NEW YORK RANGERS 2010-11 REGULAR SEASON RECAP
New York, NY – The New York Rangers concluded the 2010-11 regular season ranked third in the Atlantic Division standings, and eighth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 44-33-5 for 93 points. The Blueshirts are one of seven Eastern Conference teams to have registered at least five seasons of 40+ wins since 2005-06, and one of five Eastern Conference teams to advance to the playoffs in five of the six seasons. Compared to last season, the Rangers registered six more wins and six more points (38-33-11, 87 points in 2009-10), having tallied 11 more goals (233 this season, 222 last season) while allowing 20 fewer goals against (198 this season, 218 last season). New York also posted a six-goal improvement while shorthanded compared to 2009-10 (11 this season, five last season).
Recapping the 2010-11 season:
• New York enters the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 12 players who were drafted by or signed their first NHL contracts with the Rangers and have only played for the Rangers in their careers. The last time there were 12 such players on the roster going into the playoffs was 1989-90 (Leetch, Richter, Mallette, J. Patrick, Erixon, Turcotte, Janssens, P. Broten, Horava, Greschner, Vanbiesbrouck, and J. Bloemberg).
• The Blueshirts posted a record of 11-4-1 in their final 16 contests, and won six of their last eight games at MSG (6-1-1).
• The Rangers began their 85th anniversary season with a 6-3 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena in Buffalo on October 9, marking the third consecutive season the Blueshirts opened their regular season campaign on the road. The six goals were the most by the Rangers in their season opener since their 6-2 win vs. New Jersey in the 1983-84 season opener on October 5, 1983. Rookie Derek Stepan notched three goals while making his NHL debut in the season opener to become the first Ranger in franchise history to record a hat trick in his NHL debut, and just the fourth player in NHL history to register a hat trick in their NHL debut.
• According to opening day rosters, the Rangers began the 2010-11 season with 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.
• The Rangers tied for fourth in the league in shorthanded goals (11) and road wins (24). The Blueshirts’ 11 shorthanded goals were the most for New York since they notched 11 shorthanded goals in 2006-07, and are tied for 12th most in franchise history. Their 24 road wins are the most by the Rangers since 1993-94 (24-16-2).
• New York posted a record of 14-9-1 vs. Atlantic Division opponents, compared to a 10-10-4 mark vs. division opponents last season.
• The Rangers tied for first in the league and Henrik Lundqvist led the league with 11 shutouts.
• New York ended the season 11 games over .500 with a 44-33-5 record. New York was never more than six games over .500 last season, having last been at least 11 games over on April 12, 2009 (43-30-9). The 44 wins are tied for sixth most in franchise history.
• The Rangers led the NHL with 2,333 hits and ranked fourth with 1,301 blocked shots.
• The Rangers had 19 different players credited with at least one game-winning goal this season, which was tied for second most in the NHL.
• The Blueshirts were the only team in the NHL to go undefeated when leading after two periods, posting a record of 29-0-0 in those contests. The Rangers were tied for fifth in the league with 85 goals in the third period, and third in the NHL with a plus-22 goal differential in the final frame (85 goals for, 63 goals against).
• New York posted a record of 8-24-4 when trailing after the second period. The Rangers’ eight wins and 20 points tied for second in the league, while their .222 winning percentage ranked seventh.
• New York posted a record of 11-7-0 in 18 games vs. Western Conference opponents this season. Their 11 wins were tied for first among Eastern Conference teams and the Rangers tied for third with 22 points and third with a .611 winning percentage.
• The Rangers tallied one penalty shot goal in two attempts this season. Ryan Callahan notched a penalty shot goal on October 30 at Toronto, his first career penalty shot goal in two attempts, and the first by a Ranger since Sean Avery converted his attempt vs. Tampa Bay on February 14, 2010.
• Six Blueshirt players made their NHL debut this season – Derek Stepan (October 9 at Buffalo), Evgeny Grachev (October 29 vs. Carolina), Dale Weise (December 18 at Philadelphia), Mats Zuccarello (December 23 vs. Tampa Bay), Ryan McDonagh (January 7 at Dallas), and Brodie Dupont (January 22 at Atlanta).
• The Rangers registered five hat tricks this season (Derek Stepan, Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik – 3), which tied for third most in the NHL. The five hat tricks are the most for New York since 1999-2000 (five), and the last time three or more Blueshirts recorded a hat trick in the same season was 2000-01 (Radek Dvorak, Theo Fleury, Jan Hlavac, Petr Nedved). Callahan and Gaborik both recorded four-goal games, marking the first time in 24 years and only the fourth time in franchise history the team had multiple four-goal performances in a season (1932-33, 1974-75, 1986-87). In 1974-75, four different Rangers registered four-goal performances (Rick Middleton, Rod Gilbert, Greg Polis, Steve Vickers). Marian Gaborik registered three of the Rangers’ three hat tricks this season, on November 14 vs. Edmonton, December 2 at Long Island and four goals on January 19 vs. Toronto. The last time a Ranger posted two or more hat tricks in a single season was during the 2005-06 season, when Jaromir Jagr tallied three hat tricks. The last Ranger to tally four goals in a game prior to Gaborik (January 19) was Radek Dvorak on March 29, 2001 at Long Island, and the last to register five points was Mike York on January 23, 2002 vs. Boston (two goals, three assists). Callahan’s four-goal game was his first career hat trick.
• The Rangers competed in 18 back-to-back sets this season, posting a record of 10-7-1 (3-2-0 at home, 7-5-1 on the road) in the first game and 12-6-0 (5-2-0 at home, 7-4-0 on the road) in the second game of the set. New York out-scored their opponent, 50-35, in the second game. Over the last two seasons, New York is 21-8-2 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including a 9-3-1 mark at MSG and 12-5-1 on the road over the span.
• The Rangers and Knicks played at Madison Square Garden on the same day three times this season – November 7 (NYR vs. STL, NYK vs. PHI), November 14 (NYR vs. EDM, NYK vs. HOU) and December 12 (NYR vs. WSH, NYK vs. DEN). The Rangers posted a record of 2-1-0 in those games, while the Knicks were 1-2. Both the Rangers (7-0) and Knicks (129-125) won their game on December 12, marking the first time since November 26, 2005, that both teams won on the same day at Madison Square Garden. On that day, the Rangers defeated the Capitals, 3-2, following an NHL record 15-round shootout, while the Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 105-102, in overtime earlier in the day. At the current Madison Square Garden, the Rangers and Knicks have played at home on the same day 37 times, with the Rangers posting a record of 16-15-6 and the Knicks posting a record of 22-15 in those contests.
• The Rangers unveiled their Heritage jersey, which celebrates the team’s 85th anniversary, on November 12, and celebrated Heritage Night on November 17 vs. Boston by wearing the jersey for the first time.
• The Rangers registered their 20th win of the season with a 4-3 shootout win on December 16 vs. Phoenix, reaching the mark in just 34 games which is tied for 12th fastest in franchise history. Last season, New York posted their 20th win in their 42nd game.
• New York won back-to-back games despite trailing when entering the third period in both games on December 15 at Pittsburgh (4-1) and December 16 vs. Phoenix (4-3, SO), and January 22 at Atlanta (3-2, SO) and January 24 at Washington (2-1, SO). Prior to this season, the last time the Rangers won consecutive games when trailing after two periods was during the 2008-09 season, on November 15 vs. Boston (3-2) and November 17 vs. Ottawa (2-1). Both games required the shootout.
• On December 23, the Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning participated in a shootout that lasted 11 rounds, which is tied for the sixth longest in NHL history and longest since March 27, 2010 (Detroit defeated Nashville in 11 rounds). The 11-round shootout is the third longest in Rangers history behind their NHL record 15-round shootout on November 26, 2005 vs. Washington (3-2, 4-3 in the shootout) and a 13-round shootout at Philadelphia on October 7, 2006 (5-4, 1-0 in the shootout), which stands as the longest one-goal shootout in NHL history. Henrik Lundqvist was in net for all three contests, posting a 2-1 record and stopping a combined 34 of 39 shots for a .872 save percentage.
• The Blueshirts were credited with a season-high, 52 shots in their 7-2 win vs. the Islanders on December 27, their most since they registered 57 shots vs. the Islanders on March 5, 2007 (2-1 win in overtime). The Rangers 36 shots through two periods is the most since recording 37 shots through two vs. Washington on October 12, 2007 (20 in the first, 17 in the second in a 3-1 win). New York matched their mark of 36 shots through two periods later in the season, in a 6-3 win vs. the Islanders on March 15 (21 in the first, 15 in the second).The Blueshirts’ 32-shot advantage over the Islanders on December 27 (52-20) is tied for the second largest in the NHL this season, behind St. Louis’ 39-shot advantage over Anaheim on October 11 (53-14).
• The Rangers were represented by Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal and rookie Derek Stepan at the 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina on January 30. Lundqvist, who turned aside the first ever penalty shot attempt in an NHL All-Star Game at 6:13 of the third period, faced 14 shots in the third, allowing three goals in the loss for Team Staal. Marc Staal logged 17:01 of ice time for Team Staal while making his first All-Star Game appearance. Stepan participated in the SuperSkills competition as part of Team Lidstrom, breaking all four targets in the Accuracy Shooting event and hitting the crossbar on his Elimination Shootout attempt against Lundqvist.
• The Blueshirts tallied six or more goals in three consecutive home games from March 6 vs. Philadelphia to March 18 vs. Montreal, recording 19 goals over the span. The last time the Rangers tallied 19 or more combined goals in three consecutive home games was December 26, 1995 to January 10, 1996 (20 goals). The March 18 contest vs. Montreal was the 10th time this season New York recorded six or more goals in a game, marking the 26th time in franchise history they accomplished the feat and first time since they tallied six or more goals in 11 games during the 1996-97 season.
• New York notched five goals in the first period vs. Montreal on March 18, which is a season-high for goals in a single period, and tallied three goals in a 67-second span. The last time the Rangers scored at least five goals in a period was on March 17, 2007 vs. Boston (six goals in Period 2), and the last time the Rangers tallied at least five goals in the first period of a game was on December 15, 1999 vs. Los Angeles (six goals). It was the first time in 25 years the Blueshirts notched at least five goals in a period vs. Montreal, having last done so on January 10, 1986 (five goals in second period). The Rangers’ three goals in 67 seconds was the fastest three goals by the Blueshirts since they notched three in 65 seconds of the first period on November 8, 2001 at Long Island.
• The Blueshirts did not commit a penalty on March 22 vs. Florida, marking the first time that has happened since January 9, 2009 at Buffalo.
• The Rangers recorded at least one point in seven consecutive games from March 12 at San Jose to March 26 at Boston, including a season-high, five-game winning streak from March 12 to March 22 vs. Florida. The seven-game point streak is the longest for New York since last season from December 31 to January 12 (4-0-3), and the five-game winning streak is their longest since they won seven in a row last season from October 3 to October 17.
• New York won its 40th game of the season with a 1-0 victory vs. Florida on March 22. It is the fifth time in the last six years the Rangers posted 40 or more wins in a season, marking only the second time in franchise history the team accomplished the feat (1968-69 –1973-74).
• The Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, on April 9 at Madison Square Garden in their regular season finale. The Blueshirts had 14 players register at least one point in the contest. The last time they had 14 or more players record at least one point in a game was January 19, 2010 vs. Tampa Bay (8-2 win, 16 players).
• Henrik Lundqvist extended his NHL record by posting 30+ wins for the sixth consecutive season to begin his career, and his team record of six straight 30+ win seasons. He owns the longest active streak of 30+ win seasons (six), tied with Roberto Luongo, Miikka Kiprusoff and Ryan Miller. This season he led the NHL in shutouts (11) and road wins (20), tied for sixth in wins (36), seventh in save percentage (.923), and ranked seventh in goals against average (2.28), and fifth in saves (1,965). Lundqvist posted his career-high, 11th shutout of the season, while appearing in his 400th game in a 1-0 win at Boston on March 26 (26 saves) and is tied for second in team history for most shutouts in a season, and his 11 shutouts are the most by a Ranger since John Ross Roach in 1928-29 (13). He is also one of two active goalies who have posted 10+ shutouts in a season more than once, having registered 10 shutouts in 2007-08 (Martin Brodeur, four times). Lundqvist was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the period ending March 27 after posting a 2-0-1 record, 0.32 goals-against average, .987 save percentage and two shutouts. He recorded his 200th career NHL win on February 7 vs. Los Angeles and appeared in his 400th career NHL game on March 26 at Boston. Lundqvist tied the NHL record for longest assist streak by a goaltender (Tom Barrasso – 1984-85, 1988-89; Ed Belfour – 2001-02) and became the first Rangers goalie to record an assist in three straight games (goalie games played) on January 5 vs. Carolina, January 7 at Dallas and January 11 vs. Montreal.
• Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella recorded his 300th career NHL victory to become the 40th head coach in league history to reach the mark with a 5-2 win at Minnesota on November 20. Tortorella has posted a record of 333-298-37-56 in 724 regular season games over 11 seasons with the Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning, and currently ranks 13th among active NHL head coaches on the NHL’s all-time wins list and first among U.S.-born coaches, having passed Peter Laviolette on March 17, 2009 at Montreal.
• Brandon Dubinsky led the team with career-highs in goals (24), assists (30) and points (54).
• Ryan Callahan led the Rangers with career-highs in power play goals (10) and game-winning goals (five), and also established career-highs in goals (23), assists (25) and points (48) despite missing 22 games due to injury.
• Brandon Prust led the team and tied for second and third in the league, respectively, with a career-high, seven shorthanded points and five shorthanded goals. His five shorthanded goals are the most by a Ranger since Theo Fleury tallied seven shorthanded goals in 2000-01. Prust also established career-highs in goals (13), assists (16) and points (29).
• Brian Boyle established career-highs in goals (21), assists (14) and points (35), eclipsing his previous career-highs for goals by 17, assists by 12 and points by 29. He also led the team with career-highs in shots on goal (218), hits (240) and shorthanded assists (three). Boyle’s three shorthanded assists tied for second in the league, while his 240 hits ranked 11th in the NHL.
• Several Rangers reached career milestones this season:
o Henrik Lundqvist registered his 200th career NHL win on February 17 vs. Los Angeles, and appeared in his 400th career NHL game on March 26 at Boston.
o Dan Girardi skated in his 300th career NHL game on November 19 at Colorado, and registered his 100th career NHL point with an assist on January 1 at Tampa Bay.
o Marian Gaborik skated in his 600th career NHL game on December 18 at Philadelphia.
o Sean Avery skated in his 500th career NHL game on November 1 vs. Chicago.
o Brandon Dubinsky recorded his 100th career NHL assist on February 1 vs. Pittsburgh, and skated in his 300th career NHL game on March 3 vs. Minnesota.
o Marc Staal skated in his 300th career NHL game on February 7 at Detroit.
o Ruslan Fedotenko skated in his 700th career NHL game on November 24 at Tampa Bay.
o Ryan Callahan registered his 100th career NHL point with an assist on October 23 at Boston.
o Erik Christensen skated in his 300th career NHL game on November 29 vs. Pittsburgh.
o Artem Anisimov skated in his 100th career NHL game on November 14 vs. Edmonton.
o Steve Eminger skated in his 400th career NHL game on March 4 at Ottawa.
o Matt Gilroy skated in his 100th career NHL game on January 16 vs. Philadelphia.
• Vinny Prospal posted a Rangers’ season-high, eight-game scoring streak (two goals, eight assists over the span) from March 1 vs. Buffalo to March 18 vs. Montreal. The eight-game scoring streak was the longest by a Ranger since Marian Gaborik posted an eight-game scoring streak from November 5, 2009 at Edmonton to November 25, 2009 at Florida, and Prospal’s longest since 2005-06 (13-games from October 26, 2005 to November 20, 2005).
• Artem Anisimov established career-highs in goals (18), assists (26) and points (44) while skating in all 82 games for the second consecutive season. He reached the 40-point plateau for the first time in his career with a goal, and added an assist at Pittsburgh on March 20. Anisimov tallied a career-high, four assists vs. Toronto on January 19 to become the first Ranger to record four assists in a game since Marian Gaborik did so on January 19, 2010 vs. Tampa Bay.
• Wojtek Wolski tallied his first point as a Ranger with the lone goal in a 1-0 win vs. Vancouver on January 13, becoming only the fourth player in Rangers history whose first goal for the team came in a 1-0 game. The other three – Bill Cook, Taffy Abel and Bill Boyd – did it more than 84 years ago, in the first 11 games in franchise history.
• Derek Stepan tied for fifth among NHL rookies in goals (21), eighth in assists (23), fourth in road goals (14), ranked fourth in road points (25), and fifth in points (44). He registered his 40th point of the season with a goal at Pittsburgh on March 20, marking the first time since Brandon Dubinsky (40 points in 82 games) in 2007-08 that a Ranger rookie reached the 40-point plateau. Stepan also tallied his 20th goal of the season in a 1-0 win at Boston on March 26, marking the first time that a Ranger rookie reached the 20-goal plateau since Petr Prucha registered 30 goals in 2005-06.
• Rookie defensemen Michael Sauer and Ryan McDonagh combined to post a plus-36 rating this season. Sauer led the team and ranked fourth among NHL rookies with a plus-20 rating, while McDonagh ranked second on the Rangers and sixth among league rookies with a plus-16 rating.
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