2,500

       VERSUS         

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
December 10, 2011 (Game 26, Away Game 15)
First Niagara Center – Buffalo, NY

                                                1st   2nd   3rd   OT   Final
New York Rangers               0      2        2       –      4
Buffalo Sabres                      0      1        0       –      1

Team Notes:

–        The Rangers defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1, tonight at First Niagara Center, to record the 2,500th victory in franchise history.  The Blueshirts are the fifth franchise in NHL history to reach the 2,500 win milestone.

–        New York improved to 16-6-4 (36 pts) on the season, including a 9-4-2 record on the road.

–        The Rangers have the fewest regulation losses in the NHL (six).

–        New York has registered a point in 15 of their last 18 games (13-3-2), and have out-scored their opponent, 61-41, during the stretch.

–        Three of the Rangers’ four goals in the contest were tallied on special teams, including two shorthanded goals in the second period and a power play goal in the third.  New York is now 8-34 (23.5%) with the man advantage in their last eight games, and improved to 11-1-2 in games when they tally at least one power play goal.

–        The last time the Rangers tallied two shorthanded goals in a game was Jan. 20, 2009 vs. Anaheim, from Fredrik Sjostrom (3:22 of the 2nd Period) and Blair Betts (19:26 of the 3rd Period).  The last time the Blueshirts notched two shorthanded goals in the same period was during the second period on Mar. 6, 1997 at Los Angeles, from Bill Berg at 6:09 and Niklas Sundstrom at 15:11. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

–        The Rangers have notched three shorthanded goals in the last two games.

–        The Blueshirts’ 36 points through 26 games (16-6-4) is their best start to the season since the team posted a 17-7-2 (36 pts) mark through 26 in 2008-09, and is only two points shy of the 1993-94 Stanley Cup Championship team’s 38 points in 26 games (18-6-2).

–        New York was credited with 20 blocked shots in the contest, with 12 different players recording at least one blocked shot.

Player Notes:

–        Carl Hagelin posted his first career multi-point effort with two goals, including his first career shorthanded goal/point, registered three shots on goal and a career-high, plus-three rating in 13:29 of ice time.  He has now tallied six points (three goals, three assists) in eight career games.

–        Martin Biron made 32 saves to improve to 5-1-0 overall, including a 3-1-0 mark on the road.  He has held opponents to two or fewer goals in four of his six starts this season, and has posted a 1.79 goals against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout on the year.  Biron also registered one assist in the contest, the first point by a Ranger goaltender this season.

–        Ryan Callahan notched the eventual game-winner with an unassisted shorthanded goal at 18:51 of the second period, tied for the game-high with four hits, was credited with two blocked shots and led all forwards with 22:02 of ice time.  The Rochester, New York native has now tallied 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in the last 18 games, including nine points (four goals, five assists) in the last eight.

–        Steve Eminger tied his career-high for most assists in a game with two assists, including one shorthanded assist and one power play assist, tied for the game-high with four hits and posted a plus-two rating in 17:58 of ice time.  He is now six points shy of 100 career NHL points.

–        Marian Gaborik tallied a power play goal at 17:26 of the third period, and has now tallied six points (four goals, two assists) in the last six games.  Entering tonight’s contest, he led the team and was tied for 11th in the NHL in goals (13).

–        Michael Del Zotto recorded two assists, including one on Hagelin’s second period shorthanded goal, tied for the team-high with three blocked shots and posted a plus-two rating in 20:50 of ice time.  He has now tallied seven assists in the last seven games, including in each of the last three games.

–        John Mitchell registered a power play assist and was credited with two hits in a season-high, 14:01 of ice time.  The assist was his first power play point as a Ranger.

–        Dan Girardi tied for the team-high with three blocked shots, was credited with three blocked shots and led all skaters with 29:57 of ice time.  Entering tonight’s contest, Girardi led all NHL skaters in average ice time (27:48), was tied for fifth in the league and led the team in blocked shots (72) and ranked second on the Rangers in hits (70).

–        Ruslan Fedotenko led the Rangers with a season-high, six shots on goal.

–        Ryan McDonagh was ceded with two hits and two blocked shots, and logged 28:09 of ice time in the contest.

Team Schedule:

–        The Rangers return to action tomorrow, December 11, when they Sunday and face-off against the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m.), to conclude their fourth back-to-back set of the season.  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.