the second best start in franchise history. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

SHUTOUT KING

• Henrik Lundqvist posted a career-high shutout streak of 182:33 from 19:11 of the second period on Jan. 21 at Boston to 12:02 of the second on Feb. 5 vs. Philadelphia. He posted shutouts in consecutive starts for the first time in his career, on Jan. 24 vs. Winnipeg (22 saves) and Feb. 1 at Buffalo (34 saves, 4-5 in the shootout), and passed Dave Kerr for second on the Rangers’ all-time shutouts list with 41 career shutouts. Lundqvist ranks seventh among active goalies in career shutouts, and is tied with Martin Brodeur for most shutouts since 2005-06 (41). *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

MEASURING UP
The Rangers rank among the NHL leaders in several statistical categories…

• 2nd in points (71)
• 1st in win% (.710)
• T-2nd in wins (33)
• 1st in regulation/overtime wins (30)
• 1st in fewest regulation losses (12)
• 1st in fewest goals against (98)
• 2nd in GAA (1.96)
• 2nd in hits (1,456)
• T-4th in blocked shots (835)
• 3rd in +/- rating (plus-38)
• 3rd in goal differential (plus-39)

QUICK HITS:

• This is the latest the Rangers have been in first place of the Eastern Conference standings since the 1995-96 season, when New York held the top position through games played on Mar. 15, 1996 (NYR game #68). * courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau
• New York has registered at least one point in 33 of their last 42 games (30-9-3), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark
• New York is 10-1-2 when leading after the first period and 20-0-2 when leading after the second
• The Rangers rank fourth in the league with a .250 win% when trailing after two periods (3-8-1), and their three third period comeback victories are tied for 10th in the NHL; New York has trailed entering the third period in 12 games this season, which is the fewest in the league
• New York leads the NHL with an .810 win% when out-shooting their opponent (17-4-0)
• The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 24-1-2 mark (.889 win%) in those contests; Their 24 wins are tied for second in the NHL

THE HOT LIST:

• Henrik Lundqvist enters the contest with a four-game winning streak (0.96 GAA, .965 Sv% and two shutouts over the span)
• Lundqvist has allowed one goal or less in 10 of his last 18 games, and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 26 games this season
• Martin Biron has held opponents to two or fewer goals in eight of his 12 starts this season
• Marian Gaborik has tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last eight games
• Michael Del Zotto has tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the last four games
• Brian Boyle has tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in the last four games

MILESTONES APPROACHING:

• Artem Anisimov: 3 points from 100 NHL career
• Steve Eminger: 5 points from 100 NHL career

INJURIES:

• Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) — 26

Total Man-Games Lost: 162

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

• Feb. 2 — Assigned defenseman Jeff Woywitka and forward Wojtek Wolski to Connecticut (AHL) for a conditioning stint
• Feb. 3 — Acquired forward Casey Wellman from Minnesota in exchange for forward Erik Christensen and a conditional seventh round draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft