NY RANGERS vs. BOSTON BRUINS PREVIEW

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. BOSTON BRUINS
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
Rangers: 10-7-1 (21 pts)
Bruins: 9-5-1 (19 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Nov. 15 

TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Boston Bruins tomorrow, Nov. 17, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in an Original Six match-up. The Blueshirts currently rank second in the Atlantic Division standings, and fourth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 10-7-1 (21 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, in overtime on Monday at the CONSOL Energy Center to extend their winning streak to three games, including two overtime victories during the stretch. The Bruins enter the contest with a 9-5-1 (19 pts) record to rank sixth in the Eastern Conference, and have lost four of their last six games (2-3-1). The Blueshirts will wear their new heritage jersey, unveiled on Friday to celebrate the franchise’s 85th anniversary, for the first time during tomorrow’s contest. Following tomorrow’s game, the Rangers will face-off against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, Nov. 19, at the Pepsi Center (9:00 p.m.), in the first game of a back-to-back road set against Northwest Division opponents.

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Prior to the game, the Rangers’ morning skate is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the MSG Training Center.
* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

• TV: MSG Network
  6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig
  7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Bruins
  Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)
• Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio
  6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game with Don LaGreca
  7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Bruins
  Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. BRUINS:

• All-Time: The Rangers are 242-280-97-2 all-time against the Bruins: 140-117-55-0 at home and 102-163-42-2 on the road
• 2010-11: This is the second of four meetings between the Rangers and Bruins this season, and the first of two meetings at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers own a 1-0-0 record thus far, following a 3-2 victory on Oct. 23 at TD Garden.
• Last Season: New York was 3-1-0 against Boston in 2009-10, including a 2-0-0 mark at Madison Square Garden. Three of their four meetings were decided by one goal.
• New York ranks 18th in the NHL at home with a record of 4-5-1 (9 pts) in 10 games; Boston has posted a record of 6-1-0 (12 pts) on the road to rank second in the league
• The Rangers have posted a record of 5-0-1 vs. Northeast Division opponents; the Bruins are 3-1-0 vs. the Atlantic Division
• Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and .946 save percentage in one contest vs. Boston this season, and is now 14-4-2 with a 1.42 goals against average and four shutouts in 20 career regular season appearances against the Bruins
• The Rangers have eight different players with one point vs. Boston this season, including Artem Anisimov, Alex Frolov and Marc Staal, who have each tallied one goal in their only meeting against the Bruins; Anisimov’s goal was a power play tally, while Staal notched the game winner
• Erik Christensen has recorded eight assists and 13 points in 15 career regular season contests vs. Boston; Sean Avery has registered nine assists and 12 points in 17 career regular season games vs. the Bruins
• New York lists no former Bruins on their roster
• Boston lists two former Rangers on their roster: Marc Savard (1997-98 – 1998-99); Trent Whitfield (2001-02)

SPECIAL TEAMS:                                                          

• Power Play: The Rangers were not awarded a power play opportunity in Monday’s 3-2 overtime win at Pittsburgh, marking the first time since Jan. 16, 2007 at New Jersey (L, 0-1) the Blueshirts were not given a power play attempt in a game. New York ranks 18th in the NHL with a 15.4% (10-65) success rate, and ranks 26th at home with a 12.2% (5-41) success rate. The Rangers did not convert on one, five-on-three chance (0:39) on Thursday vs. the Sabres, and are now 0-3 on five-on-three attempts (2:47). New York is 0-1 (1:05) with a four-on-three advantage this season. Shorthanded goals allowed (0).
• Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts held the Penguins scoreless in six shorthanded situations (12:00) and tallied one shorthanded goal on Monday at Pittsburgh, and are now 20-21 (95.2%) over the last six games. New York ranks 21st in the NHL with a 81.1% (60-74) success rate, and are 26th in the league at home with a 78.4% (29-37) success rate. The Rangers held the Maple Leafs scoreless in one, three-on-five situation (0:31) on Oct. 30 at Toronto, and are 4-6 on three-on-fives (5:08) this season. The Blueshirts held the Penguins scoreless in one, three-on-four situation on Monday at Pittsburgh, and are now 4-6 (2:41) in those situations this season. Shorthanded goals for (3): 10/9 at BUF (Dubinsky); 11/5 at NJD (Dubinsky); 11/15 at PIT (Staal).
• Four-on-Four: New York tallied one goal in four, four-on-four situations (9:31) in Monday’s 3-2 overtime win at Pittsburgh, and are now plus-two in 18, four-on-four situations (24:52) this season. Four-on-four goals for (3): 10/18 vs. COL (Frolov); 11/11 vs. BUF (Anisimov); 11/15 at PIT (Callahan). Four-on-four goals allowed (1): 10/15 vs. TOR (Kessel).

BACK-TO-BACKS
The Rangers completed their fourth of 18 back-to-back sets with a 3-2 overtime win on Monday at Pittsburgh, improving to 4-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season and 3-0-0 when the second game is on the road. Over the last two seasons, New York is 13-2-2 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including 8-1-1 away from MSG over the span, having posted a record of 9-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 on the road last season.

ORIGINAL SIX SINCE 2005-06
New York has posted a record of 42-20-12 (96 pts) against Original Six opponents since the 2005-06 season, including a 15-4-2 mark vs. Boston over the span. The Rangers’ .649 winning percentage ranks second, trailing Detroit (.721%, 35-12-5) and ahead of Montreal (.623%, 58-33-11), Boston (.519%, 46-42-15), Toronto (.519%, 45-41-18), and Chicago (.438%, 21-28-7).

A NORTHEAST FEAST
The Rangers have posted a record of 5-0-1 (11 pts) in six games vs. Northeast Division opponents this season, having out-scored their opponent, 19-12, in those contests. The Blueshirts are now 16-6-4 (36 pts) vs. the Northeast Division since the start of 2009-10, after posting an 11-6-3 (25 pts) mark against the Northeast Division in 20 games last season.

TEAM EFFORT
The Rangers have had seven different players credited with at least one game winning goal this season, which is tied for fifth most in the league. Washington has nine different players with at least one game winning goal, while Detroit, Los Angeles and Montreal each have eight different players with a game winner. Anaheim, Boston, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Vancouver are tied with New York entering tonight’s action.

BLOCK PARTY
The Blueshirts currently lead the NHL with 326 blocked shots on the season, averaging a league-high, 18.1 blocked shots per contest. Dan Girardi ranks first in the NHL with 57 blocked shots, and Ryan Callahan leads all NHL forwards with 28 blocked shots.

A BROADWAY HIT
The Rangers currently rank second in the NHL with 524 hits on the season, and lead the league with an average of 29.1 hits per contest. Ryan Callahan leads the team and is tied for first in the NHL with 71 hits.

THE HOT LIST:

• The Rangers’ penalty kill has yielded just one goal in their last six games, registering a 95.2% success rate (20-21) over the span
• Henrik Lundqvist is 6-3-0 in his last nine starts, registering a 2.12 goals against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts over the span
• Ryan Callahan has registered 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his last 13 games
• Brandon Dubinsky has tallied 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in the last 13 games
• Ruslan Fedotenko enters the contest with a three-game scoring streak (two goals, three assists over the span)
• Dan Girardi has recorded four assists in the last six games
• Artem Anisimov has registered seven points (three goals, four assists) in the last eight games
• Brian Boyle has tallied four goals in the last six games
• Erik Christensen has registered four points (one goal, three assists) in the last two games
• Matt Gilroy has recorded an assist in each of the last two games (two assists)
• Martin Biron has held opponents to two or fewer goals in each of his last three starts, posting a record of 2-1-0 with a 1.67 goals against average and .932 save percentage during the stretch

YOUTH IS SERVED
Based on opening day rosters, the Rangers have the ninth youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 27 years and 44 days, and the second youngest defensive corp in the league, trailing only Los Angeles with an average age of 25 years and 51 days.

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

• John Tortorella: 1 win from 300 NHL career
• Michael Del Zotto: 2 games from 100 NHL career
• Dan Girardi: 2 games from 300 NHL career

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:

• Artem Anisimov: 100th career NHL game (11/14 vs. EDM)

INJURIES:                                  

• Vinny Prospal (IR on Sept. 24/knee surgery on Oct. 18, 6-8 weeks) – 18
• Chris Drury (IR – fractured finger on Oct. 15, 6 weeks) – 15
• Michal Rozsival (shoulder strain, 7-10 days) – 3
• Derek Boogaard (injured hand) – 1

Total Man-Games Lost: 55

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:                                                       

• None