NEW YORK RANGERS at COLORADO AVALANCHE PREVIEW

NEW YORK RANGERS at COLORADO AVALANCHE
Friday, Nov. 19, 9:00 p.m. EST
Pepsi Center • Denver, CO
Rangers: 10-8-1 (21 pts)
Avalanche: 10-7-1 (21 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Nov. 17

TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow, Nov. 19, at the Pepsi Center (9:00 p.m.), in the first game of a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 10-8-1 (21 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having been defeated by the Boston Bruins, 3-2, on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden to end their winning streak at three games. The Avalanche enter the contest with a 10-7-1 (21 pts) record to rank eighth in the Western Conference, and have won three of their last four games. Tomorrow’s contest will begin a three-game stretch vs. Northwest Division opponents for the Rangers, who will face-off against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Xcel Energy Center (8:00 p.m.), before returning home to host the Calgary Flames on Monday, Nov. 22, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.).

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Prior to the game, the Rangers’ morning skate is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. MST at the Pepsi Center.
* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

• TV: MSG Plus
  8:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Ron Duguay
  9:00 p.m. – Rangers at Avalanche
  Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)
• Radio: 970 The Apple
  8:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game with Bob Galerstein
  9:00 p.m. – Rangers at Avalanche
  Broadcasters: Joe Tolleson (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)
  * All times are eastern standard time

RANGERS vs. AVALANCHE:

• All-Time: The Rangers are 34-29-7-4 all-time against the Avalanche franchise: 20-11-4-2 at home and 14-18-3-2 on the road
• 2010-11: This is the second and final meeting between the Rangers and Avalanche this season, and the only meeting at the Pepsi Center. The Rangers own a 0-1-0 record thus far, following a 3-1 loss on Oct. 18 at Madison Square Garden.
• Last Season: New York was 1-0-0 against the Avalanche in 2009-10, including a 1-0-0 mark at Colorado. Marian Gaborik tallied all three Ranger goals to record his first hat trick as a Blueshirt in a 3-1 victory on Jan. 31 at the Pepsi Center.
• The Rangers have won two of their last three games against the Avalanche, out-scoring Colorado, 10-5, over the span
• New York is tied for third in the NHL on the road with a record of 6-2-0 (12 pts) in eight games; Colorado has posted a record of 5-4-0 (10 pts) at home, tying for 15th in the league
• The Rangers have posted a record of 1-1-0 vs. Northwest Division opponents; the Avalanche are 2-2-0 vs. the Atlantic Division
• Henrik Lundqvist stopped 31 of 34 shots (.912%) in the Rangers’ only meeting against the Avalanche this season (L, 1-3), and is now 1-1-1 with a 2.68 goals against average in three career regular season appearances vs. Colorado; Martin Biron owns a record of 5-4-0-0 with a 2.76 goals against average in nine career regular season contests against the Avalanche
• Alex Frolov notched his first goal as a Ranger and rookie Derek Stepan tallied his first career NHL assist in the Rangers’ first meeting against the Avalanche this season
• Marian Gaborik leads the team with 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points in 39 career regular season appearances vs. Colorado; Marc Staal has averaged 1.0 point per game vs. the Avalanche, registering four points (one goal, three assists) in four career regular season contests
• New York lists one former Avalanche on their roster: Chris Drury (1998-99 – 2001-02)
• Colorado lists no former Rangers on their roster

SPECIAL TEAMS:                                                          

• Power Play: The Rangers tallied one goal in five power play opportunities (6:01) on Wednesday vs. Boston. New York is tied for 20th in the NHL with a 15.7% (11-70) success rate, and ranks seventh on the road with a 20.8% (5-24) success rate. The Rangers did not convert on one, five-on-three chance (1:44) on Wednesday vs. the Bruins, and are now 0-4 on five-on-three attempts (4:31). 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 Bruins scoreless in three shorthanded situations (4:44) on Wednesday at MSG, and are now 23-24 (95.8%) over the last seven games. New York ranks 18th in the NHL with a 81.8% (63-77) success rate, and are 10th in the league on the road with a 83.8% (31-37) 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 did not tally/yield a goal in one, four-on-four situation (1:16) on Wednesday vs. Boston, and are now plus-two in 19, four-on-four situations (26:08) 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
Tomorrow’s contest will begin the Rangers’ fifth of 18 back-to-back sets this season. The Blueshirts are currently 2-2-0 in the first game of back-to-backs following a 8-2 win vs. Edmonton on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, and are 1-2-0 when the first game of the set is on the road. New York has posted a record of 4-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season, including a 3-0-0 mark on the road following a 3-2 overtime win at Pittsburgh on Monday. Over the last two seasons, New York is 13-2-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets, including a 8-1-1 mark away from MSG over the span, having posted a record of 9-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 on the road last season.

MILESTONE GAME
Tomorrow’s contest will mark Dan Girardi‘s 300th career NHL appearance, while Michael Del Zotto will be skating in his 100th NHL contest.

TEAM EFFORT
The Rangers have had seven different players credited with at least one game winning goal this season, which is tied for sixth most in the league. New York trails Washington (10), Montreal (nine), Boston (eight), Detroit (eight), and Los Angeles (eight), and are tied with Anaheim, Minnesota, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Vancouver entering tonight’s action.

BLOCK PARTY
The Blueshirts currently lead the NHL with 338 blocked shots on the season, averaging a league-high, 17.8 blocked shots per contest. Dan Girardi ranks first in the NHL with 59 blocked shots, and Ryan Callahan leads all NHL forwards with 30 blocked shots.

A BROADWAY HIT
The Rangers currently rank second in the NHL with 558 hits on the season, and lead the league with an average of 29.4 hits per contest. Ryan Callahan currently leads the NHL with 75 hits.

THE HOT LIST:

• The Rangers’ penalty kill has yielded just one goal in their last seven games, registering a 95.8% success rate (23-24) over the span
• Marian Gaborik has notched five points in the last three games, including four goals during the stretch
• Ryan Callahan has registered 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his last 14 games
• Brandon Dubinsky has tallied 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in the last 14 games
• Derek Stepan has recorded three assists in the last three games
• Ruslan Fedotenko has registered five points (two goals, three assists) in the last four games
• Erik Christensen has registered four points (one goal, three assists) in the last three games
• Dan Girardi has recorded four assists in the last seven games
• Artem Anisimov has registered seven points (three goals, four assists) in the last nine games
• Brian Boyle has tallied four goals in the last seven games
• Matt Gilroy has recorded two assists in the last three games
• 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: 1 game from 100 NHL career
• Dan Girardi: 1 game 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) – 19
• Chris Drury (IR – fractured finger on Oct. 15, 6 weeks) – 16
• Michal Rozsival (shoulder strain, 7-10 days) – 4

Total Man-Games Lost: 58

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:                                                       

• Nov. 11: Acquired forward Chad Kolarik from Columbus in exchange for forward Dane Byers