Game Preview: New York Rangers vs Buffalo Sabres

TONIGHTS GAME
The Rangers will face-off against the Buffalo Sabres tonight at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), to close out their back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank third in the league overall, with a record of 38-15-6 (82 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the New York Islanders, 4-3, in the shootout last night at Nassau Coliseum, and are now 9-3-2 in their last 14 games. The Blueshirts are 21-7-2 in their last 30 contests, dating back to Dec. 17, and have registered at least one point in 39 of their last 51 games since Oct. 29 (35-12-4) after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark. The Sabres enter the contest with a 27-27-7 (61 pts) record to rank 11th in the Eastern Conference, and have won their last three games. Following tonight’s contest, the Rangers will face-off against the New Jersey Devils on Monday, Feb. 27, at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m.), in an Atlantic Division match-up.

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Please note there is no morning skate prior to tonight’s contest.  Head Coach John Tortorella will be available to the media at 4:50 p.m. in the Media Center, located on the fifth floor of Madison Square Garden.
* Schedule and availability subject to change

RANGERS vs. SABRES:
* All-Time: 59-71-25-5 overall (33-27-15-3 at home; 26-44-10-2 on the road)
* 2011-12: Tonight is the third of four meetings this season, and the first of two at Madison Square Garden. New York is 2-0-0 (0-0-0 at home; 2-0-0 on the road) following a 1-0 shootout win on Feb. 1 at First Niagara Center. The Rangers have out-scored Buffalo, 5-1, in the series, including a 3-0 advantage in the third period and overtime. Carl Hagelin leads the Rangers with two goals, while Michael Del Zotto and Steve Eminger have each tallied a team-high, two assists. Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 0.00 GAA, 1.000 Sv% and one shutout, and Martin Biron is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .970 Sv%.
* Last Season:  New York was 2-2-0 overall (1-1-0 at home; 1-1-0 on the road). Three of their four meetings were decided by one goal, including a 3-2 overtime win on Nov. 11 at MSG. Artem Anisimov led the team in scoring with four points (three goals, one assist) in the series, while Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi tied for the team-high with three assists apiece. Henrik Lundqvist was 1-2-0 with a 2.37 GAA and .928 Sv% in three games, and Martin Biron was 1-0-0 with a 1.95 GAA and .935 Sv% in one game.
* Seven of the last 10 meetings between the Rangers and Sabres have been decided by one goal
* New York ranks seventh with a 19-7-2 (40 pts) record at home; Buffalo ranks 26th with a 11-16-0 (22 pts) mark on the road
* The Rangers are 7-5-1 vs. the Northeast Division; the Sabres are 5-9-2 vs. the Atlantic Division
* New York lists one former Sabre on their roster: Martin Biron (1995-96 – 2006-07)
* Buffalo lists no former Rangers on their roster

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. SABRES:
* Henrik Lundqvist — 19 GP, 9-8-2, 2.29 GAA, 1 SO
* Martin Biron — 14 GP, 9-3-0-1, 2.68 GAA, 2 SO
* Brad Richards — 32 GP, 9-18-27
* Ruslan Fedotenko — 38 GP, 10-15-25
* Brandon Dubinsky — 16 GP, 6-8-14
* Anton Stralman — 12 GP, 2-3-5

SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Rangers have tallied seven power play goals in the last eight games, posting a 23.3% success rate over the span (7-30). The Blueshirts penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in 18 of the last 26 games (65-73, 89.0% over the span). The Rangers are tied for fifth in the NHL with seven shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 19-1-3 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 27-7-2 when not allowing a power play goal.
* Power Play: The Rangers tallied two goals in five power play attempts (4:49) last night at Long Island. New York ranks 26th overall (30-206, 14.6%) and 23rd at home (16-108, 14.8%). The Rangers are 2-13 (10:23) in five-on-three situations (last – 2/19 vs. CBJ), and 1-7 (9:28) when four-on-three (last – 2/24 at NYI). 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 Islanders in five shorthanded situations (6:29) last night at Long Island. New York ranks sixth overall (167-193, 86.5%) and is tied for eighth at home (73-85, 85.9%). The Rangers are 8-9 (4:34) in three-on-five situations (last – 2/16 vs. CHI), and 2-3 (2:24) when three-on-four (last – 2/16 vs. CHI). Shorthanded goals for (7): 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); 2/12 vs. WSH (Prust).
* Four-on-Four: New York did not tally/yield a goal in two four-on-four situations (5:47) and one three-on-three situation (0:37) last night at Long Island. The Rangers are plus-seven in 62 four-on-four situations (113:20), and even in two three-on-three situations (0:38). Four-on-four goals for (8): 10/18 at VAN (Gaborik); 10/20 at CGY (McDonagh); 10/27 vs. TOR (Girardi); 1/2 vs. FLA (Gaborik); 2/9 vs. TBL (Stepan); 2/9 vs. TBL (Richards); 2/14 at BOS (Anisimov); 2/19 vs. CBJ (Stepan). Four-on-four goals allowed (1): 2/9 vs. TBL (Lecavalier).

BACK-TO-BACKS
The Rangers will conclude their 10th of 14 scheduled back-to-back sets this season tonight against Buffalo. New York has posted a record of 7-0-3 (3-0-0 at home, 4-0-3 on the road) in the first game of the set, and are 7-1-1 (5-0-0 at home, 2-1-1 on the road) in the second game. Since 2009-10, New York is 28-9-3 in the second game of back-to-backs, with a 14-3-1 mark at MSG and 14-6-2 on the road over the span. Henrik Lundqvist has started on consecutive days 57 times in his career, posting a record of 36-14-7 with a 1.82 GAA, .935 Sv% and six shutouts in the second game.

SCORELESS TIES
The Rangers and Sabres played 65 minutes of scoreless hockey before the Blueshirts won the contest in the shootout in their last meeting on Feb. 1 at Buffalo. It was the 39th time in franchise history the Rangers skated to a scoreless tie through regulation and overtime. The last time the Rangers entered the shootout in a scoreless tie was Jan. 12, 2010 vs. New Jersey at MSG (0-1, SO), and the last time the Blueshirts won when entering the shootout in a scoreless tie was Oct. 17, 2008 vs. Toronto at MSG.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Blueshirts’ 19-7-2 (40 pts) mark at MSG is their best start at home through 28 games since 1995-96 (19-3-6, 44 pts).

PLACE IN HISTORY
The Rangers’ .695 win% through 59 games is the team’s best start in 39 years, when the 1972-73 Blueshirts began the season with a 39-15-5 record (.703 win%), and is the third best start in franchise history. *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

MEASURING UP
The Rangers rank among the NHL leaders in several statistical categories…
* 3rd in points (82)
* 1st in win% (.695)
* 3rd in wins (38)
* 1st in regulation/overtime wins (35)
* 1st in fewest regulation losses (15)
* T-1st in fewest goals against (117)
* 2nd in GAA (1.98)
* 1st in hits (1,770)
* 4th in blocked shots (982)
* 4th in +/- rating (plus-40)
* 4th in goal differential (plus-42)

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 39 of their last 51 games (35-12-4), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark
* New York is 14-1-2 when leading after the first period and 24-0-2 when leading after the second
* The Rangers rank fourth in the league with a .250 win% when trailing after two periods (4-11-1), and their four third period comeback victories are tied for ninth in the NHL; New York has trailed entering the third period in 16 games this season, which is the fewest in the league
* New York leads the NHL with a .741 win% when out-shooting their opponent (20-6-1)
* The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 28-1-2 mark (.903 win%) in those contests; Their 28 wins rank third in the NHL

THE HOT LIST:
* Henrik Lundqvist is 8-2-0 with a 1.29 GAA, .953 Sv% and three shutouts in his last 10 games
* Ryan Callahan has tallied eight points (six goals, two assists) in the last eight games
* Marian Gaborik has tallied 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in the last 17 games
* Brad Richards has tallied six points (two goals, four assists) in the last eight games
* Derek Stepan has tallied eight points (three goals, five assists) in the last 10 games
* Michael Del Zotto has tallied nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the last 13 games, with six assists in the last eight
* Artem Anisimov has tallied eight points (four goals, four assists) in the last 10 games

MILESTONES APPROACHING:
* Ryan Callahan: 1 goal from 100 NHL career
* Steve Eminger: 4 points from 100 NHL career
* Marian Gaborik: 1 game from 700 NHL career
* Ryan McDonagh: 1 game from 100 NHL career

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:
* John Mitchell: 200th career NHL game (2/24 at NYI)

INJURIES:
* Michael Sauer (concussion, 12/5) — 35
Total Man-Games Lost: 177

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
* None