Rangers still in thick of race despite 3-0 loss at home

2010-11 Game No. 81; Home Game No. 40		Rangers' Record: 43-33-5
VIDEO: TORTORELLA POSTGAME
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GAME RECAP By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com Throughout their mad dash down the stretch -- chasing after a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference -- one constant for the Rangers was that they controlled their own fate. The Blueshirts can still get into a fifth Stanley Cup playoffs over the past six seasons, but they will now need a bit of outside help following their 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Still holding the final playoff berth in the NHL’s Eastern Conference with 91 points, the Rangers have two more points than ninth-place Carolina. However,  the Blueshirts have only one game left to play, while the Hurricanes have two. The magic number for the Blueshirts to clinch a playoff spot remains at three, meaning that should the Rangers defeat the Devils in their final regular-season game Saturday afternoon at The Garden, they would only need Carolina to drop one of its four possible remaining points– or Buffalo to drop all four of its remaining possible points – to clinch a playoff playoff berth. While the Rangers will return to practice on Friday afternoon, their focus will shift later on to that evening’s contest down in Atlanta between the Thrashers and Hurricanes. A loss of any kind by Carolina on Friday night -- either in regulation or overtime -- would put the Rangers in a win-and-in scenario Saturday afternoon  ... • READ THE FULL STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME Dan Girardi had a team-high four blocked shots in 22:22 of ice time, increasing his NHL-leading total to 235 blocked shots on the season THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Fedotenko 2. McDonagh 3. Brian Boyle

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THE BIGGER PICTURE One thing that the Rangers have done consistently throughout this season has been to respond to their clearly subpar efforts with truly great ones. They will get that chance on Saturday at the Garden in what could very well prove to be a win-and-in game.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Staal (23:10) Shots -- Fedotenko (4) Hits -- Boyle (4) Blocks -- Girardi (4) Takeaways -- Six players tied (1) Faceoffs -- Dubinsky (17)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP VS. ATLANTA
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Brandon Dubinsky	Artem Anisimov	Marian Gaborik
Vinny Prospal	Derek Stepan	Wojtek Wolski
Ruslan Fedotenko	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Sean Avery	Erik Christensen	Matt Gilroy

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh	Michael Sauer
Bryan McCabe	Steve Eminger
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Chad Johnson Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Sauer, Fedotenko, Boyle, Prust.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Vinny Prospal	Brandon Dubinsky	Marian Gaborik
Artem Anisimov	Erik Christensen	Derek Stepan

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Marc Staal	Bryan McCabe
Wojtek Wolski	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Brandon Prust	Brian Boyle
Ruslan Fedotenko	Brandon Dubinsky

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Michael Sauer
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi