WILL THE RANGERS DO TO THE STARS WHAT THE GIANTS DID TO THE COWBOYS? 

NY RANGERS vs. DALLAS STARS
Tuesday, Dec. 13, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Rangers: 17-6-4 (38 pts)
Stars: 16-11-1 (33 pts)

* All information through NHL games on Dec. 11

TOMORROW’S GAME:

The Rangers will face-off against the Dallas Stars tomorrow at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their fourth game in six days. The Blueshirts currently rank second in the Atlantic Division standings, and fourth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 17-6-4 (38 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Florida Panthers, 6-1, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, to sweep their weekend back-to-back set. New York has now recorded at least one point in 16 of their last 19 contests (14-3-2). The Stars enter the contest with a 16-11-1 (33 pts) record to rank third in the Western Conference, and have lost two of their last three games. Following tomorrow’s contest, the Rangers will face-off against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Dec. 15, at Scottrade Center (8:00 p.m.), to begin a three-game road trip.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

· TV: MSG Network

6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Al Trautwig and Brian Leetch
7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Stars
Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)

· Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio and newyorkrangers.com

6:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show

7:00 p.m. – Rangers vs. Stars

Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. STARS:

· All-Time: 69-37-22-1 overall (37-17-11-0 at home; 32-20-11-1 on the road)

· 2011-12: Tonight is the first and only meeting this season between the Rangers and Stars.

· Last Season: New York was 1-0-0 overall, having won their only meeting, 3-2, in a shootout on Jan. 7 at Dallas. Ruslan Fedotenko notched an unassisted, shorthanded goal in the second, and Artem Anisimov’s power play goal at 8:04 of the third period sent the game into overtime. Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves through regulation and overtime, and turned aside all three shootout attempts he faced.

· The Rangers have won their last two games against Dallas, and have out-scored the Stars, 8-4, over the span.

· The Blueshirts won their last game vs. the Stars at MSG, 5-2, on Jan. 6, 2010

· New York is tied for 10th with an 8-2-2 (18 pts) record at home; Dallas ranks 17th with a 7-7-0 (14 pts) mark on the road

· The Rangers have posted a 2-0-2 record vs. Pacific Division opponents; the Stars are 1-2-0 vs. the Atlantic Division

· Henrik Lundqvist has posted a 3-2-0 record with a 2.18 GAA in five career regular season games vs. Dallas; Martin Biron is 6-3-0-0 with a 2.69 GAA in nine career regular season games vs. the Stars

· Marian Gaborik leads the Rangers with 14 goals, 15 assists and 29 points in 29 career regular season games vs. Dallas; Brad Richards has registered five points (four goals, one assist) in seven career regular season contests vs. the Stars

· New York lists three former Stars on their roster: Sean Avery (2008-09); Brad Richards (2007-08 – 2010-11); Jeff Woywitka (2009-10 – 2010-11)

· Dallas lists one former Ranger on their roster: Radek Dvorak (1999-00 – 2002-03)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

· The Rangers enter the contest with a four-game power play goal streak and are 10-37 (27.0%) with the man advantage in the last nine games. New York has notched a power play goal in eight straight home games (10-40, 25.0% over the span). The Blueshirts have also held their opponent scoreless in three straight games entering tonight’s contest (14-14, 100.0% over the span), while tallying three shorthanded goals during the stretch. The Rangers’ penalty kill is 24-26 (92.3%) in the last eight games. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 12-1-2 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 12-1-2 when holding their opponent scoreless on the power play.

· Power Play: The Rangers tallied two goals in three power play opportunities (5:03) on Sunday vs. Florida. New York is tied for 17th overall (19-111, 17.1%) and ranks third at home (13-56, 23.2%). The Rangers are 2-10 (7:37) in five-on-three situations (last – 12/05 vs. TOR), and 0-4 (3:46) when four-on-three (last – 11/3 vs. ANA). Shorthanded goals allowed (2): 12/5 vs. TOR (Steckel); 12/8 vs. TBL (Moore).

· Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts held the Panthers scoreless in seven shorthanded situations (14:00) on Sunday at MSG. New York ranks sixth overall (91-105, 86.7%) and third at home (38-42, 90.5%). The Rangers are 4-5 (2:35) in three-on-five situations (last – 12/8 vs. TBL), and 0-1 (1:17) when three-on-four (last – 10/7 at LAK). Shorthanded goals for (4): 10/20 at CGY (Prust); 12/8 vs. TBL (Anisimov); 12/10 at BUF (Hagelin); 12/10 at BUF (Callahan).

· Four-on-Four: New York did not skate in a four-on-four situation on Sunday vs. Florida. The Rangers are plus-three in 32 four-on-four situations (58:21), and even in one three-on-three situation (0:01). Four-on-four goals for (3): 10/18 at VAN (Gaborik); 10/20 at CGY (McDonagh); 10/27 vs. TOR (Girardi). Four-on-four goals allowed (0).

BACK-TO-BACKS:

The Blueshirts swept their weekend back-to-back set against Buffalo and Florida, out-scoring their opponents, 10-2, in the two games.  The Rangers are scheduled to play 14 back-to-back sets this season. New York has posted a record of 3-0-1 (1-0-0 at home, 2-0-1 on the road) in the first game of the set, and are 3-0-1 (3-0-0 at home, 0-0-1 on the road) in the second game. Since 2009-10, New York is 24-8-3 in the second game of back-to-back sets, with a 12-3-1 mark at MSG and 12-5-2 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, their fifth of the season, is Dec. 22-23 against the NY Islanders and Philadelphia, with both games at MSG.

FAST START:

The Blueshirts’ 38 points through 27 games (17-6-4) is their best start to the season since the 1993-94 Stanley Cup Championship team posted 40 points in 27 games (19-6-2). New York currently ranks second in the league overall with a .704 winning percentage.

SHORTHANDED STRIKE:

The Rangers tallied two shorthanded goals in the second period of Saturday’s game at Buffalo, marking the the first time the Rangers tallied two shorthanded goals in a game since Jan. 20, 2009 vs. Anaheim (F. Sjostrom at 3:22 of the 2nd Period and B. Betts at 19:26 of the 3rd Period). The last time the Blueshirts notched two shorthanded goals in the same period was during the second period on Mar. 6, 1997 at Los Angeles (B. Berg at 6:09 and N. Sundstrom at 15:11). *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

2,500 WINS CLUB:

The Rangers registered their 2,500th win in franchise history with a 4-1 victory at Buffalo on Saturday, becoming the fifth franchise in NHL history to reach the milestone along with Boston, Detroit, Montreal and Toronto. Below is a list of other Rangers milestone wins (courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau):

· 1st win on Nov. 16, 1926 vs. MTLM (1-0)

· 500th win on Jan. 25, 1951 at CHI (2-1)

· 1,000th win on Feb. 22, 1970 vs. TOR (5-3)

· 1,500th win on Oct. 10, 1983 vs. LAK (2-1)

· 2,000th win on Jan. 4, 1997 vs. OTT (6-4)

QUICK HITS:

· The Rangers have the fewest regulation losses (six) in the NHL

· New York has registered a point in 16 of their last 19 games (14-3-2), and has out-scored their opponent, 67-42, during the stretch

· New York is 5-1-1 when leading after the first period and 11-0-2 when leading after the second

· The Blueshirts lead the league with a .900 win% when out-shooting their opponent (9-1-0)

· The Rangers are 7-0-0 all-time in games when Brandon Prust is assessed a fighting major in the opening two minutes

· The Blueshirts rank second in the NHL when scoring first, posting a 13-1-1 mark (.867 win%) in those contests, and their 13 wins are tied for third in the league

· Henrik Lundqvist is 10-2-1 with a 1.91 GAA, .934 Sv% and one shutout in his last 13 games

· Michael Del Zotto enters the contest with a four-game assist streak (five assists over the span), and has tallied eight assists in the last eight games

· Brad Richards has tallied 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in the last 19 games, with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in the last nine

· Derek Stepan has tallied 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in the last 19 contests, with eight points (three goals, five assists) in the last six

· Artem Anisimov has tallied 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in the last 16 games, with seven points (four goals, three assists) in the last six

· Marian Gaborik has tallied 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in the last 20 games, with eight points (five goals, three assists) in the last seven

· Ryan Callahan enters the contest with a three-game point streak (two goals, one assist over the span), and has tallied 10 points (four goals, six assists) in the last nine

· Rangers’ prospects Christian Thomas (Canada) and J.T. Miller (USA) have been invited to participate in their respective National Junior Team’s selection camp for the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:

· Marian Gaborik: 2 assists from 300th NHL career; 2 goals from 300th NHL career; 4 points from 600th NHL career

· Dan Girardi: 4 assists from 100th NHL career

· Brad Richards: 1 game from 800th NHL career

· Michael Sauer: 2 games from 100th NHL career

INJURIES:

· Marc Staal (concussion, IR on 10/5) – 27

· Mike Rupp (knee, 10/24) – 20

· Wojtek Wolski (groin, 11/3) – 16

· Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) – 3

Total Man-Games Lost: 75

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

· None