DEVILS HENRIK-IZED

     VERSUS    

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 27, 2012 (Game 61, Home Game 30)
Madison Square Garden – New York, New York

Team Notes:

• The Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 2-0, tonight at Madison Square Garden for their 40th win of the season, and are now 11-3-2 in their last 16 games.
• New York improved to 40-15-6 (86 pts) on the season, including a 21-7-2 mark at home.

• The Blueshirts held the Devils to a season-low, 13 shots against in the contest, which marks the fewest shots the Rangers have allowed in a game since they held the Calgary Flames to 11 shots on goal on January 19, 1981 at Madison Square Garden.*courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau
• The Rangers are the third team in the NHL this season to reach the 40 wins mark.
• It is the sixth time in the last seven years (since 2005-06) the Rangers registered 40 wins, marking the first time in franchise history the Blueshirts won 40+ games six times in a seven-season span.  The Rangers are also one of only six NHL teams to have won 40+ games in six or more seasons since 2005-06. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau
• Tonight’s win was the Rangers 100th all-time against the New Jersey Devils’ franchise.  The Blueshirts are now 100-83-27-6 overall against the Devils, including a 55-30-20-2 mark at MSG.
• 12 of the last 16 meetings between the Rangers and Devils have been decided by two goals or less.
• Since 2007-08, the Rangers have posted a record of 19-8-3 against the Devils, including a 10-4-1 mark at home.  Henrik Lundqvist is 19-8-2 with a 1.96 goals against average, .930 save percentage and six shutouts in 29 games over the span.
• The Rangers improved to 12-4-2 against Atlantic Division opponents this season, having out-scored their opponent, 52-36, in divisional play.
• The Blueshirts’ 21-7-2 (44 pts) mark at MSG is their best start at home through 30 games since 1995-96 (19-5-6, 44 pts).
• New York increased their lead over second-place Boston to nine points in the Eastern Conference, and opened up a nine-point gap over Pittsburgh for the Atlantic Division lead.  The Rangers now rank second in the league overall, just one point shy of Vancouver with two-games in hand.
• The Rangers out-hit the Devils, 37-24, with four players registering five or more hits in the contest (Callahan – 6, Boyle – 6, Dubinsky – 5, Rupp – 5).  New York was also credited with 18 blocked shots in the game.

Player Notes:                                                                        

• Henrik Lundqvist won his 30th game of the season, stopping all 13 shots faced to post his league-leading, eighth shutout of the season, and 43rd of his career.  He became the fourth goalie in NHL history to post 30+ wins in seven or more consecutive seasons, joining Tony Esposito (7 from 1969-70 to 1975-76), Patrick Roy (8 from 1995-96 to 2002-03) and Martin Brodeur (12 from 1995-96 to 2007-08).  He also increased his own NHL record of most 30+ win seasons to begin his career.
• Lundqvist improved to 30-12-4 overall, including a 16-6-2 mark at home this season.  He is now 10-2-0 with a 1.24 goals against average, .952 save percentage and four shutouts in his last 12 games.  He has posted five shutouts in his last 14 games, has allowed one goal or less in 13 of his last 26 games, and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 34 games this season.
• Henrik Lundqvist has faced-off against Martin Brodeur in 33 career regular season games, posting a record of 22-6-5 with a 1.72 GAA, .936 SV% and five shutouts over the span.
• Carl Hagelin registered his second straight multi-point performance, tallying the game’s opening goal at 16:59 of the first period and adding the primary assist on Callahan’s empty net goal with 1:06 remaining in regulation, to capture first star honors.  He has now recorded 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the last 18 games, with six points (three goals, three assists) in the last six contests and four points (two goals, two assists) in the last two.  The Rangers improved to 5-0-1 in games when Hagelin records two or more points.  He also posted a plus-two rating in the contest, and ranks second among NHL rookies with a plus-18 rating on the season.
• Ryan Callahan tallied the primary assist on Hagelin’s game-winning goal, added an empty net goal at 18:54 of the third, tied for the game-high with six hits and posted a plus-two rating.  He has now recorded 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in the last 10 games, and has registered 16 hits in the last three games.
• Dan Girardi recorded an assist on Hagelin’s game-winning goal, was credited with a game-high, three blocked shots, registered three hits and a plus-two rating in 22:38 of ice time.  Entering tonight’s contest, he ranked sixth in the NHL in blocked shots and 21st in hits.
• Brad Richards tallied an assist and posted a plus-two rating in 19:20 of ice time.  He has now recorded eight points (two goals, six assists) in the last 10 games, including two assists in the last two contests.

Post-Game Quotes:                                                                                

–        John Tortorella on being responsible in your own end…

“Everybody needs to do it. Haggy (Carl Hagelin) blocked a shot.  Rupper (Mike Rupp) blocks some shots. It’s all part of what we have to do.  I thought both teams worked hard there. There just wasn’t much room.  You have to find a way to bang one in and get an open netter.”

–        Henrik Lundqvist on winning 30 games in seven straight seasons…

“I remember my first year it was a big deal to reach thirty wins, and now it’s the seventh straight year to reach it, obviously it means a lot to me.  It means that things have been going well but it also means that I play for a club that’s given me the opportunity to play a lot.  I have a pretty good team in front of me as well.  But I’m happy that I reached it again, and you always want to improve from each year.  You want to get better; so far this year it’s been a good ride.”

–        Brad Richards on Henrik Lundqvist…

“We are used to that. That’s what he does.  You can tell that in the third period, when they get one or two chances, Hank is going to stand tall.  We did a great job defending for the most part tonight, but they’re still going to get that good chance, and he’s there to save it.”

–        Carl Hagelin on his line…

“It’s been good, I think our line has been good the last five or six games.  We’ve been playing consistently now with each other.  It makes it easier.  We know where we‘re going to be, and Richie [Richards] has been on me a lot about things I need to work on and things I need to do.  It’s important for me to have a veteran like him telling me and leading the way.”

Team Schedule:

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