“LOOK OUT BELOW” – AVALANCHE COMING 

NY RANGERS vs. COLORADO AVALANCHE
Saturday, Mar. 17, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Rangers: 44-19-7 (95 pts.)
Avalanche: 38-30-5 (81 pts.)

* All information through NHL games on Mar. 15

TONIGHT’S GAME:

• The Rangers will face-off against the Colorado Avalanche at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG 2; Radio: Bloomberg Radio), in the fourth game of their seven-game homestand. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 44-19-7 (95 pts.). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2, on Thursday at Madison Square Garden to end their six-game home winning streak, and are now 2-1-0 on their current seven-game homestand. The Avalanche enter the contest with a 38-30-5 (81 pts.) record to rank eighth in the Western Conference, and have won five of their last seven games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the New Jersey Devils on Monday, Mar. 19, at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m.), in an Atlantic Division match-up.

RANGERS vs. AVALANCHE:

• All-Time: 34-30-7-4 overall (20-11-4-2 at home; 14-19-3-2 on the road)
• 2011-12: Tonight is the first and only meeting this season.
• Last Season: New York was 0-2-0 overall (0-1-0 at home; 0-1-0 on the road). Derek Stepan led the Rangers in scoring with two points (one goal, one assist) in two games. Henrik Lundqvist was 0-2-0 with a 3.97 GAA and .880 Sv%, while Martin Biron was 0-0-0 with a 4.36 GAA and .800 Sv%.
• The Rangers’ last win against the Avalanche was on Jan. 31, 2010 (3-1); The Blueshirts’ last win against the Avalanche at Madison Square Garden was on Feb. 28, 2009 (6-1)
• New York is tied for fifth with a 24-8-2 (50 pts.) record at home; Colorado ranks 11th with a 17-15-4 (38 pts.) mark on the road
• The Rangers are 2-1-0 vs. the Northwest Division; the Avalanche are 3-2-1 vs. the Atlantic Division
• New York lists no former Avalanche on their roster
• Colorado lists no former Rangers on their roster

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. AVALANCHE:

• Henrik Lundqvist — 4 GP, 1-2-1, 3.13 GAA
• Martin Biron — 10 GP, 5-4-0-0, 2.84 GAA
• Marian Gaborik — 40 GP, 19-16-35
• Brad Richards — 21 GP, 4-9-13
• Marc Staal — 5 GP, 1-3-4

SPECIAL TEAMS:

The Rangers penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in six of the last eight games (24-26, 92.3%), and are 29-32 (90.6%) in the last 10 contests. The Rangers are tied for sixth in the NHL with seven shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 20-1-4 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 29-11-3 when not allowing a power play goal.

• Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in one power play attempt (2:00) on Thursday vs. Pittsburgh. New York is tied for 28th overall (34-234, 14.5%) and ranks 22nd at home (19-123, 15.4%). The Rangers are 3-15 (11:31) in five-on-three situations (last – 3/13 vs. CAR), and 2-9 (12:08) when four-on-three (last – 3/11 vs. 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 Penguins scoreless in four shorthanded situations (6:00) on Thursday at MSG. New York ranks fifth overall (196-226, 86.7%) and sixth at home (88-103, 85.4%). 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 (2:00) on Thursday vs. Pittsburgh. The Rangers are plus-six in 76 four-on-four situations (135:49), 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 (3): 2/9 vs. TBL (Lecavalier); 2/25 vs. BUF (Stafford); 3/2 at TBL (Malone).

HOMESTAND NOTES:

• New York is 2-1-0 on their current seven-game homestand
• Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 2.77 GAA; Martin Biron is 1-1-0 with a 3.50 GAA
• Brad Richards leads the team in scoring with four goals and eight points
• Marian Gaborik (three goals, four assists) and Richards are tied for the team-high with four assists apiece
• Carl Hagelin has tallied two goals and three assists, and leads the team with a plus-four rating
• The seven-game homestand is tied as the longest in franchise history, and is their longest since 2001-02
• The Blueshirts’ previous seven-game homestands were in 1969-70 (4-0-3-0), 1972-73 (4-3-0-0), 1977-78 (3-3-1-0), and 2001-02 (3-2-1-1)
• The Rangers are one of five teams with a homestand of seven or more games on their 2011-12 regular season schedule (Winnipeg – 8, Colorado – 8, Tampa Bay – 7, Vancouver – 7).

HOME SWEET HOME:

• The Blueshirts’ 24-8-2 (50 pts.) mark at MSG is their best record at home through 34 games since 1993-94 (23-6-5, 51 pts.).

NO MORE THAN FOUR:

• The Rangers established a new NHL record by not allowing five goals in a single game in 69 games to begin the season. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

CALDER RACE:

• First-year forward Carl Hagelin continues to climb up the NHL rookie scoring charts despite only playing in 52 games this season. He currently ranks fifth in the league in rookie scoring with 35 points, fourth with 21 assists and is tied for sixth with 14 goals. He also leads all NHL rookies and is tied for eighth overall with a plus-23 rating, is tied for second among first-year players with two shorthanded goals/points, and ranks third among rookies who have played at least 50 games with a .67 points per game average. Since his NHL debut on November 25, Hagelin ranks second among NHL rookies in points, goals and shots on goal (109), and is tied for second in assists.

PLACE IN HISTORY:

• The Rangers’ .679 win% is the team’s best record through 70 games in 39 years, when the 1972-73 Blueshirts began the season with a 44-19-7 record (.679 win%), and is tied as the third 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.

MEASURING UP:

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

• 2nd in points (95)
• 2nd in win% (.679)
• T-2nd in wins (44)
• T-1st in regulation/overtime wins (41)
• T-1st in fewest regulation losses (19)
• 3rd in fewest goals against (150)
• 3rd in GAA (2.14)
• 1st in hits (2,081)
• 4th in blocked shots (1,145)
• 4th in +/- rating (plus-37)
• 6th 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 spot 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 46 of their last 62 games (41-16-5), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark
• New York is 17-2-3 when leading after the first period and 27-0-3 when leading after the second
• The Rangers rank third in the league with a .263 win% when trailing after two periods (5-13-1); The Blueshirts are tied for ninth in the NHL with five third period comeback wins, and have trailed entering the third in only 19 games this season (second fewest in the NHL)
• New York leads the NHL with a .727 win% when out-shooting their opponent (24-8-1)
• The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 31-3-3 mark (.838 win%) in those contests; Their 31 wins are tied for second in the NHL

THE HOT LIST:

• Brad Richards — five-game point streak (five goals, five assists over the span); 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in the last 19 games; 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in the last 11 games
• Marian Gaborik — four-game assist/point streak (three goals, five assists over the span); 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in the last 28 games; 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in the last nine games
• Carl Hagelin — 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in the last 15 games; 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in the last 11 games
• Derek Stepan — six points (two goals, four assists) in the last nine games
• Anton Stralman — four assists in his last seven games

INJURIES:

• Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) — 46
• Michael Del Zotto (injured, 3/8) — 4
• Ryan Callahan (injured, 3/9) — 3
• Henrik Lundqvist (flu, 3/13) — 2

Total Man-Games Lost: 203