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BEANTOWN FOR VALENTINES DAY

New York RangersNEW YORK RANGERS at BOSTON BRUINS
Tuesday, Feb. 14, 7:00 p.m.
TD Garden — Boston, MA
Rangers: 36-13-5 (77 pts)
Bruins: 34-17-2 (70 pts)

* All information through NHL games on Feb. 12

TONIGHT’S GAME

The Rangers will face-off against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG 2; Radio: 970 The Apple), in their third game in four days. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 36-13-5 (77 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Washington Capitals, 3-2, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden for their seventh win in nine games, and are now 19-5-1 in their last 25 contests. New York has posted a record of 33-10-3 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Bruins enter the contest with a 34-17-2 (70 pts) record to rank second in the Eastern Conference, and have lost three of their last five games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, Feb. 16, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in an Original Six match-up.

RANGERS vs. BRUINS:

  • All-Time: 245-281-97-2 overall (141-118-55-0 at home; 104-163-42-2 on the road)
  • 2011-12: Tonight is the second of four meetings this season, and the second and final at TD Garden. New York is 1-0-0 (0-0-0 at home; 1-0-0 on the road) following a 3-2 overtime win on Jan. 21 at TD Garden. Marian Gaborik notched two goals, including the game-winner with 0:04 remaining in overtime, and Ryan Callahan tallied one goal and one assist in the contest. Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves in the win.
  • Last Season: New York was 3-1-0 overall (1-1-0 at home; 2-0-0 on the road). Three of their four meetings were decided by one goal. The Rangers penalty kill was 10-11 (90.9%) in the series. New York out-scored Boston, 4-1, in the third period. Derek Stepan (two goals, two assists) and Michael Sauer (one goal, three assists) tied for the team-high with four points in the series. Henrik Lundqvist was 3-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA, .929 Sv% and one shutout in four contests.
  • The Rangers enter the contest with a three-game winning streak against the Bruins and have won seven of their last nine meetings, including four of the last five at Boston
  • Henrik Lundqvist has started in 21 consecutive games against Boston, dating back to Jan. 13, 2007
  • New York ranks second with an 18-7-3 (39 pts) record on the road; Boston is tied for sixth with an 18-9-2 (38 pts) mark at home
  • The Rangers are 6-5-1 vs. the Northeast Division; the Bruins are 8-2-1 vs. the Atlantic Division
  • New York lists no former Bruins on their roster
  • Boston lists one former Ranger on their roster: Marc Savard (1997-98 – 1998-99)

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. BRUINS:

  • Henrik Lundqvist — 24 GP, 17-5-2, 1.51 GAA, 5 SO
  • Martin Biron — 31 GP, 12-12-2-1, 2.66 GAA, 1 SO
  • Brad Richards — 31 GP, 7-20-27
  • Ruslan Fedotenko — 38 GP, 8-10-18
  • Derek Stepan — 5 GP, 2-2-4
  • Michael Del Zotto — 7 GP, 2-1-3

SPECIAL TEAMS:

  • The Blueshirts penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in 16 of the last 21 games (53-58, 91.4% over the span), and is 78-87 (89.7%) with six shorthanded goals in the last 30 contests. The Rangers are tied for third in the NHL with seven shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 18-1-2 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 26-6-2 when not allowing a power play goal.
  • Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in two power play attempts (4:00) on Sunday vs. Washington. New York is tied for 25th overall (27-188, 14.4%) and ranks 27th on the road (11-89, 12.4%). The Rangers are 2-12 (8:51) in five-on-three situations (last – 12/23 vs. PHI), and 1-6 (8:52) when four-on-three (last – 2/1 at BUF). 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 Capitals scoreless in two power play attempts (4:00) and tallied a shorthanded goal on Sunday vs. Washington. New York ranks fifth overall (156-179, 87.2%) and fifth on the road (89-101, 88.1%). The Rangers are 6-7 (4:07) in three-on-five situations (last – 2/1 at BUF), and 1-2 (1:39) when three-on-four (last – 2/1 at BUF). 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 skate in a four-on-four situation on Sunday vs. Washington. The Rangers are plus-five in 54 four-on-four situations (101:06), and even in one three-on-three situation (0:01). Four-on-four goals for (6): 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). Four-on-four goals allowed (1): 2/9 vs. TBL (Lecavalier).

ORIGINAL SIX SINCE 2005-06

  • New York has posted a record of 49-29-12 against Original Six teams since 2005-06, including an 18-5-2 mark vs. Boston over the span. The Rangers’ .611 win% over the span ranks third, trailing Detroit (.681, 44-19-6) and Montreal (.614, 75-45-12), and ahead of Boston (.519, 59-54-20), Toronto (.500, 56-56-18) and Chicago (.493, 29-30-11).

CLOSE CALL

  • 15 of the last 18 meetings between the Rangers and Bruins have been decided by one goal, including six games that required extra time and five that went to the shootout, dating back to Mar. 24, 2007. The other three games during the stretch were decided by two goals. New York is 9-4-2 in one- goal games against Boston over the span.

ROAD WARRIORS

  • The Rangers have won seven of their last nine road games (7-1-1 over the span), and are 13-3-1 in their last 17 games away from MSG.

PLACE IN HISTORY

  • The Rangers’ .713 win% through 54 games is the team’s best start in 39 years, when the 1972-73 Blueshirts began the season with a 37-13-4 record (.722 win%), and is tied as the second best start in franchise history. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

BENCH BOSS

  • Head Coach John Tortorella registered his 130th win as Rangers’ head coach with a 3-2 win on Sunday vs. Washington, and is now one win shy of Herb Brooks for sixth on the Rangers’ all-time coaching wins list. His .584 win% currently ranks second on the Rangers’ all-time coaching win% list.

MEASURING UP

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

  • 2nd in points (77)
  • 1st in win% (.713)
  • 2nd in wins (36)
  • 1st in regulation/overtime wins (33)
  • 1st in fewest regulation losses (13)
  • 2nd in fewest goals against (106)
  • 2nd in GAA (1.96)
  • 1st in hits (1,619)
  • 4th in blocked shots (907)
  • T-2nd in +/- rating (plus-40)
  • 3rd in goal differential (plus-43)

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 36 of their last 46 games (33-10-3), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark
  • New York is 12-1-2 when leading after the first period and 22-0-2 when leading after the second
  • The Rangers are tied for second in the league with a .286 win% when trailing after two periods (4-9-1), and their four third period comeback victories are tied for eighth in the NHL; New York has trailed entering the third period in 14 games this season, which is the fewest in the league
  • New York leads the NHL with a .792 win% when out-shooting their opponent (19-5-0)
  • The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 26-1-2 mark (.897 win%) in those contests; Their 26 wins are tied for second in the NHL

THE HOT LIST:

  • Henrik Lundqvist is 6-1-0 with a 1.26 GAA, .954 Sv% and two shutouts in his last seven games
  • Lundqvist has allowed one goal or less in 11 of his last 21 games, and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 29 games this season
  • Martin Biron has held opponents to two or fewer goals in eight of his 13 starts this season
  • Ryan Callahan enters the contest with a three-game goal streak (five goals over the span), and has tallied 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in the last 11 games
  • Marian Gaborik has tallied 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in the last 12 games
  • Brad Richards enters the contest with a three-game point streak (one goal, four assists over the span), and has tallied six points (one goal, five assists) in the last five games
  • Derek Stepan has tallied six points (one goal, five assists) in the last five games
  • Michael Del Zotto has tallied six points (two goals, four assists) in the last eight games
  • Brian Boyle has tallied five points (two goals, three assists) in the last eight games
  • Artem Anisimov has tallied five points (two goals, three assists) in the last five games
  • Carl Hagelin has tallied eight points (one goal, seven assists) in the last 11 games
  • Ryan McDonagh has registered 10 blocked shots in the last two games

MILESTONES APPROACHING:

  • Artem Anisimov: 1 point from 100 NHL career
  • Ryan Callahan: 2 goals from 100 NHL career
  • Steve Eminger: 5 points from 100 NHL career

INJURIES:

  • Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) — 30
  • Ruslan Fedotenko (injured, 2/9) — 2

Total Man-Games Lost: 168

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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