RANGERS CLOSING IN ON CONFERENCE TITLE – EASILY DISPATCH HABS

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
March 30, 2012 (Game 78, Home Game 39)
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

• The Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden for their 50th win of the season.  The Blueshirts extended their winning streak to four games, and have won six of the last seven games.

EVEN SCULLY COULDN’T HAVE STOPPED THESE JETS FROM GOING DOWN

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
March 28, 2012 (Game 77, Away Game 39)
MTS Centre – Winnipeg, MB

                                                 1st     2nd    3rd     OT      F
New York Rangers               0        2         2         -         4
Winnipeg Jets                       0        2         0        -         2

Team Notes:

• The Rangers defeated the Winnipeg Jets, 4-2, tonight at MTS Centre, and have now won five of the last six games.  The Blueshirts tallied four unanswered goals to erase a two-goal second period deficit.
• New York improved to 49-21-7 (105 pts.) overall, including a 23-11-5 mark on the road.  The Rangers now rank first in the NHL overall with 105 points, and increased their lead over Pittsburgh atop the Eastern Conference standings to five points.

NOT WILD IN MINNY, BUT STILL GET TWO BIGGIES

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
March 27, 2012 (Game 76, Away Game 38)
Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN

                                                 1st     2nd    3rd     OT      F
New York Rangers               1        1         1          -          3
Minnesota Wild                   0        2         0         -          2

Team Notes:

• The Rangers defeated the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, tonight at Xcel Energy Center, and have now won four of the last five games.

CAPTAIN CALLY DOES IT AGAIN

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
March 24, 2012 (Game 75, Away Game 37)
Air Canada Centre – Toronto, ON

                                        1st   2nd  3rd  SO   F
New York Rangers           1      1          1        1        4
Toronto Maple Leafs      1     1          1        0        3

Team Notes:

• The Rangers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3, in the shootout tonight at Air Canada Centre, and have now won three of their last four games.  Ryan Callahan notched the game-deciding goal in the third round of the shootout, and Brad Richards also converted his shootout attempt.  The Blueshirts are now 7-6-0 against Original Six opponents this season.

RANGERS AND WHALE BOTH LOSE BY 4-1 SCORES

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
March 23, 2012 (Game 74, Home Game 38)
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

Team Notes:

• The Rangers were defeated by the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden, to finish their seven-game homestand with a 4-3-0 mark.
• New York has posted a record of 46-21-7 (99 pts.) overall, including a 26-10-2 mark at home.
• The Rangers have posted a combined record of 16-4-5 in back-to-back games, including an 8-2-3 (3-1-0 at home, 5-1-3 on the road) record in the first game of the set.
• The Blueshirts’ penalty kill was 1-1 (2:00) against the Sabres tonight, and have now held their opponent scoreless in nine of the last 12 games (30-33, 90.9%) and are 35-39 (89.7%) in the last 14 contests.

RANGERS CLIP WINGS IN OT

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
March 21, 2012 (Game 73, Home Game 37)
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

Team Notes:

• The Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1, in overtime tonight at Madison Square Garden to improve to 4-2-0 on their current seven-game homestand.
• New York has posted a record of 46-20-7 (99 pts.) overall, including a 26-9-2 mark at home.

AVALANCHE RUN OVER RANGERS 3-1

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
March 17, 2012 (Game 71, Home Game 35)
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

Team Notes:

• The Rangers were defeated by the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden, and are now 2-2-0 on their current seven-game homestand.
• New York has posted a record of 44-20-7 (95 pts.) overall, including a 24-9-2 mark at home.
• Tonight’s loss ended the Rangers’ three-game winning streak on St. Patrick’s Day.
• The Rangers out-shot the Avalanche, 42-20, led by Ryan Callahan’s game-high, seven shots on goal. The Blueshirts’ 42 shots on goal marks a season-high, and is the most since New York registered 47 shots on goal against the Islanders on Mar. 15, 2011.  It is the third time this season the Rangers posted 40 shots in a game.

TWO POINTS ARE TWO POINTS

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The Connecticut Whale should be happy they came away with the two points they got for the 5-3 win Sunday afternoon in Manchester when they faced the Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena, because they certainly weren’t going to be getting any style points – if there was such a thing.

“It’s going to be a grind, with a short night and travel last night,”  Whale head coach Ken Gernander told Brian Ring afterwards. “But the guys stuck with  it, got a big goal by Casey [Wellman], and we were able to get our two points.”

ZUCCARELLO RECALLED BY RANGERS

According to the AHL transaction wire “The Norwegian Hobbit,” Mats Zuccarello, has been recalled by the New York Rangers.

Andrew Gross reports on his Rangers Rants blog that Zuccarello will be with the Rangers for tonight’s tilt with with the New York Islanders to replace an injured Ryan Callahan. Gross also reports that ex-Whale Michael Del Zotto will also miss the game with an injured right hip. It’s ironic that, as Gross points out, Zuccarello makes his NHL return against an Islanders team that was the last one he played against in the NHL in Game Three of this season before being whisked off to Hartford.

Zuccarello has 12 goals, 24 assists in 37 games for the Whale and will be playing in his third game in three days. He would have been doing so anyway as he would have been in the lineup for today’s Whale game as well.

The Whale do not have any extra forwards on the current roster so KenGernander is likely to insert Blake Parlett into the lineup for this afternoon’s tilt with the Manchester Monarchs and run seven defenseman.

Game time is at 3pm. Follow the play-by play with us at @HowlingsToday on Twitter.

Here’s the official release:

THREE ALARM CHICAGO FIRE SMOKES RANGERS

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NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
March 9, 2012 (Game 67, Away Game 36)
United Center – Chicago, IL

                                                            1st     2nd    3rd     OT      F
New York Rangers                1        0         2          -         3
Chicago Blackhawks           0        1         3          -         4

Team Notes:

• The Rangers were defeated by the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3, tonight at United Center, and are now 13-6-3 in their last 22 games.
• New York has posted a record of 42-18-7 (91 pts.) overall, including a 20-11-5 mark on the road.