Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Tampa Bay

2009-10 Season Game No. 50 at Madison Square Garden
Tuesday, 01.19.2010

Tonight's Game

The Rangers face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), their fifth game in eight days. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 23-19-7 (53 pts.). The Rangers enter tonight's contest having defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 6-2, Sunday at Madison Square Garden, and have now recorded a point in 13 of their last 16 contests (9-3-4). The six goals were the most recorded by the Blueshirts in a game since they tallied seven goals on Nov. 23 vs. Columbus at MSG. The Lightning enter the contest with an 19-19-10 (48 pts.) record, and rank 13th in the Eastern Conference. Following tonight's game, the Rangers will face-off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, Jan. 21, at the Wachovia Center (7:00 p.m.), in a matchup between Atlantic Division rivals.

Tune In Tonight!Tonight's game will be televised nationally on Versus. You can also catch the radio broadcast on 1050 ESPN New York and on satellite radio at XM 204.

Rangers vs. Lightning Pre-Game Notes

* The Rangers rank 22nd in the NHL at home with a record of 11-11-4 (26 pts.) in 26 games; the Lightning have posted a record of 8-13-5 (21 pts.) in 25 road games to rank 25th in the league.

* New York has posted a record of 5-4-3 vs. the Southeast Division; Tampa Bay has registered a 5-5-2 mark vs. the Atlantic Division.

* Henrik Lundqvist has posted a record of 10-5-2 with a 2.04 goals against average and one shutout in 17 career regular season appearances vs. Tampa Bay.

* Wade Redden leads the team with 15 assists and 23 points in 46 career regular season contests vs. Tampa Bay; Chris Drury has tallied a team-high 10 goals in 27 career regular season appearances vs. the Lightning.

* Drury recorded his second career hat trick on Nov. 6, 2008 vs. Tampa Bay.

* New York lists one former Lightning player on its roster: Vinny Prospal (2001-02 to 2002-03, 2005-06 to 2007-08, 2008-09).

* Tampa Bay lists no former Rangers on its roster.

All Time – Rangers vs. Lightning
Overall: 34-27-5-3
At MSG: 19-12-2-2
At Tampa Bay: 15-15-3-1

2009-10 - Rangers vs. Tampa Bay
Nov. 27 Rangers 1, Lightning 5 at Tampa
Jan. 19 Rangers vs. Lightning at MSG
Feb. 14 Rangers vs. Lightning at MSG
April 2 Rangers vs. Lightning at Tampa

Upcoming Regular-Season Schedule
Jan. 19 Rangers vs. Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Jan. 21 Rangers at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 Rangers at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Jan. 25 Rangers vs. Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Jan. 27 Rangers vs. Carolina, 7 p.m.

Injuries

* None

* The Rangers have lost 51 manpower games due to injury or illness this season.

[ rangers.nhl.com ]