FISH STICKS IT RANGERS

     VERSUS    

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 24, 2012 (Game 59, Away Game 31)
Nassau Coliseum — Uniondale, NY

                                                  1st   2nd   3rd   OT(SO)   Final
New York Rangers                 1      2        0       0              3
New York Islanders              2      1         0       0(1)         4

Team Notes:

• The Rangers were defeated by the New York Islanders, 4-3, in the shootout tonight at Nassau Coliseum, and have now registered at least one point in 11 of their last 14 games (9-3-2).
• New York has posted a record of 38-15-6 (82 pts) on the season, including a 19-8-4 mark on the road.
• The Rangers have registered a point in eight of their last 10 games against the Islanders, posting a record of 7-2-1 over the span.
• The Rangers have registered at least a point in 10 of their last 12 road games (8-2-2 over the span), and are 14-4-2 in their last 20 games away from MSG.
• New York currently holds a seven-point lead over Boston for first place in the Eastern Conference standings, and own an eight-point lead over New Jersey for first in the Atlantic Division.  The Rangers are four-points shy of Vancouver for first in the league overall.
• The Blueshirts tallied two power play goals in five attempts (4:49), and have now notched seven power play goals in the last eight games (7-30, 23.3%).
• The Rangers out-hit the Islanders, 37-24, including four players who were credited with four or more hits.  17 of 18 Rangers’ skaters registered at least one hit in the contest.

Player Notes:

Marian Gaborik notched one goal, added a power play assist and converted his shootout attempt to earn second star honors. He has tallied 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in the last 17 games, and is now one game shy of 700 career NHL appearances.

Martin Biron stopped 24 of 27 shots through regulation and overtime, and turned aside two of four shootout attempts.  He is now 10-3-2 overall, including a 5-2-2 mark on the road.

Marc Staal tallied the Rangers’ first goal of the game with a power play goal at 12:47 of the first period, and logged 21:39 of ice time.  He has now registered three points (two goals, one assist) in the last six games.

Derek Stepan notched a power play goal at 16:40 of the second period to tie the game at three goals apiece.  He also registered two hits and logged 21:01 of ice time in the contest.  Stepan has now recorded eight points (three goals, five assists) in the last 10 games, including two goals in the last three games.

Ryan Callahan tallied a power play assist and tied for the team-high with five hits in 20:02 of ice time.  He has now recorded eight points (six goals, two assists) in the last eight games.

Anton Stralman recorded the primary assist on Staal’s power play goal and registered three shots on goal in the contest.  He has now tallied four assists in the last eight games.

John Mitchell tallied a power play assist and logged 10:52 of ice time while skating in his 200th career NHL contest.  He has now recorded two assists in the last three games.

Artem Anisimov registered an assist and was credited with two blocked shots in 15:56 of ice time.  He has now tallied eight points (four goals, four assists) in the last 10 games.

Stu Bickel recorded an assist and was credited with four hits in the contest.

Ryan McDonagh was credited with four hits and tied for the game-high with three blocked shots in 29:14 of ice time.

Brandon Dubinsky tied for the team-high with five hits and logged 17:51 of ice time.

Dan Girardi registered three shots on goal and logged a game-high, 30:04 of ice time.  It is the ninth game this season, and 13th time in his career, Girardi has logged 30:00+ of ice time.

Team Schedule:

–       The Rangers will return to action when they 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.  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.