The Rangers defeated the Devils 3-0 tonight at MSG.

For a complete recap, check out SNY.tv

• Henrik Lundqvist made 38 saves for his 3rd shutout of the season, 20th of his career.
• Brandon Dubinsky (11), Dan Girardi (4) and Ryan Callahan (21) all netted goals in the 2nd period.
• Nik Antropov notched his 30th assist, giving him a new career high in points with 57 (27 goals, 30 assists).
• Girardi was a +3 on the night.
• Marc Staal led the Rangers with 23:05 of ice time.
• In his return to the lineup, Corey Potter had 15:53 of ice time.

The Rangers are now 40-28-9, with sole possession of 7th place in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Canadiens.  They trail the Penguins by a point, but Pittsburgh has a game in hand.  Lundqvist did not have to be magical tonight, but made big saves when he had to.  He improves to 35-23-7 with three shutouts and a GAA of 2.46.

Callahan is officially a goal scorer, and since paired with Scott Gomez, has lit the lamp often and made it look easy.

When asked in the locker room about if he was being run at, Sean Avery laughed and responded with “yeah,” giving the media a nice chuckle.

The Rangers next game is Thursday in Carolina against the red hot Hurricanes.

Monzo: Well, I said this was a ‘no brainer, a must win,’ and they got it done.  The Rangers came out, and fired 20 shots on Brodeur in the first period and kept it going.  It’s a nice win and it feels good, but the momentum must stay through Thursday night.  The Canes are a tough team to play these days, and since the return of Erik Cole, they are eerily similar to team back on 05-06 that hoisted the Cup.  But without looking ahead, this was a top-notch win and something needed.  Scott Gomez was flying all night, and since being put with Ryan Callahan, Callahan’s game has been taken to new a level.  We will see if this carries over.  That’s it from here, more later………………….

The Game:

The New York Rangers play host to their Lincoln Tunnel Rivals the New Jersey Devils tonight as the Rangers continue to fight for the playoffs. This is also the return of Brendan Shanahan to MSG, his first trip their since signing with the Devils in January.

The Goaltenders:

Henrik Lundqvist (34-23-7, 2.57 GAA) starts in net for the Rangers.

Martin Brodeur (15-6-3, 2.17 GAA) gets the start for the Devils.

New Jersey‘s Leading Scorers:

Zach Parise: 42 goals, 47 assists

Patrik Elias: 31 goals, 47 assists

Jamie Langenbrunner: 25 goals, 39 assists

All Time:

Overall: 90-78-27-4
At MSG: 50-27-20-1

This Season vs Jersey:

Oct. 13 Rangers 4, Devils 1 at MSG
Nov. 12 Rangers 5, Devils 2 at New Jersey
Dec. 12 Rangers 5, Devils 8 at New Jersey
Dec. 27 Rangers 2, Devils 4 at MSG
Feb. 9 Rangers 0, Devils 3 at New Jersey
March 30 Rangers vs. Devils at MSG

Notes:

• The Rangers are 23-11-4 at home this season; The Devils are 21-13-3 on the road.
• The Blueshirts have won five of their last six meetings vs. the Devils at MSG
• Henrik Lundqvist has a 14-5-4 record, a 1.88 GAA and two shutouts in 23 career regular season appearances vs. New Jersey.
• Scott Gomez has two goals and eight assists against his former mates in 12 games. Gomez played in NJ from 1999-00 to 2006-07.
• The Devils have former Rangers  Brendan Shanahan(06-07 to 07-08), Bobby Holik(02-03 to 03-04), Mike Mottau(00-01 to 01-02) and goalie Kevin Weekes (05-06 to 06-07).

How To Catch It:

Tonight’s game can be seen on Versus and can be heard on 770 AM.

The The New York chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association nominated Blair Betts as the Rangers nominee for the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy.

The award looks at dedication, perseverance and sportsmanship.

Previous Rangers to win the award are Adam Graves (2000-01), Anders Hedberg (1984-85), Rod Gilbert (1975-76) and Jean Ratelle (1970-71).

Rotter: Blair Betts has been the unsung hero of the Rangers since he was brought to the team in 2003-04. He has been the team’s top penalty killer and has never received the amount of credit he deserves. He makes the Rangers penalty kill work and while you may never seen #15 Betts jerseys, littering the crowd at MSG, he has proved to be just as important a part as anyone else on the Rangers.

Reports from practice today are that injured Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival will skate tomorrow and practice with the team on Wednesday.

If all goes well, Rozival could be back in the lineup for Thursday night’s showdown with Carolina.

Rozsival hasn’t skated since being hit by Ottawa‘s Shoane Donovan on March 22nd.

Rozsival has 8 goals and 22 assists this season.

In other practice news, there was an optional skate before tonights game with New Jersey.

Sean Avery, Blair Betts, Lauri Korpikoski, Aaron Voros, Colton Orr, Freddy Sjostrom, Derek Morris, new call-up Corey Potter, Dan Girardi, Paul Mara and goalie Steve Valiquette.

To call this a ‘big game’ tonight against the Devils may be the understatement of the day, and I’ve already had two understatements early this morning.

1- I said my breakfast was really good, but it was in fact outstanding.  I rank outstanding higher then really good.

2-I said my coffee hit the spot — it did more than that, it has gotten me through the morning.

Jokes aside, I re-iterate my point, this is a ‘MUST WIN’ for NYR.  The Rangers currently sit at 7th, with 87 points, with six games to go, and play playoff teams the rest of the way.

Both the Rangers and Devils are 5-4-1 in their last 10, but the Devils have lost four in a row and the Rangers have lost their last two.  Both teams are looking to get their games going before the playoffs.

For the Rangers however, these are make or break games.  The Sabres have gotten Ryan Miller back and have won three in a row, still only four points from a playoff spot.  The Panthers, after looking like they gave up last week, have won two in a row and are only a point out, and two behind the Rangers.

Obviously, worth noting — AVERY/BRODEUR, part 2 starts tonight.  Should be interesting.

All a little confusing, but very important — click here for the standings.

For a ‘Tale of the Tape’ of tonight’s game, check out THN.com.

More Self-Promotion – I will be at the game tonight wandering around, if you see me, definitely say ‘what up?’ or whatever greeting of your choice.  Cheers!

One of the newest Rangers, Nik Antropov, will be at the NHL store, on the corner of 47th and 6th in Manhattan tomorrow at 2P for an autograph session.

If local, definitely come by and check it out.

Please answer the following question, while considering the team’s ownership, current management, talent, minor-league system, etc…

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NHL.com reporters Adam Kimelman, Brad Holland and Shawn Roarke did a few mock drafts previewing the class of 2009, led by John Tavares and Victor Hedman.

With all three drafts, the Rangers had the 19th overall pick.

Kimelman had the Rangers taking Oliver Ekman-Larsson, an offensive minded defenseman from Sweden.

Holland has the Rangers taking Ryan Ellis, another defenseman from Windsor.

Roarke has the Rangers taking Ryan Palmieri, a forward from USNTDP.

No surprise here, all three have Tavares going to the Islanders, first overall.  Ryan Ellis, projected to go the Rangers at 19th by Holland, is projected to go 6th to the Kings by Roarke.

Monzo: I was little shocked to see two out of the three mock drafts have the Rangers drafting defense, considering they have very little offense in the minors — but having a massive amount of defense in the waiting is a very good thing.