Blueshirts blow away Panthers in tuneup for Classic

2011-12 Game No. 36; Road Game No. 20	Rangers' Record: 23-9-4
VIDEO: HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
• Full Highlights | Tortorella Postgame		• Lundqvist, Callahan Postgame

GAME RECAP Associated Press Carl Hagelin had a goal and an assist, Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots, and the Rangers earned a 4-1 victory against the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Brad Richards, Michael Del Zotto, and Brandon Dubinsky also scored for the Rangers, who have won six of seven and will play the Philadelphia Flyers in the Winter Classic on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. Ryan McDonagh had two assists for the Rangers, who lead the Eastern Conference with 50 points. Matt Bradley scored for the Panthers. It didn't take long for the Rangers to score. Ryan Callahan skated up the left side, stopped along the boards just outside the faceoff circle, and threaded a pass to Hagelin, who deflected a pass past Scott Clemmensen 35 seconds into the game. Later in the first period, Richards beat Clemmensen with a wrist shot and Del Zotto scored from the blue line ending Clemmensen's night. Clemmensen stopped 11 of 14 shots before being replaced by Jose Theodore. Dubinsky gave the Rangers a 4-0 lead on an impressive goal as he weaved through traffic and fired a backhand by Theodore for his fourth of the season. Lundqvist was sharp throughout, stopping seven shots in the first, 11 in the second and nine in the final period. Theodore turned away 10 of 11 shots for the Panthers, who have lost four of five. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME The Rangers improved to 23-9-4 (50 points) on the season, including a 12-6-2 road mark. The Rangers' .694 winning percentage ranks second in the league, while their nine regulation losses are tied for the fewest in the NHL. The last time the Rangers had at least 50 points after 36 regular-season games was in the 1993-94 Stanley Cup championship season, when they reached 50 points in 35 games and had 53 through 36. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Richards 2. Lundqvist 3. Hagelin

---

THE BIGGER PICTURE The Rangers are right where they want to be heading for the big stage of the NHL Winter Classic. They have won six of seven games and put themselves in a position where 2012 is beginning to shape up as the team's most memorable year since 1994.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Del Zotto (28:11) Shots -- Stepan (6) Hits -- Girardi (5) Blocks -- Bickel (4) Takeaways -- Dubinsky, Anisimov (2) Faceoffs -- Richards (14)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP AT FLORIDA
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Artem Anisimov	Derek Stepan	Marian Gaborik
Carl Hagelin	Brad Richards	Ryan Callahan
Brandon Dubinsky	Brian Boyle	John Mitchell
Ruslan Fedotenko	Mike Rupp	Brandon Prust

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto	Anton Stralman
Jeff Woywitka	Stu Bickel
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Girardi, Hagelin, Richards, Callahan.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Artem Anisimov	Derek Stepan	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Brian Boyle	Ryan Callahan

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Michael Del Zotto	Brad Richards
Michael Del Zotto	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Ryan Callahan	Brandon Dubinsky
Brandon Prust	Brian Boyle
Ruslan Fedotenko	Artem Anisimov

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Del Zotto/Woywitka	Anton Stralman