RANGERS GIVE BRUINS BIG GOOSE EGG FOR VALENTINES

      VERSUS     

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 14, 2012 (Game 55, Away Game 29)
TD Garden — Boston, MA

                                                                 1st   2nd   3rd   OT   Final
New York Rangers                2      0        1       –      3
Boston Bruins                       0      0        0       –     0

Team Notes:

• The Rangers defeated the Boston Bruins, 3-0, tonight at TD Garden to extend their winning streak to four games, and have now won eight of their last 10 games.  The Blueshirts are 20-5-1 in their last 26 games, dating back to Dec. 17.

• New York has posted a record of 37-13-5 (79 pts) on the season, including a 19-7-3 mark on the road.  The Blueshirts opened up a nine-point gap over Boston for first place in the Eastern Conference, and are one point shy of Detroit for first in the league overall.
• The Rangers extended their winning streak against the Bruins to four games, and have now won eight of their last 10 meetings.  New York has won five of their last six games at Boston.
• New York has posted a record of 50-29-12 against Original Six teams since 2005-06, incl: a 19-5-2 mark vs. Boston over the span.
• The Blueshirts have won eight of their last 10 road games (8-1-1 over the span), & are 14-3-1 in their last 18 games away from MSG.
• The Rangers’ .718 win% through 55 games is the team’s best start in 39 years, when the 1972-73 Blueshirts began the season with a 38-13-4 record (.727 win%), and is tied as the second best start in franchise history.
• New York notched a power play goal in their only opportunity, and are now 5-13 (38.5%) with the man advantage in the last four games.  The Rangers improved to 19-1-2 when tallying a power play goal.
• The Blueshirts’ penalty kill held the Bruins scoreless in one shorthanded situation, and are now 7-7 in the last three games.  The Rangers improved to 27-6-2 when not allowing a power play goal.
• The Rangers were credited with 22 blocked shots in the contest, led by Dan Girardi and Brandon Prust who registered three blocked shots apiece.
• Head Coach John Tortorella registered his 131st win with the Rangers to move into a tie with Herb Brooks for sixth on the Rangers’ all-time coaching wins list.  His .586 win% currently ranks second on the Rangers’ all-time coaching win% list.

Player Notes:

• Henrik Lundqvist turned aside all 42 shots faced to post his league-leading, seventh shutout of the season, and improved to 27-11-4 overall with a 14-5-2 mark on the road.  It is the 12th time in his career he has posted 40+ saves in a game, and is now 7-0-5 with a 1.37 goals against average, .968 save percentage and four shutouts in those games.  Lundqvist is now 7-1-0 with a 1.10 goals against average, .960 save percentage & 3 shutouts in his last 8 games.
• Ryan Callahan opened the game’s scoring with a power play goal at 10:09 of the first period to extend his goal streak to four games (six goals over the span), and was credited with three shots and three hits in 18:05 of ice time.  The goal was his 23rd of the season, which ties his career-high for most goals in a season established last season.  Callahan is now one goal shy of 100 career NHL goals.
• Ryan McDonagh notched an unassisted goal at 19:48 of the first period, and logged 26:49 of ice time to earn third star honors.  He has tallied a goal in each of the last two games, and has posted a plus-18 rating in the last 17 games.
• Artem Anisimov registered his 100th career NHL point with a goal, his 10th of the season, and was credited with three hits in 15:37 of ice time.  He has now tallied six points (three goals, three assists) in the last six games.
• Marian Gaborik tallied a power play assist and tied for the team-high with three shots on goal in 17:30 of ice time.  He has now recorded 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in the last 13 games.
• Michael Del Zotto recorded the primary assist on Callahan’s power play goal and was credited with two hits in the contest.  He has tallied seven points (two goals, five assists) in the last nine games, including four assists in the last four games.
• Brandon Dubinsky tallied an assist and was credited with two hits in 16:21 of ice time.  He has now registered 3 assists in the last 2 games.
• Anton Stralman recorded an assist, was credited with two hits and two blocked shots, and logged 15:18 of ice time.  He has now tallied three assists in the last four games.

Team Schedule:

• The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, Feb. 16, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in an Original Six match-up.  The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.