NY RANGERS VS. NJ DEVILS PREVIEW 

NEW YORK RANGERS at NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Friday, Nov. 5, 7:00 p.m.
Prudential Center • Newark, NJ
Rangers: 6-5-1 (13 pts)
Devils: 7-4-1 (15 pts)
* All information through NHL games on Nov. 3

TOMORROW’S GAME:
The Rangers will face-off against the New Jersey Devils tomorrow, Nov. 5, at the Prudential Center (7:00 p.m.), to close out a back-to-back set against Atlantic Division rivals. The Blueshirts currently rank second in the Atlantic Division standings, and seventh in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 6-5-1 (13 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having been defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1, earlier tonight at the Wells Fargo Center, and are now 5-3-0 in their last eight contests. The Devils enter the contest with a 4-9-1 (9 pts) record to rank 13th in the Eastern Conference, and have lost five of their last seven contests (2-5-0). Following tomorrow’s game, the Rangers will return home to face-off against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, Nov. 7, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), to begin a four-game homestand, their longest of the season.

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Prior to the game, the Rangers’ morning skate is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at the Prudential Center.

* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
* TV: MSG 2
6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Mike Keenan
7:00 p.m. – Rangers at Devils
Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)

* Radio: 970 The Apple
6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game with Don LaGreca
7:00 p.m. – Rangers at Devils
Broadcasters: Don LaGreca (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. DEVILS:
* All-Time: The Rangers are 95-80-27-5 all-time against the Devils: 53-28-20-2 at home and 42-52-7-3 on the road
* 2010-11: Tomorrow’s contest marks the second of six meetings between the Rangers and Devils this season, and first of three games at the Prudential Center. The Blueshirts currently own a 1-0-0 record, following a 3-1 victory on Oct. 24 at Madison Square Garden.
* Last Season: New York was 3-2-1 against the Devils in 2009-10, including a 2-1-0 mark at New Jersey. Five of their six meetings were decided by two goals or less, including three that were decided by one goal and two that required the shootout.
* New York ranks sixth in the NHL on the road with a record of 4-2-0 (8 pts) in six games; New Jersey has posted a record of 0-4-1 (1 pt) in five home games to rank 29th in the league
* The Rangers have posted a record of 1-2-0 vs. the Atlantic Division; the Devils have registered a 0-2-0 mark vs. Atlantic Division opponents
* Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and .964 save percentage in one contest vs. New Jersey this season, and is now 19-7-5 with a 1.89 goals against average and four shutouts in 31 career regular season games against the Devils
* Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Michal Rozsival have each recorded one goal and one assist in one game vs. the Devils to lead the team with two points in the season series
* Michael Del Zotto has registered five points (one goal, four assists) in seven career regular season contests vs. New Jersey; Dan Girardi (24 games) and Michael Rozsival (49 games) have recorded nine assists apiece vs. the Devils
* New York lists no former Devils on their roster
* New Jersey lists no former Rangers on their roster

SPECIAL TEAMS:         
* Power Play: The Rangers tallied one goal in four power play opportunities (7:53) last night at Philadelphia, and are now 6-27 (22.2%) with the man advantage over the last seven games. New York is tied for 13th in the NHL with a 17.4% (8-46) success rate, and ranks 10th on the road with a 20.0% (4-20) success rate away from MSG. The Rangers did not convert on one five-on-three chance (0:30) on Oct. 9 at HSBC Arena, and are now 0-1 on five-on-three attempts (0:30). New York is 0-1 (1:05) with a four-on-three advantage this season. Shorthanded goals allowed (0).
* Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts surrendered two goals to the Flyers in five shorthanded situations (8:56) last night at Philadelphia. New York ranks 27th in the NHL with a 75.5% (40-53) success rate, and are 19th in the league on the road with a 79.3% (23-29) success rate away from MSG. The Rangers held the Maple Leafs scoreless in one, three-on-five situation (0:31) on Saturday at Toronto, and are 4-6 on three-on-fives (5:08) this season. The Blueshirts yielded one goal in three, three-on-four situations on Oct. 15, and are now 2-3 (1:10) in those situations this season. Shorthanded goals for (1): 10/9 at BUF (Dubinsky).
* Four-on-Four: New York did not skate in a four-on-four situation last night at Philadelphia, and are now even in nine, four-on-four situations (11:44) this season. Four-on-four goals for (1): 10/18 vs. COL (Frolov). Four-on-four goals allowed (1): 10/15 vs. TOR (Kessel).

BACK-TO-BACKS:
Tomorrow’s contest will close out the Rangers’ third of 18 back-to-back sets this season. The Blueshirts are currently 2-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs, and 1-0-0 when the second game is on the road, following a 2-0 win at Toronto on Saturday. Last season, New York posted a record of 9-2-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets, including a 5-1-1 mark when the second game of the set was on the road.

SINCE 2007-08…
The Rangers own a record of 14-5-2 vs. the Devils since the start of the 2007-08 season, including a 6-3-1 mark at New Jersey during the stretch, dating back to a 2-0 win on Oct. 25, 2007. Henrik Lundqvist, who has started in each of the Rangers’ last 26 meetings with the Devils, has registered a 2.18 goals against average, .923 save percentage and four shutouts in the 21-game stretch.

HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Henrik Lundqvist has faced-off against Martin Brodeur in 27 career regular season contests, posting a record of 18-4-5 with a 1.72 goals against average, .938 save percentage and four shutouts over the span.

BLOCK PARTY:
The Blueshirts currently lead the NHL with 238 blocked shots on the season, averaging a league-high, 19.8 blocked shots per contest. Dan Girardi ranks first in the NHL with 42 blocked shots, and Ryan Callahan leads all NHL forwards with 20 blocked shots.

A BROADWAY HIT:
The Rangers currently rank second in the NHL with 348 hits on the season, averaging a league-high, 29.0 hits per contest. Ryan Callahan leads the team and is tied for fourth in the NHL with 45 hits, and Brian Boyle is tied for 22nd in the league with 32 hits on the season.

THE HOT LIST:
* The Rangers have won five of their last eight games, posting a record of 5-3-0 during the stretch
* The Rangers have tallied six power play goals in the last seven games, registering a 22.2% (6-27) success rate over the span
* Brandon Dubinsky has registered seven points (four goals, three assists) in the last six games
* Ryan Callahan has registered 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the last eight games, including multiple points in four of the last six
* Henrik Lundqvist is 4-2-0 in his last six starts, registering a 2.18 goals against average, .926 save percentage and one shutout over the span
* Michal Rozsival has registered six points (one goal, five assists) in the last eight games
* Artem Anisimov has tallied six points (two goals, four assists) in the last eight games
* Michael Del Zotto has tallied an assist in each of the last two games
* Brandon Prust has registered two assists in the last three games

ALL-TIME RANGERS SHUTOUTS:
Henrik Lundqvist posted his first shutout of the season with a 36-save performance on Saturday at Toronto and, in the process, passed Mike Richter, Chuck Rayner and Lorne Worsley for fourth on the Rangers’ all-time regular season shutouts list with 25 career regular season shutouts.

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: 5 wins from 300 NHL career
* Artem Anisimov: 5 games from 100 NHL career
* Michael Del Zotto: 8 games from 100 NHL career
* Dan Girardi: 8 games from 300 NHL career

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:
* Michael Sauer: 1st career NHL assist/point (10/23 at BOS)
* Ryan Callahan: 100th career NHL point (10/23 at BOS)
* Evgeny Grachev: 1st career NHL game (10/29 vs. CAR)
* Sean Avery: 500th career NHL game (11/1 vs. CHI)

INJURIES:                      
* Vinny Prospal (IR on Sept. 24/knee surgery on Oct. 18, 6-8 weeks) – 12
* Marian Gaborik (IR – separated shoulder on Oct. 15, 2-4 weeks) – 9
* Chris Drury (IR – fractured finger on Oct. 15, 6 weeks) – 9
Total Man-Games Lost: 35

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
* Oct. 24: Recalled forward Jeremy Williams from Hartford
* Oct. 25: Assigned forward Jeremy Williams to Hartford
* Oct. 28: Recalled forward Evgeny Grachev from Hartford