RANGERS PREVIEW

NEW YORK RANGERS at NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Monday, Oct. 11, 1:00 p.m.

Nassau Coliseum • Uniondale, NY

Rangers: 1-0-0 (2 pts)

Islanders: 0-0-1 (1 pt)

* All information through NHL games on Oct. 9

TOMORROW’S GAME:

The Rangers will face-off against the New York Islanders tomorrow at Nassau Coliseum (1:00 p.m.), in a matinée match-up between Atlantic Division rivals. The Blueshirts currently rank second in the Atlantic Division standings, and fourth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 1-0-0 (2 pts). The Rangers enter tomorrow’s contest having defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 6-3, in their season opener last night at HSBC Arena. The Blueshirts have now won five of their last six season openers (5-1-0). The Islanders enter the contest with a 0-0-1 (1 pt) record to rank 10th in the Eastern Conference, having lost their season opener, 5-4, in overtime last night at Long Island. Following tomorrow’s game, the Rangers will return home to face-off against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, October 15, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their 2010-11 regular season home opener.

RANGERS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Please note there is no morning skate scheduled prior to the contest. Rangers’ head coach John Tortorella will be available to the media at 11:00 a.m.

* Schedule and availability subject to change

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
TV: MSG Network

12:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game Show with Bill Pidto and Ron Duguay

1:00 p.m. – Rangers @ Islanders

Broadcasters: Sam Rosen (Play-By-Play), Joe Micheletti (Analyst), John Giannone (In-Game Reporter)

Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio

12:30 p.m. – Rangers Pre-Game with Kenny Albert

1:00 p.m. – Rangers @ Islanders

Broadcasters: Kenny Albert (Play-By-Play), Dave Maloney (Analyst)

RANGERS vs. ISLANDERS:
*All-Time: The Rangers are 108-96-19-5 all-time against the Islanders: 62-37-11-4 at home and 46-59-8-1 on the road.
*2010-11: This is the first of six meetings between the Rangers and Islanders this season, and the first at Nassau Coliseum.
*Last Season: New York was 3-2-1 against the Islanders in 2009-10, including a 2-1-0 mark at Nassau Coliseum. The Rangers’ power play converted at a 22.7% success rate in the season series, registering five goals in 22 opportunities.
*The Blueshirts are tied for third in the NHL on the road with a record of 1-0-0 (2 pts) in one game; the Islanders have posted a record of 0-0-1 (1 pt) in one home game tying for 11th in the league
*The Rangers posted a record of 10-10-4 vs. the Atlantic Division last season; the Islanders registered a 7-15-2 mark vs. the Atlantic Division last season
*Henrik Lundqvist posted a record of 3-2-1 with a 2.15 goals against average and one shutout in six appearances vs. the Islanders last season; Lundqvist is 17-8-5 with a 2.05 goals against average and two shutouts in 31 career regular season contests vs. the Islanders
*Marian Gaborik led the Rangers with four goals and seven points in five games vs. the Islanders last season; Michal Rozsival tallied a team-high, four assists in six contests vs. the Islanders last season
*Michal Rozsival has tallied 17 assists and 20 points in 50 career regular season games vs. the Islanders; Marian Gaborik has notched eight goals and 16 points in 15 career regular season contests vs. the Islanders
*The Rangers list two former Islanders on their roster: Martin Biron (2009-10); Ruslan Fedotenko (2007-08)
*The Islanders list three former Rangers on their roster: Mike Mottau (2000-01 – 2001-02); PA Parenteau (2009-10); Doug Weight (1991-92 – 1992-93)

SPECIAL TEAMS:
Power Play: The Rangers did not register a goal in three power play opportunities (4:00) on Saturday at Buffalo. New York is tied for 25th in the NHL with a 0.0% (0-3) success rate, including a 0.0% (0-3) success rate on the road tying for 13th in the league. The Rangers did not convert on one five-on-three chance (0:30) on Saturday at HSBC Arena, and are now 0-1 on five-on-three attempts (0:30). New York is 0-1 (1:05) with a four-on-three advantage this season. Shorthanded goals allowed (0).

Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts surrendered one goal in five shorthanded situations (4:51) to the Sabres, and notched one shorthanded goal on Saturday at Buffalo. New York is tied for 17th in the NHL with an 80.0% (4-5) success rate overall, and is tied for eighth in the league with an 80.0% (4-5) success rate away from MSG. The Rangers have not skated in a three-on-five or three-on-four situation this season. Shorthanded goals for (1): 10/9 at BUF (Dubinsky).

Four-on-Four: New York has skated in two four-on-four situations (1:50) this season. Four-on-four goals for (0). Four-on-four goals allowed (0).

STEPAN’S NEW TRICK

Derek Stepan notched three goals and posted a plus-three rating in 17:21 of ice time while making his NHL debut in the Rangers’ 6-3 season-opening win on Saturday at Buffalo.  He registered the Rangers’ first goal of the season, opening the game’s scoring at 10:53 of the first period.  His second and third goals were recorded in a 3:12 span late in the second period.  His third goal at 18:20 of the middle frame was the game-winner.  Stepan’s hat trick established the following Rangers’ and NHL marks:
*He is the first Ranger in franchise history to record a hat trick in his NHL debut.
*His three goals tied the Rangers’ franchise record for most goals in an opening-night game, becoming just the second player in team history to record a hat trick in the season opener.  Ron Murphy also tallied a hat trick in the 1955-56 season opener on Oct. 7, 1955 at Chicago.
*The last Ranger rookie to register a hat trick was Jan Hlavac on Feb. 11, 2000 vs. Boston.
*Stepan is the 26th Ranger to record a hat trick in their rookie season.
*The last Ranger to register a hat trick at Buffalo was Petr Nedved on Feb. 25, 2000.
*The last NHL player to record a hat trick in their NHL debut was Fabian Brunnstrom of the Dallas Stars on Oct. 15, 2008 vs. Nashville.
*Stepan is just the fourth player in NHL history to register a hat trick in their NHL debut.

YOUTH IS SERVED

According to opening day rosters, the Rangers have the ninth youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 27 years and 44 days, and the second youngest defensive corp in the league, trailing only Los Angeles with an average age of 25 years and 51 days.

NEW FACES

The Rangers had six new players dress in their season opener on Saturday at Buffalo: Martin Biron, Derek Boogaard, Steve Eminger, Ruslan Fedotenko, Alex Frolov, and Derek Stepan. Stepan (three goals) and Frolov (one assist) both registered their first point as a Ranger. Forwards Tim Kennedy and Todd White are still looking to make their Rangers debut.

GETTING STARTED:
*Entering the season, the Rangers have posted a record of 276-266-90 all-time in the month of October, including a 175-114-47 mark at home and a 101-152-43 record on the road. New York is scheduled to play 10 games during the season’s opening month in 2010-11, with five games being contested at MSG and five scheduled on the road.
*Legendary Rangers’ defenseman Brian Leetch holds the franchise record for most points in the month of October, having registered 43 goals and 130 assists for 173 career points in the season’s opening month.
*The Blueshirts’ all-time leader for most career wins in the month of October is Mike Richter, who registered 40 career wins during the season’s opening month.
*Last season, New York tied the franchise record for longest winning streak in the month of October, winning seven consecutive games from Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Ottawa to Oct. 17, 2009 at Toronto. The Rangers also won seven straight October games in 1988-89, beginning on Oct. 16 vs. Vancouver and ending on Oct. 30 vs. Pittsburgh. Their seven-game winning streak last season was also the team’s longest since they won seven straight from Feb. 1, 2006 vs. Pittsburgh to Mar. 2, 2006 at Philadelphia.

MILESTONES IN SIGHT:
*Sean Avery: 2 points from 100th Ranger career
*Ryan Callahan: 3 points from 100th NHL/Ranger career
*Chris Drury: 4 power play goals from 100th NHL career

MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED:
*Derek Stepan: 1st career NHL game and 1st career NHL goal/point (10/9 at BUF)

INJURIES:
*Chris Drury (IR – Sept. 20) – 1
*Vinny Prospal (IR – Sept. 24) – 1
Total Man-Games Lost: 2

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
*Oct. 3: Assigned defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko, and forwards Dale Weise and Mats Zuccarello to Hartford
*Oct. 4: Agreed to terms with free agent forward Ruslan Fedotenko