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BATTLE OF NEW YORK

New York RNY RANGERS at NY ISLANDERS
Friday, Feb. 24, 7:00 p.m.
Nassau Coliseum — Uniondale, NY
Rangers: 38-15-5 (81 pts)
Islanders: 25-27-8 (58 pts)

All information through NHL games on Feb. 22

TONIGHT’S GAME

  • The Rangers will face-off against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), in the first game of a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank third in the league overall, with a record of 38-15-5 (81 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-0, on Tuesday at CONSOL Energy Center, and are now 9-3-1 in their last 13 games. The Blueshirts are 21-7-1 in their last 29 contests, dating back to Dec. 17, and have registered at least one point in 38 of their last 50 games since Oct. 29 (35-12-3) after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Islanders enter the contest with a 25-27-8 (58 pts) record to rank 13th in the Eastern Conference, and have lost three of their last four games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow, Feb. 25, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to close out their back-to-back set.

RANGERS vs. ISLANDERS:

  • All-Time: 115-99-19-5 overall (67-37-11-4 at home; 48-62-8-1 on the road)
  • 2011-12: Tonight is the fifth of six meetings this season, and the third and final on the road. The Rangers are 3-1-0 overall (2-0-0 at home; 1-1-0 on the road), following a 3-0 win on Dec. 26 at Madison Square Garden. Brandon Dubinsky (one goal, three assists) and Ryan Callahan (one goal, three assists) are tied for the team-high in scoring with four points apiece, while Marian Gaborik has notched a team-high, three goals. Henrik Lundqvist is 2-1-0 with a 1.68 GAA, .947 Sv% and one shutout in three games, and Martin Biron is 1-0-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .923 SV% in one game.
  • Last Season: New York was 4-2-0 overall (3-0-0 at home; 1-2-0 on the road). The Rangers averaged 4.5 goals per contest, and converted 9-28 on the power play for a 32.1% success rate in the season series. Marian Gaborik led all skaters with six goals and 10 points in six games, while Brandon Dubinsky tallied a team-high six assists in the season series.
  • The Rangers have won seven of their last nine games against the Islanders, having out-scored the Islanders, 36-24, over the span
  • New York ranks second with a 19-8-3 (41 pts) record on the road; Long Island ranks 28th with a 13-14-5 (31 pts) mark at home
  • The Rangers are 11-4-1 vs. the Atlantic Division; the Islanders are 4-8-2 vs. the Atlantic Division
  • New York lists two former Islanders on their roster: Martin Biron (2009-10); Ruslan Fedotenko (2007-08)
  • Long Island lists two former Rangers on their roster: Mike Mottau (2000-01 – 2001-02); P.A. Parenteau (2009-10)

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. ISLANDERS:

  • Henrik Lundqvist — 40 GP, 23-11-5, 2.17 GAA, 4 SO
  • Martin Biron — 27 GP, 21-4-1, 2.00 GAA, 2 SO
  • Brad Richards — 34 GP, 11-19-30
  • Marian Gaborik — 25 GP, 17-12-29
  • Brandon Dubinsky — 31 GP, 7-19-26
  • Michael Del Zotto — 13 GP, 3-5-8

SPECIAL TEAMS:

  • The Rangers have tallied five power play goals in the last seven games, posting a 20.0% success rate over the span (5-25). The Blueshirts penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in four of the last six games (14-16, 87.5%), and 18 of the last 25 games (61-68, 89.7% over the span). The Rangers are tied for fourth in the NHL with seven shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 19-1-2 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 27-7-2 when not allowing a power play goal.
  • Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in three power play attempts (5:19) on Tuesday at Pittsburgh. New York ranks 27th overall (28-201, 13.9%) and 25th on the road (12-93, 12.9%). The Rangers are 2-13 (10:23) in five-on-three situations (last – 2/19 vs. CBJ), 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 Penguins in two shorthanded situations (2:58) on Tuesday at Pittsburgh. New York ranks fourth overall (163-188, 86.7%) and fifth on the road (90-103, 87.4%). The Rangers are 8-9 (4:34) in three-on-five situations (last – 2/16 vs. CHI), and 2-3 (2:24) when three-on-four (last – 2/16 vs. CHI). Shorthanded goals for (7): 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); 2/12 vs. WSH (Prust).
  • Four-on-Four: New York did not tally/yield a goal in one four-on-four situation (0:41) on Tuesday at Pittsburgh. The Rangers are plus-seven in 60 four-on-four situations (107:33), and even in one three-on-three situation (0:01). Four-on-four goals for (8): 10/18 at VAN (Gaborik); 10/20 at CGY (McDonagh); 10/27 vs. TOR (Girardi); 1/2 vs. FLA (Gaborik); 2/9 vs. TBL (Stepan); 2/9 vs. TBL (Richards); 2/14 at BOS (Anisimov); 2/19 vs. CBJ (Stepan). Four-on-four goals allowed (1): 2/9 vs. TBL (Lecavalier).

BACK-TO-BACKS

  • The Rangers will begin their 10th of 14 scheduled back-to-back sets this season tonight against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. New York has posted a record of 7-0-2 (3-0-0 at home, 4-0-2 on the road) in the first game of the set, and are 7-1-1 (5-0-0 at home, 2-1-1 on the road) in the second game. Since 2009-10, New York is 28-9-3 in the second game of back-to-backs, with a 14-3-1 mark at MSG and 14-6-2 on the road over the span. Henrik Lundqvist has started on consecutive days 57 times in his career, posting a record of 36-14-7 with a 1.82 GAA, .935 Sv% and six shutouts in the second game. The Rangers will conclude their back-to-back set tomorrow against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden.

FAMILIAR FOE

The Rangers are 11-4-1 against Atlantic Division opponents this season, including a nine-game winning streak from Nov. 15 – Jan. 6. New York has out-scored their opponent, 47-32, in divisional play.

ROAD WARRIORS

  • The Blueshirts have won eight of their last 11 road games (8-2-1 over the span), and are 14-4-1 in their last 19 games away from MSG.

PLACE IN HISTORY

  • The Rangers’ .698 win% through 58 games is the team’s best start in 39 years, when the 1972-73 Blueshirts began the season with a 38-15-5 record (.698 win%), and is tied as the second best start in franchise history. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

BENCH BOSS

  • Head Coach John Tortorella registered his 132nd victory as Rangers’ head coach with a 3-2 overtime win on Sunday vs. Columbus to move past Herb Brooks into sole possession of sixth place on the Rangers’ all-time coaching wins list.

MEASURING UP

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

  • 3rd in points (81)
  • 1st in win% (.698)
  • T-2nd in wins (38)
  • 1st in regulation/overtime wins (35)
  • 1st in fewest regulation losses (15)
  • 1st in fewest goals against (114)
  • 2nd in GAA (1.97)
  • 1st in hits (1,733)
  • 4th in blocked shots (970)
  • T-3rd in +/- rating (plus-41)
  • 4th in goal differential (plus-43)

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 38 of their last 50 games (35-12-3), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark
  • New York is 14-1-2 when leading after the first period and 24-0-2 when leading after the second
  • The Rangers rank fourth in the league with a .250 win% when trailing after two periods (4-11-1), and their four third period comeback victories are tied for ninth in the NHL; New York has trailed entering the third period in 16 games this season, which is the fewest in the league
  • New York leads the NHL with a .769 win% when out-shooting their opponent (20-6-0)
  • The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 28-1-2 mark (.903 win%) in those contests; Their 28 wins rank third in the NHL

THE HOT LIST:

  • Henrik Lundqvist is 8-2-0 with a 1.29 GAA, .953 Sv% and three shutouts in his last 10 games
  • Ryan Callahan has tallied seven points (six goals, one assist) in the last seven games
  • Ryan McDonagh has tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the last five games
  • Marian Gaborik has tallied 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in the last 16 games
  • Brad Richards has tallied six points (two goals, four assists) in the last seven games
  • Derek Stepan has tallied seven points (two goals, five assists) in the last nine games
  • Michael Del Zotto has tallied nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the last 12 games, including six assists in the last seven contests
  • Artem Anisimov has tallied seven points (four goals, three assists) in the last nine games
  • Carl Hagelin has tallied 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in the last 15 games

MILESTONES APPROACHING:

  • Ryan Callahan: 1 goal from 100 NHL career
  • Steve Eminger: 4 points from 100 NHL career
  • Marian Gaborik: 2 games from 700 NHL career
  • Ryan McDonagh: 2 games from 100 NHL career
  • John Mitchell: 1 game from 200 NHL career

INJURIES:

  • Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) — 34
  • Ruslan Fedotenko (injured, 2/9) — 6

Total Man-Games Lost: 176

Mitch Beck

Mitch Beck was a standup comedian and radio personality for over 25 years. His passion for hockey started with Team USA in 1980 when they defeated the Soviets at Lake Placid. He has also worked in hockey as a coach and administrator. He also works for USA Hockey as a Coach Developer. Mitch has been reporting on the New York Rangers, and exclusively on the Hartford Wolf Pack since 2005.

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