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ON THE ROAD AGAIN TO TOBACCO ROAD

New York RNY RANGERS at CAROLINA HURRICANES
Thursday, Mar. 1, 7:00 p.m.
RBC Center – Raleigh, NC
Rangers: 40-15-6 (86 pts)
Hurricanes: 24-26-13 (61 pts)

* All information through NHL games on Feb. 28

TONIGHT’S GAME:

  • The Rangers will face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), to begin a back-to-back road set against Southeast Division opponents. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank third in the league overall, with a record of 40-15-6 (86 pts.). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the New Jersey Devils, 2-0, on Monday at Madison Square Garden for their 40th win of the season, and are now 11-3-2 in their last 16 games. The Hurricanes enter the contest with a 24-26-13 (61 pts.) record to rank 13th in the Eastern Conference, and have registered a point in six of their last seven games (4-1-2). Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow, Mar. 2, at St. Pete Times Forum (7:30 p.m.), to conclude their back-to-back set.

RANGERS vs. HURRICANES:

  • All-Time: 57-48-7-2 overall (35-17-4-2 at home; 22-31-3-0 on the road)
  • 2011-12: Tonight is the 3rd of four meetings this season, and the second and final at RBC Center. New York is 2-0-0 overall (1-0-0 at home; 1-0-0 on the road) following a 5-3 win on Dec. 1 at Carolina. The Rangers have out-scored the Hurricanes, 10-4, in the series, including a 5-0 advantage in the third period. New York is 2-7 (28.6%) on the power play in two games, while the Blueshirts’ penalty kill has held the Hurricanes scoreless in three shorthanded situations.
  • Last Season:  New York was 2-2-0 overall (1-1-0 at home; 1-1-0 on the road). Three of their four meetings were decided by one goal, including two that required extra time. The Rangers’ power play was 3-14 (21.4%) in the series. Ryan Callahan tied for the team-high with two goals and three points in two games, while Brandon Dubinsky (one goal, two assists) and Ryan McDonagh led the team with two assists apiece. Henrik Lundqvist was 2-2-0 with a 2.92 GAA and .915 SV%.
  • The Rangers have won 4 of their last 5 games w/the Hurricanes
  • New York ranks third with a 19-8-4 (42 pts.) record on the road; Carolina ranks 12th with a 17-12-5 (39 pts.) mark at home
  • The Rangers are 12-2-1 vs. the S.E. Division.; the Hurricanes are 3-11-3 vs. the Atlantic Division
  • New York lists no former Hurricanes on their roster
  • Carolina lists no former Rangers on their roster

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. HURRICANES:

 

  • Henrik Lundqvist — 20 GP, 11-8-1, 2.37 GAA, 1 SO 
  • Martin Biron — 20 GP, 11-4-1-2, 2.56 GAA, 1 SO 
  • Brad Richards — 48 GP, 12-30-42 
  • Marian Gaborik  — 16 GP, 8-8-16 
  • Marc Staal — 16 GP, 2-3-5 

SPECIAL TEAMS:


The Rangers have tallied seven power play goals in the last 10 games, posting a 20.6% success rate over the span (7-34). The Blueshirts penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in 19 of the last 28 games (67-76, 88.2% over the span). The Rangers are tied for fifth in the NHL with seven shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 19-1-3 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 28-7-2 when not allowing a power play goal.

 

  • Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in two power play attempts (4:00) on Monday vs. New Jersey. New York ranks 28th overall (30-210, 14.3%) and 21st on the road (14-98, 14.3%). The Rangers are 2-13 (10:23) in five-on-three situations (last – 2/19 vs. CBJ), and 1-7 (9:28) when four-on-three (last – 2/24 at NYI). Shorthanded goals allowed (3): 12/5 vs. TOR (Steckel); 12/8 vs. TBL (Moore); 12/17 at PHX (Korpikoski).

 

  • Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts held the Devils scoreless in one shorthanded situation (2:00) on Monday at MSG. New York ranks sixth overall (169-196, 86.2%) and sixth on the road (94-108, 87.0%). 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 (2:00) on Monday vs. New Jersey. The Rangers are plus-seven in 65 four-on-four situations (120:19), and even in two three-on-three situations (0:38). Four-on-four goals for (9): 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), 2/25 vs. BUF (Callahan). Four-on-four goals allowed (2): 2/9 vs. TBL (Lecavalier); 2/25 vs. BUF (Stafford).

 

BACK-TO-BACKS

  • The Rangers will begin their 11th of 14 scheduled back-to-back sets this season tomorrow at Carolina. New York has posted a record of 7-0-3 (3-0-0 at home, 4-0-3 on the road) in the first game of the set, and are 8-1-1 (6-0-0 at home, 2-1-1 on the road) in the second game. Since 2009-10, New York is 29-9-3 in the second game of back-to-backs, with a 15-3-1 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 the set on Friday at Tampa Bay.

ROAD WARRIORS

  • 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.

SOUTHEAST FEAST

  • The Rangers have posted a record of 12-2-1 against Southeast Division opponents this season, having out-scored their opponents, 52-28, in those contests.

SIBLING RIVALRY

  • Rangers’ defenseman Marc Staal has faced off against his older brother, Carolina forward Eric Staal, 16 times in his career, amassing an 8-7-1 record with five points (two goals, three assists) and 10 penalty minutes. Eric has registered an 8-5-3 mark with 10 points (five goals, five assists) and eight penalty minutes.

PLACE IN HISTORY

  • The Rangers’ .705 win% is the team’s best record through 61 games in 40 years, when the 1971-72 Blueshirts began the season with a 40-11-10 record (.738 win%), and is the second best mark in franchise history. The Rangers reached the 40-win mark in 61 games, which is tied as the second fastest to 40-wins in franchise history.

RECORD SETTER

  • Henrik Lundqvist posted his 30th win of the season with a 13-save effort in Monday’s 2-0 win vs. New Jersey. Lundqvist 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), and increased his own NHL record of most 30+ win seasons to begin his career.

MEASURING UP

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

  • 3rd in points (86)
  • 1st in win% (.705)
  • T-2nd in wins (40)
  • 1st in regulation/overtime wins (37)
  • 1st in fewest regulation losses (15)
  • 1st in fewest goals against (119)
  • 2nd in GAA (1.95)
  • 1st in hits (1,834)
  • 4th in blocked shots (1,009)
  • 2nd in +/- rating (plus-44)
  • 4th in goal differential (plus-45)

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 41 of their last 53 games (37-12-4), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark 
  • New York is 15-1-2 when leading after the first period and 25-0-2 when leading after the second 
  • The Rangers rank third 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 10th 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 .759 win% when out-shooting their opponent (22-6-1) 
  • The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 29-1-2 mark (.906 win%) in those contests; Their 29 wins rank third in the NHL

 

THE HOT LIST:

 

  • Henrik Lundqvist — 10-2-0 with a 1.24 GAA, .952 Sv% and four SO in his last 12 games 
  • Marian Gaborik — 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in the last 19 games 
  • Ryan Callahan — 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in the last 10 games 
  • Carl Hagelin — six points (three goals, three assists) in the last six games; four points (two goals, two assists) in the last two games 
  • Michael Del Zotto — 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in the last 15 games; seven assists in the last 10 games 
  • Brad Richards — eight points (two goals, six assists) in the last 10 games

 

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

 

  • Steve Eminger — 4 points from 100 NHL career 
  • Ruslan Fedotenko — 3 games to 800 NHL career

 

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:

 

  • Ryan Callahan — 100th career NHL goal (2/25 vs. BUF) 
  • Marian Gaborik — 700th career NHL game (2/25 vs. BUF) 
  • Ryan McDonagh — 100th career NHL game (2/25 vs. BUF)
     

INJURIES:

 

  • Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) — 37

    Total Man-Games Lost: 179

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

 

  • Feb. 25 — Acquired a third round pick in 2013 and defenseman Michael Vernace from Florida in exchange for forward Wojtek Wolski
  • Feb. 27 — Acquired defenseman John Scott from Chicago in exchange for a fifth round pick in 2012

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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