Rangers Report Blog » Carp

Lightnings at Rangers, and contest do-over, tonight

Carp — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:20:25 +0000

The contest is now open. I strongly suggest you scroll to the previous thread to read all the rules carefully so you don’t disqualify yourself. Only entries in this thread will count. The contest closes when “It’s Go Time!” is posted tonight around 6:30. DO NOT DREAM OF ENTERING TWICE.

The winner, assuming there is one this time, gets two tickets from our generous donor, to the Feb. 19 game against Columbus.

Good luck.

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Pre-game notes courtesy of the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Thursday, Feb. 9, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY
Rangers: 33-13-5 (71 pts)
Lightning: 23-24-5 (51 pts)

All information through NHL games on Feb. 7
TONIGHT’S GAME
The Rangers will face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), to conclude their three-game homestand. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 33-13-5 (71 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, and are now 16-5-1 in their last 22 games. New York has posted a record of 30-10-3 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Lightning enter the contest with a 23-24-5 (51 pts) record to rank 12th in the Eastern Conference, and have lost two of their last three games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, Feb. 11, at Wells Fargo Center (1:00 p.m.), in the first game of a back-to-back weekend set.

RANGERS vs. LIGHTNING:
All-Time: 38-29-5-6 overall (21-13-2-4 at home; 17-16-3-2 on the road)
2011-12: Tonight is the third of four meetings this season, and the second and final at Madison Square Garden. New York is 1-0-1 overall (0-0-1 at home; 1-0-0 on the road) following a 3-2 shootout loss on Dec. 8 at MSG. The Rangers have out-scored the Lightning, 6-4, in two games, including a 3-1 advantage in the third period. The Blueshirts have held the Lightning scoreless in five shorthanded situations, and have tallied one shorthanded goal in the season series. Artem Anisimov leads the Rangers in scoring with two goals and three points, while Brad Richards and Derek Stepan have recorded a team-high, two assists and three points apiece. Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-1 with a 1.92 GAA and .930 Sv% in the series.
Last Season: New York was 0-2-2 overall (0-1-1 at home; 0-1-1 on the road). Each of the four contests were decided by two goals or less, including three that were separated by one goal and two that required extra time. The Blueshirts notched two shorthanded goals in the series, from Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust. Derek Stepan led the Rangers with two goals and three points in the season series, while Boyle tallied a team-high, two assists and three points. Henrik Lundqvist posted a record of 0-2-2 with a 2.97 GAA and .891 Sv% in four games.
The Rangers are 8-3-3 in their last 14 games against the Lightning
Each of their last six meetings were decided by two goals or less, including four that were separated by one goal and three that required extra time
Henrik Lundqvist has started each of the last 26 games against Tampa Bay, dating back to Nov. 10, 2005
New York ranks ninth with a 16-6-2 (34 pts) record at home; Tampa Bay ranks 26th with an 8-16-3 (19 pts) mark on the road
The Rangers are 10-2-1 vs. the Southeast Division; the Lightning are 5-7-0 vs. the Atlantic Division
New York lists three former Lightning on their roster: Steve Eminger (2008-09); Ruslan Fedotenko (2002-03 – 2006-07); Brad Richards (2000-01 – 2007-08)
Tampa Bay lists three former Rangers on their roster: Matt Gilroy (2009-10 – 2010-11); Adam Hall (2006-07); Dominic Moore (2003-04 – 2005-06)

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. LIGHTNING:
Henrik Lundqvist — 26 GP, 14-7-5, 2.09 GAA, 2 SO
Martin Biron — 19 GP, 10-7-2-0, 2.66 GAA
Marian Gaborik — 13 GP, 7-6-13
Ruslan Fedotenko — 22 GP, 8-2-10
Brad Richards — 5 GP, 2-6-8

Marc Staal — 15 GP, 3-4-7
SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Blueshirts penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in 14 of the last 18 games (46-50, 92.0% over the span), and is 71-79 (89.9%) with five shorthanded goals in the last 27 contests. The Rangers are tied for fourth in the NHL with six shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 16-1-2 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 24-6-2 when not allowing a power play goal.
Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in three power play attempts (6:00) on Tuesday vs. New Jersey. New York is tied for 27th overall (23-176, 13.1%) and 17th at home (15-94, 16.0%). 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 surrendered one goal to the Devils in four power play attempts (4:54) on Tuesday at MSG. New York ranks fifth overall (149-171, 87.1%) and seventh at home (64-74, 86.5%). 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 (6): 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).

Four-on-Four: New York did not skate in a four-on-four situation on Tuesday vs. New Jersey. The Rangers are plus-four in 52 four-on-four situations (96:29), and even in one three-on-three situation (0:01). Four-on-four goals for (4): 10/18 at VAN (Gaborik); 10/20 at CGY (McDonagh); 10/27 vs. TOR (Girardi); 1/2 vs. FLA (Gaborik). Four-on-four goals allowed (0).
BACK-TO-BACKS
The Rangers have played eight of 14 scheduled back-to-back sets this season. New York has posted a record of 6-0-2 (3-0-0 at home, 3-0-2 on the road) in the first game of the set, and are 6-1-1 (4-0-0 at home, 2-1-1 on the road) in the second game. Since 2009-10, New York is 27-9-3 in the second game of back-to-backs, with a 13-3-1 mark at MSG and 14-6-2 on the road over the span. Henrik Lundqvist has started on consecutive days 56 times in his career, posting a record of 35-14-7 with a 1.82 GAA, .935 Sv% and six shutouts in the second game. The Rangers’ next back-to-back set is Feb. 11 at Philadelphia and Feb. 12 vs. Washington.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Rangers’ 16-6-2 (34 pts) mark at MSG is their best start at home through 24 games since 1995-96 (18-2-4, 40 pts).

FAMILIAR FORUM
The Rangers’ 4-2 win at Tampa Bay on Dec. 3 marked the first return visit to the St. Pete Times Forum for Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella, and forwards Brad Richards and Ruslan Fedotenko, as members of the same organization since they won the 2004 Stanley Cup Championship as members of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Fedotenko notched the Blueshirts’ first goal of the contest, and Richards registered two points (one goal, one assist) to record his first win in Tampa as a member of an opposing team. In 2003-04, Tortorella guided the Lightning to a franchise record 46 wins and 106 points to win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach. Richards led the league with 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 23 playoff contests to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP that season, and Fedotenko tallied both Lightning goals in their 2-1 Cup-clinching victory over Calgary in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

PLACE IN HISTORY
The Rangers’ .696 win% through 51 games is the team’s best start in 18 years, when the 1993-94 Blueshirts began the season with a 34-13-4 record (.706 win%), and is the fourth best start in franchise history. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

SHUTOUT KING
Henrik Lundqvist posted a career-high shutout streak of 182:33 from 19:11 of the second period on Jan. 21 at Boston to 12:02 of the second on Feb. 5 vs. Philadelphia. He posted shutouts in consecutive starts for the first time in his career, on Jan. 24 vs. Winnipeg (22 saves) and Feb. 1 at Buffalo (34 saves, 4-5 in the shootout), and passed Dave Kerr for second on the Rangers’ all-time shutouts list with 41 career shutouts. Lundqvist ranks seventh among active goalies in career shutouts, and is one of only two NHL goalies with 40 or more shutouts since 2005-06 (Martin Brodeur – 42). *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

MEASURING UP
The Rangers rank among the NHL leaders in several statistical categories…
T-2nd in points (71)
1st in win% (.696)
T-2nd in wins (33)
T-1st in regulation/overtime wins (30)
1st in fewest regulation losses (13)
1st in fewest goals against (99)
2nd in GAA (1.94)
1st in hits (1,508)
5th in blocked shots (850)
T-3rd in +/- rating (plus-38)

T-3rd in goal differential (plus-38)
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 33 of their last 43 games (30-10-3), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark
New York is 10-1-2 when leading after the first period and 20-0-2 when leading after the second
The Rangers are tied for fifth in the league with a .231 win% when trailing after two periods (3-9-1), and their three third period comeback victories are tied for 10th in the NHL; New York has trailed entering the third period in 13 games this season, which is the fewest in the league
New York leads the NHL with a .773 win% when out-shooting their opponent (17-5-0)

The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 24-1-2 mark (.889 win%) in those contests; Their 24 wins are tied for second in the NHL
THE HOT LIST:
Henrik Lundqvist is 4-1-0 with a 0.97 GAA, .963 Sv% and two shutouts in the last five games
Lundqvist has allowed one goal or less in 11 of his last 19 games, and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 27 games this season
Martin Biron has held opponents to two or fewer goals in eight of his 12 starts this season
Marian Gaborik has tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last nine games
Michael Del Zotto has tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the last five games

Brian Boyle has tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in the last five games
MILESTONES APPROACHING:
Artem Anisimov: 3 points from 100 NHL career

Steve Eminger: 5 points from 100 NHL career
INJURIES:
Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) — 27

Total Man-Games Lost: 163

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

Feb. 2 — Assigned defenseman Jeff Woywitka and forward Wojtek Wolski to Connecticut (AHL) for a conditioning stint

Feb. 3 — Acquired forward Casey Wellman from Minnesota in exchange for forward Erik Christensen and a conditional seventh round draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft

Do-over: Ticket contest tomorrow

Carp — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:42:44 +0000

Sally won the ticket contest fair and square. In other words, nobody won, so I offered the tickets to her. But she can’t use them, you know, being eight hours away. Kind of a tough round trip.

So we’re going to have a do-over with tonight’s game against the Lightning. This time somebody should try to pick the correct score.

So let’s review the rules, shall we? (answer: yes).

1) This is the easy part. You pick the score, then a bunch of tiebreakers: game-winning goal, Rangers shots, Lightning’s shots. Your entry should look like this (with different numbers and names):

Rangers 17, Lightning 1. GWG: Avery. Rangers shots: 18. Lightning shots: 44.

This is new AND IMPORTANT!!!!: Don’t use NYR or Blueshirts or TB or Bolts or Lightnings or anything other than Rangers and Lightning when you make your pick. Don’t use abbreviations, nicknames; don’t use colons, dashes or semicolons or any other punctuation between the team name and the score. Just keep it very, very simple and do it exactly like this:

Rangers 17, Lightning 1.

If there is anything other than the name of the team then a space then the score, as shown here, you may be disqualified. Then add your tiebreakers.

It just makes it much easier for me to scroll through all the entries that way. Thank you.

2) The score of the game must be exact. Not closest. Not margin of victory. You must have the exact score to move on to the tiebreakers, if needed. Note that the game-winning goal is the goal that provides the margin of victory, whether it be the second goal in a 17-1 game, or an overtime or (God forbid) winning shootout goal.

The Rangers’ shots tiebreaker shall go to the closest prediction without going over. If contestants are still tied, the Lightning’s shots tiebreaker shall be used, and also will go to the closest prediction without going over. If all remaining contestants are over the number of Lightning’s shots, the contestant closest to the correct total wins.

Finally, if still somehow tied, I will either attempt again to give the tickets to Sally or flip a coin at Blog HQ … or I will wait for the next time I see the donor at a game and let him flip the coin.

3) The most important rules regarding entry into the contest: DO NOT EVEN DREAM ABOUT ENTERING MORE THAN ONCE. I will check IP addresses from any entrant whose screen name I do not recognize. Entries open when the Thursday morning post goes up, usually before 5 a.m., and will close when the It’s Go Time! post goes up shortly after 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Only entries in the morning post Thursday will count. In other words, don’t put your predictions in any other thread.

4) Don’t get me aggravated with dumb questions or details.

5) *-The judge’s decision on all issues will be final. (*-I am the judge).

Good luck, and have fun. And don’t make your pick until tomorrow’s pre-game notes thread.

Rangers-Devils in review

Carp — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:08:44 +0000

First things first. Nobody won the contest. I mean, nobody had the right score, nobody had the GWG. I’ll have to chat with my official contest staff to decide whether to A) move onto the shots tiebreaker, B) scratch the whole thing and have another contest Thursday or C) give the tickets to Sally. I’m leaning toward B. Not sure if I want your opinions on this. But you might want to chime in.

Thoughts:

1) The disallowed goal at the end of the game. Dave Maloney hit it exactly right on the radio, and then on TV. That goal is disallowed every day this season. Every time it happens, it’s disallowed. Yes, Gaborik was pushed, and to me he sure made an attempt to avoid the contact. But Martin Brodeur was not given a chance to make the save. So best-case call, with the way the rules are, and the way that is called in today’s game, is incidental contact, no goal, no penalty. The Rangers still lose the game they deserved to lose.

2) I want to apologize for being snippy last night (again). I really can’t stand the whole “everybody stinks” thing every time the Rangers lose … or worse, every time they play half a bad period, or fall behind in a game. I just don’t get it. What really got me was the idea that the Rangers didn’t care or weren’t trying, because it would seem to me that if you’ve seen the last 132 games, you couldn’t really think that about this team.

3) That said, even if the Rangers didn’t try, didn’t care, even if they came right out and said, “Well, we have enough of a cushion in the standings on the Devils, so we really didn’t see the point in working hard in this game” after the way they’ve played all this year and most of last year, you’d really have no right to complain.

4) But what really ticks me off are a couple of people who come on here just to try and tick me off. I usually ignore them, sometimes ban then. Once in a while they get to me.

5) Synchronized fights are so stupid, and the two at the drop of the puck last night were useless, if not counterproductive. In fact, the Devils were all crowing about how it set the tone for them and fired them up and was a big part of their win.

6) If Mike Rupp can fight Janssen for no reason, you’d have a right to ask why he couldn’t fight Tom Sestito Sunday. Because there was a reason to fight Sestito, and none to fight Cam Janssen. Rupp should not be fighting with a bad hand. And Brandon Prust should never fight somebody as useless as Officer Joe Boulton unless he has a good reason to do so, unless something happens that warrants him to fight. Because Boulton and Prust in the box is a terrible trade for the Rangers.

7) And I want to be very clear here. I respect the hell out of the guys who do that stuff for a living, and it’s probably even tougher to do it when there’s no anger, when it’s staged like that. Remarkable, really. You just don’t need anybody getting hurt fighting without a reason.

8) Looks like the refs started calling the pansification penalties again. They had kind of stopped that around Festivus.

9) I know a lot of you will disagree with this, but the PP did actually have a couple of chances—shots with traffic and players arriving at the net as the puck arrived—Artem Anisimov had a great chance on one PP, and the disallowed goal on what was essentially a power play; and Brad Richards had one really good PP shift—but again wasn’t nearly good enough. Not nearly.

10) Last night I wrote this paragraph: “Also, remember, if there’s a fight tonight, it is now perfectly legal to pull hair or gouge out somebody’s stitches, to go along with other new rules we’ve learned this season such as, it’s OK to come off the bench during an altercation and join that altercation, and it’s acceptable to attempt to maim somebody from behind. Just don’t celebrate a goal too much. That’s a misconduct.” ... I apologize, I forgot to add that slew-footing was also legalized.

11) Did you catch Al Trautwig’s post-game reaction? YouTube did.

***********************************
My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Brandon Prust.
2) Carl Hagelin.
3) Henrik Lundqvist.
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AP photos, above.

Post-game notes, quotes

Carp — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:33:24 +0000

Courtesy of the New York Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 7, 2012 (Game 51, Home Game 24)
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY

1st 2nd 3rd OT Final
New Jersey Devils 1 0 0 – 1
New York Rangers 0 0 0 – 0

Team Notes:

- The Rangers were defeated by the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, tonight at Madison Square Garden, and are now 16-5-1 in their last 22 games.

- New York has posted a record of 33-13-5 (71 pts) on the season, including a 16-6-2 mark at home.

- 11 of the last 15 meetings between the Rangers and Devils have been decided by two goals or less.

- The Blueshirts are now 18-8-3 overall, including a 9-4-1 mark at Madison Square Garden against the Devils since 2007-08.

- The Rangers’ .696 win% through 51 games is the team’s best start in 18 years, when the 1993-94 Blueshirts began the season with a 34-13-4 record (.706 win%), and is the fourth best start in franchise history.

- The Blueshirts’ 16-6-2 (34 pts) mark at MSG is their best start at home through 24 games since 1995-96 (18-2-4, 40 pts).

- The Blueshirts hold a three-point lead over Boston for first in the Eastern Conference, and are one point shy of Detroit for first in the league overall.

- The Rangers out-hit the Devils, 52-24, in the contest. Their 52 hits were a team, season-high. Seven different Rangers’ were credited with four or more hits, led by Brandon Prust and Brian Boyle, who registered six hits apiece.

Player Notes:

- Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves and is now 24-11-4 overall, including a 12-6-2 mark at home. The loss snapped his four-game winning streak, and he is now 4-1-0 with a 0.97 goals against average, .963 save percentage and two shutouts in the last five games. Lundqvist has allowed one goal or less in 11 of his last 19 games, and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 27 games this season.

- Lundqvist has now faced-off against Martin Brodeur in 32 career regular season games, posting a record of 21-6-5 with a 1.77 GAA, .934 Sv% and four shutouts over the span.

- Brian Boyle tied for the game-high with six hits, was credited with two blocked shots and won a game-high, 10 faceoffs in 16 attempts (63%). He has now registered 11 hits in the last two contests.

Post-Game Quotes:

- John Tortorella on tonight’s game…
“Our start, it was a bit of a struggle, as far as some turnovers that allowed them to play in our half. But after that I thought we found ourselves and played a pretty good game.”

- Ryan Callahan on tonight’s game…
“I thought we played a great third period, we had a lot of chances and a lot of shots on net. We controlled most of that period. We need to have a better start. I think that’s what hurts us the most is our start. There are a lot of good things that went on in this game, even though we didn’t generate a goal, obviously, but we’ll take some positives out of it.”

- Marian Gaborik on tonight’s game…
“In the first period I think they had a lot more momentum, but I think in the last five minutes of the first period we started coming. We were more physical and we didn’t give them much. We had some chances and they had some chances. In the third period I think we could’ve tied the game easily.”

Team Schedule:

– The Blueshirts’ practice schedule for tomorrow, Feb. 8, is 12:00 p.m. at MSG Training Center. – The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to conclude their three-game homestand. The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

It’s Go Time!

Carp — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:34:43 +0000

Game 51.

The ticket contest is now closed. No more entries. Thanks for playing and good luck.

Rangers play the Devils for the second time in eight days—so I offer this warning to Henrik Lundqvist, who didn’t start in the previous meeting: Watch out for the bounces off the glass partitions!

Lundqvist vs. Martin Brodeur (I presume). Rangers will use the same lineup, which means Stu (Battlin’) Bickel remains in the lineup and Steve Eminger is prucha’d.

Ya boys are NHL-unbeaten in four (3-0-1, with the 1 coming in the Breakaway Contest After The Hockey Game Ends—or BCATHGE—at Newark after the gift goal by Clarkson) and 16-4-1 in their last 21.

The Rangers have 99 all-time wins over the Devils (a Mickey Mouse number).

Also, remember, if there’s a fight tonight, it is now perfectly legal to pull hair or gouge out somebody’s stitches, to go along with other new rules we’ve learned this season such as, it’s OK to come off the bench during an altercation and join that altercation, and it’s acceptable to attempt to maim somebody from behind. Just don’t celebrate a goal too much. That’s a misconduct.

Devils at Rangers … and another ticket contest tonight

Carp — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:47:35 +0000

The ticket contest is now open. However, one of the rules has changed. Please read the rules in the previous thread before you make your pick!

Only entries within the comments section of this thread will be accepted. Entries close when “It’s Go Time!” appears prior to tonight’s game, at around 6:30 p.m.

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Pre-game notes courtesy of the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY
Rangers: 33-12-5 (71 pts)
Devils: 30-19-3 (63 pts)

* All information through NHL games on Feb. 5

TONIGHT’S GAME
The Rangers will face-off against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), in their second meeting in a week. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 33-12-5 (71 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden for their fourth win in five games, and are now 16-4-1 in their last 21 games. New York has posted a record of 30-9-3 since Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Devils enter the contest with a 30-19-3 (63 pts) record to rank sixth in the Eastern Conference, and have won their last four games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to conclude their three-game homestand.

RANGERS vs. DEVILS:

All-Time: 99-82-27-6 overall (54-29-20-2 at home; 45-53-7-4 on the road)
2011-12: Tonight is the third of six meetings this season, and the first of three at MSG. New York is 1-0-1 overall (0-0-0 at home; 1-0-1 on the road) following a 4-3 shootout loss on Tuesday at Prudential Center. The Rangers have out-scored the Devils, 7-4, in the series, including a 5-2 advantage in the third period. Marian Gaborik leads the team in scoring with five points (two goals, three assists) and a plus-four rating in two games. Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .968 Sv%, while Martin Biron is 0-0-1 in 2.77 GAA and .897 Sv%.
Last Season: New York was 4-2-0 overall (2-1-0 at home; 2-1-0 on the road). The Rangers held the Devils to one or fewer goals in four of the six meetings, and out-scored New Jersey, 16-8, in the series. Brandon Dubinsky led the team with four goals and seven points, while Artem Anisimov tallied a team-high, five assists in six games. Henrik Lundqvist was 4-2-0 with a 1.44 GAA, .953 Sv% and one shutout.
The Rangers are one win shy of 100 all-time against the New Jersey Devils’ franchise
10 of their last 14 meetings have been decided by two goals or less
Martin Biron’s start in net on Jan. 31 at New Jersey ended Henrik Lundqvist’s streak of 32 consecutive starts against the Devils. The last Rangers goalie other than Lundqvist to start against New Jersey was Kevin Weekes on Dec. 17, 2006.
New York ranks eighth with a 16-5-2 (34 pts) record at home; New Jersey is tied for sixth with a 15-10-1 (31 pts) mark on the road
The Rangers are 10-2-1 vs. the Atlantic Division; the Devils are 7-5-0 vs. the Atlantic Division
New York lists one former Devil on their roster: Mike Rupp (2002-03 – 2003-04, 2006-07 – 2008-09)
New Jersey lists one former Ranger on their roster: Petr Sykora (2005-06)

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. DEVILS:
Henrik Lundqvist — 37 GP, 23-9-5, 1.82 GAA, 5 SO
Martin Biron — 31 GP, 8-15-2-3, 3.14 GAA, 2 SO
Brad Richards — 34 GP, 5-26-31
Marian Gaborik — 20 GP, 8-12-20

Dan Girardi — 31 GP, 0-11-11
SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Blueshirts penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in 14 of the last 17 games (43-46, 93.5% over the span), and is 68-75 (90.7%) with five shorthanded goals in the last 26 contests. The Rangers are tied for fourth in the NHL with six shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 16-1-2 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 24-6-2 when not allowing a power play goal.
Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in five power play attempts (8:53) on Sunday vs. Philadelphia. New York ranks 27th overall (23-173, 13.3%) and is tied for 15th at home (15-91, 16.5%). 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 surrendered one goal to the Flyers in six power play attempts (9:02) on Sunday at MSG. New York ranks fourth overall (146-167, 87.4%) and fourth at home (61-70, 87.1%). 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 (6): 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).

Four-on-Four: New York did not tally/yield a goal in one four-on-four situation (1:07) on Sunday vs. Philadelphia. The Rangers are plus-four in 52 four-on-four situations (96:29), and even in one three-on-three situation (0:01). Four-on-four goals for (4): 10/18 at VAN (Gaborik); 10/20 at CGY (McDonagh); 10/27 vs. TOR (Girardi); 1/2 vs. FLA (Gaborik). Four-on-four goals allowed (0).
SINCE 2007-08
The Rangers are 18-7-3 overall (9-3-1 at home; 9-4-2 on the road) against the Devils since 2007-08, dating back to a 2-0 win on Oct. 25, 2007. Henrik Lundqvist has registered a 2.07 GAA, .926 Sv% and five shutouts in 27 games over the span.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Henrik Lundqvist has faced-off against Martin Brodeur in 31 career regular season games, posting a record of 21-5-5 with a 1.79 GAA, .933 Sv% and four shutouts over the span.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Rangers have posted a 9-3-0 record in their last 12 home games. The Blueshirts’ 16-5-2 (34 pts) mark at MSG is their best start at home through 23 games since 1995-96 (17-2-4, 38 pts).

FAMILIAR FOE
The Rangers are 10-2-1 against Atlantic Division opponents this season, including a nine-game winning streak from Nov. 15 – Jan. 6. New York has out-scored their opponent, 42-27, in divisional play.

PLACE IN HISTORY
The Rangers’ .710 win% through 50 games is the team’s best start in 40 years, when the 1971-72 Blueshirts began the season with a 32-10-8 record (.720 win%), and is the second best start in franchise history. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

SHUTOUT KING
Henrik Lundqvist posted a career-high shutout streak of 182:33 from 19:11 of the second period on Jan. 21 at Boston to 12:02 of the second on Feb. 5 vs. Philadelphia. He posted shutouts in consecutive starts for the first time in his career, on Jan. 24 vs. Winnipeg (22 saves) and Feb. 1 at Buffalo (34 saves, 4-5 in the shootout), and passed Dave Kerr for second on the Rangers’ all-time shutouts list with 41 career shutouts. Lundqvist ranks seventh among active goalies in career shutouts, and is tied with Martin Brodeur for most shutouts since 2005-06 (41). *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

MEASURING UP
The Rangers rank among the NHL leaders in several statistical categories…
2nd in points (71)
1st in win% (.710)
T-2nd in wins (33)
1st in regulation/overtime wins (30)
1st in fewest regulation losses (12)
1st in fewest goals against (98)
2nd in GAA (1.96)
2nd in hits (1,456)
T-4th in blocked shots (835)
3rd in +/- rating (plus-38)

3rd in goal differential (plus-39)
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 33 of their last 42 games (30-9-3), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark
New York is 10-1-2 when leading after the first period and 20-0-2 when leading after the second
The Rangers rank fourth in the league with a .250 win% when trailing after two periods (3-8-1), and their three third period comeback victories are tied for 10th in the NHL; New York has trailed entering the third period in 12 games this season, which is the fewest in the league
New York leads the NHL with an .810 win% when out-shooting their opponent (17-4-0)

The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 24-1-2 mark (.889 win%) in those contests; Their 24 wins are tied for second in the NHL
THE HOT LIST:
Henrik Lundqvist enters the contest with a four-game winning streak (0.96 GAA, .965 Sv% and two shutouts over the span)
Lundqvist has allowed one goal or less in 10 of his last 18 games, and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 26 games this season
Martin Biron has held opponents to two or fewer goals in eight of his 12 starts this season
Marian Gaborik has tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last eight games
Michael Del Zotto has tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the last four games

Brian Boyle has tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in the last four games
MILESTONES APPROACHING:
Artem Anisimov: 3 points from 100 NHL career

Steve Eminger: 5 points from 100 NHL career
INJURIES:
Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) — 26

Total Man-Games Lost: 162

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

Feb. 2 — Assigned defenseman Jeff Woywitka and forward Wojtek Wolski to Connecticut (AHL) for a conditioning stint

Feb. 3 — Acquired forward Casey Wellman from Minnesota in exchange for forward Erik Christensen and a conditional seventh round draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft

Another ticket contest tomorrow

Carp — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:59:26 +0000

Our gracious and generous donor has given us another pair of tickets to give away, so we’ll have another contest tomorrow. The winner will get two tickets to the Feb. 19 Rangers-Blue Jackets game at Madison Square Garden.

So let’s review the rules, shall we? (answer: yes).

1) This is the easy part. You pick the score, then a bunch of tiebreakers: game-winning goal, Rangers shots, Devils shots. Your entry should look like this (with different numbers and names): Rangers 17, Devils 1. GWG: Avery. Rangers shots: 18. Devils shots: 44.

This is new!!!!: Don’t use NYR or Blueshirts or NJ or Debbies or anything other than Rangers and Devils when you make your pick. Don’t use abbreviations, nicknames, colons, dashes or semicolons or any other punctuation between the team name and the score. Just keep it very, very simple and do it exactly like this:

Rangers 17, Devils 1.

If there is anything other than the name of the team then a space then the score, as shown here, you may be disqualified. Then add your tiebreakers.

It just makes it much easier for me to scroll through all the entries that way. Thank you.

The Rangers’ shots tiebreaker shall go to the closest prediction without going over. If contestants are still tied, the Devils’ shots tiebreaker shall be used, and also will go to the closest prediction without going over. If all remaining contestants are over the number of Devils shots, the contestant closest to the correct total wins.

Finally, if still somehow tied, I will either give the tickets to Sally or flip a coin at Blog HQ … or I will wait for the next time I see the donor at a game and let him flip the coin.

3) The most important rules regarding entry into the contest: DO NOT EVEN DREAM ABOUT ENTERING MORE THAN ONCE. I will check IP addresses from any entrant whose screen name I do not recognize. Entries open when the Tuesday morning post goes up, usually before 5 a.m., and will close when the It’s Go Time! post goes up shortly after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Only entries in the morning post Tuesday will count. In other words, don’t put your predictions in any other thread.

4) Don’t get me aggravated with dumb questions or details.

5) *-The judge’s decision on all issues will be final. (*-I am the judge).

Good luck, and have fun. And don’t make your pick until tomorrow’s pre-game notes thread.

Rangers-Flyers in review

Carp — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:04:15 +0000

I truly believe that these four wins over the Flyers won’t mean jack-squat if the Rangers wind up in a playoff series against them. It doesn’t work that way. But I also truly believe that the Rangers are better. And here’s the thing. The Flyers have more skill. The Rangers—can you believe this—are tougher.

Here are a few of my favorite lines from my story in The Journal News and on LoHud.com today:

The Rangers beat the archrival Philadelphia Flyers for the fourth time in four meetings this season, 5-2 at the Garden.

Beat them all over the ice. Beat them in a game of knuckles and stick-slashes, stitches and bandages and ice packs. Beat them in battles. Beat them in skill. Beat them in will. Had an enormous advantage in goal — what else is new?

OK, maybe that’s the bottom line. If you switched Henrik Lundqvist for Ilya Bryzgalov, maybe the Flyers win this game. Maybe.

But the East-leading Rangers, for all they did well, got a win they deserved. Again. When things got rough, even downright nasty, they thrived. Again.”

And this:

The thing is, the Flyers didn’t dress their muscle for the Winter Classic and lost to the Rangers that way, and Sunday went back to their blood-and-butter. The thing is, the Rangers are tougher — in the true sense — than the Flyers. And they also controlled most of the game tactically, at times pinning Philadelphia behind its own net with an aggressive forecheck.”

Thoughts:

1) The head coach made a couple of interesting decisions. He reunited the GAS line, and that sure worked. And he dressed Stu Bickel, even though Steve Eminger was healthy and cleared. That worked out, too. Kid’s got some onions. Keep him here. He doesn’t have to play every night, he doesn’t have to play in third periods. But he’s an asset. No doubt about it.

2) Does it just make you laugh when you think of Henrik Lundqvist vs. Ilya Bryzgalov? Could there be a bigger edge in a bigger role than the one the Rangers have there? Lundqvist made some monstrous saves in this game.

3) Maybe Brandon Dubinsky needs to play the Flyers every night. Maybe they should hypnotize him and tell him it’s the Flyers every night.

4) Saw some signs of a Brad Richards return. Baby steps, I guess.

5) You could say the same for the power play. A few good moments. Not nearly enough. But baby steps.

6) Do you love the way this team plays? And the way it talks about the way it plays? And the way it understands that this is how it has to play? And the way it sticks to that?

7) I was thinking this while the Giants were celebrating that Lombardi Trophy (no comparison to Lord Stanley’s prize). A bad team can’t get into the playoffs and win a championship. But a good team that gets in can run the table. Though I think it’s a lot easier to win four football games than it is to win four best-of-sevens. I wouldn’t dream of calling these Rangers favorites for anything this spring, and if they don’t have much success at all, that’s typical of the sport in which they play. But I also wouldn’t be shocked if this team ends up near the finals, and even in the finals.

8) The Flyers obviously didn’t think they could outplay the Rangers, so they reverted to their old ways. That Sestito is a total clown with no ability, and I’ll be very interested to see how Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Soft Fines and Alleged Player Safety treat his hair-pulling. And if he did indeed intentionally scratch at Brandon Prust’s stitches, that’s plain disgusting and an example should be made of him.

9) Speaking of which … That Rinaldo, who was fined the max $2,500 each for two separate incidents Saturday against the Devils, got away with about three uncalled charging penalties. He got away with about eight minors overall, and the one time he did get called, the refs let him veer from the penalty box and go commit another uncalled penalty. They’ll probably retire No. 36 in Philly one day.

10) Back to the GAS line. Marian Gaborik has become a guy—I’ve said this before—who gets fired up when he gets hit. He took a big one yesterday, then scored that late goal at the end of the period. Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov … same thing.

11) The grunt guys were sure incredible in this game. That includes, now, Dubinsky, Prust, Ruslan Fedotenko, Brian Boyle, John Mitchell (Mike Rupp’s hand was apparently too banged up for him to get too involved, but he played well). I always feel the need to point out some of the Boyle subtleties for some reason. There was a play along the wall. Jaromir Jagr had the puck and turned his gigantic backside so that Boyle couldn’t hit him. Boyle read which way Jagr would go, cut him off, and banged him cleanly into the wall.

12) I don’t even have to say how good The Captain was in this game, do I? Ditto for all the D-men … especially Michael Del Zotto, and Marc Staal in his best game of the season.

13) Now that football’s over, maybe some of New York might wake up and realize what’s going on at the World’s Most Famous.

********************************
My Three Rangers Stars (could have been about 18):
1) Marian Gaborik.
2) Artem Anisimov.
3) Stu Bickel.
********************************

AP photos, above.

Post-(hockey)game notes, quotes

Carp — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:00:19 +0000

Back to hockey …

Courtesy of the NYR:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
February 5, 2012 (Game 50, Home Game 23)
Madison Square Garden — New York, NY

1st 2nd 3rd OT Final
Philadelphia Flyers 0 1 1 – 2
New York Rangers 1 1 3 – 5

Team Notes:

- The Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, today at Madison Square Garden for their fourth win in five games, and are now 16-4-1 in their last 21 games.

- New York has posted a record of 33-12-5 (71 pts) on the season, including a 16-5-2 mark at home. The Rangers have registered at least one point in 33 of their last 42 games (30-9-3), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark.

- The Rangers’ .710 win% through 50 games is the team’s best start in 40 years, when the 1971-72 Blueshirts began the season with a 32-10-8 record (.720 win%), and is the second best start in franchise history.

- The Blueshirts extended their winning streak against the Flyers to six games, dating back to a 7-0 win at MSG on Mar. 6, 2011. The Rangers have out-scored the Flyers, 24-8, during the streak. New York improved to 4-0-0 against Philadelphia this season.

- With the win, New York completed a sweep of their season series against Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden, out-scoring Philadelphia, 11-4, in three games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Rangers swept their home series against the Flyers was during the 1991-92 season, when the Blueshirts posted a 4-0-0 mark against Philadelphia at Madison Square Garden.

- The Rangers have posted a 9-3-0 record in their last 12 home games. The Blueshirts’ 16-5-2 (34 pts) mark at MSG is their best start at home through 23 games since 1995-96 (17-2-4, 38 pts).

- The Rangers improved to 10-2-1 against Atlantic Division opponents this season, having out-scored their opponent, 42-27, in divisional play.

- The Blueshirts maintained their three-point lead over Boston for first in the Eastern Conference, and are now within one point of Detroit for first in the league overall. The Rangers hold one game in hand over Boston, and have three games in hand over Detroit.

- 11 different Rangers tallied at least one point in the contest, including five different goal-scorers.

- The Rangers were credited with 25 blocked shots in the contest, including four players who registered four or more blocked shots.

- New York out-shot Philadelphia, 38-23, in the contest, including a 14-5 advantage after the first period. The Rangers improved their league-best record to 17-4-0 (.810 win%) when out-shooting their opponent.

Player Notes:

- Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves to improve to 24-10-4 overall, including a 12-5-2 mark at home this season. Brayden Schenn’s goal at 12:02 of the second period was the first goal Lundqvist had allowed since 19:11 of the second period on Jan. 21 at Boston, and ended his career-high shutout streak at 182:33. It was the 26th time this season Lundqvist has held opponents to two or fewer goals.

- Artem Anisimov opened the game’s scoring at 1:04 of the first period, and added two assists for a season-high, three points, and posted a plus-three rating in the contest. The Rangers improved to 12-2-2 when he registers a point this season. Anisimov is now three points shy of 100 career NHL points.

- Marian Gaborik notched a goal, tallied the primary assist on the game-winning goal, posted a plus-three rating and tied his season-high with a game-high, eight shots on goal to earn first star honors. He has now tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) in the last eight games.

- Derek Stepan tallied two assists, four shots on goal and posted a plus-three rating in 16:43 of ice time. He has recorded 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in the last 29 games, and has posted a plus-10 rating in the last nine games.

- Brandon Dubinsky notched a goal and was assessed a fighting major in 15:42 of ice time to earn third star honors. The Rangers improved to 13-2-2 when he records a point.

- Michael Del Zotto registered the game-winning goal at 1:33 of the third period, was credited with four hits and four shots on goal, and posted a plus-two rating in 23:24 of ice time. He has tallied 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in the last 31 games, including three points (two goals, one assist) in the last four games.

- Ruslan Fedotenko tallied an empty net goal with 1:16 remaining in regulation to clinch the victory, and registered three shots on goal in 15:13 of ice time. The Rangers improved to 10-1-1 when he records a point. Fedotenko has now registered a team-high, 16 goals along with 27 points in 41 career regular season games against the Flyers.

- Brian Boyle recorded the primary assist on Dubinsky’s third period goal, was credited with a game-high, five hits, tied for the game-high with five blocked shots and won a game-high, 13 face-offs in 22 attempts (59%). He has now tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in the last four games. The Rangers improved to 12-0-1 when he registers a point.

- Dan Girardi, Brandon Prust, Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin each recorded an assist in the contest. Girardi also posted a plus-two rating, and was credited with two hits and two blocked shots in 25:28 of ice time. Prust was credited with three hits and was assessed a fighting major in 12:15 of ice time.

- Ryan Callahan tied for the game-high with five blocked shots, was credited with three hits, registered four shots on goal and led all forwards with 22:36 of ice time.

- Ryan McDonagh was credited with four blocked shots, posted a plus-three rating and logged a game-high, 26:57 of ice time.

Post-Game Quotes:

- Head Coach John Tortorella on the physical play…
“I think that’s a big part of our game. That’s the way we have to play, and when another team joins in, it mounts. Everybody gets involved in it. We are sum of parts, that’s how we play and that’s the only way we can win when everyone jumps in all areas like that.”

- Marian Gaborik on playing the Flyers…
“I think we know how important these games are. We come with a lot of energy and stick with our system. We have played very well against them this year and this game was one of them. Even though we took a lot of penalties, we shouldn’t do it against this team because they have a good power play, but Hank (Henrik Lundqvist) was strong in net and it was a big win.”

- Brandon Dubinsky on the importance of today’s game…
“We have been neck and neck with those guys all year long. Every game we’ve played against them has been physical, a playoff type atmosphere and we knew it was going to be like that today. It’s just one of those unspoken things, we know that each guy is focused and is going to be ready to play and that’s the sign of a great team is being ready to step up and play against a challenging opponent. It’s always fun games against those guys.”

- Henrik Lundqvist on the atmosphere today at Madison Square Garden…
“It’s a great feeling, the fans were ready to go and everybody was excited to play Philly again. Every time it’s a big battle and so far we’ve been successful against them and we’ve just been working really hard.”

Team Schedule:

– The Blueshirts’ practice schedule for tomorrow, Feb. 6, is 12:00 p.m. at MSG Training Center. – The Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in the second game of their three-game homestand. The game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

It’s Go Time! … Super Bowl 46: Giants 28, Patriots 17

Carp — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:02:39 +0000

I’m on my way home, scrambling to get there in time for kickoff, but doubtful.

Doesn’t matter because:

A) I already know the outcome.

B) Mrs. Carp’s got some homemade rigatoni with meat sauce waiting for me.

As for the outcome, save yourself four hours. The Giants will definitely, undoubtedly win the football game 28-17. Book it.

And you’ll be so sick of NBC promos and the halftime show that you’ll be turning to Rangers in 60. Why not?

I’ll join youse during the game. Who brung the wings?

Anybody else got a pick? Let’s hear it now.