When: Saturday, October 8, 1:00 p.m.
Opponent: Anaheim Ducks (0-1-0) in Stockholm, Sweden
TV: MSG, Versus
UPDATE: Hiller will start for Anaheim. Derek Stepan is centering Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust and Erik Christensen is centering Mike Rupp and Mats Zuccarello.
UPDATE: Erik Christensen will play today in place of Wojtek Wolski, who is still nursing a sore groin. (11:05 a.m.)
UPDATE: Mats Zuccarello was fined $2,500 for boarding Kyle Clifford during the first period of Friday's game, but he will not be suspended. Jeff Woywitka skated with the Rangers this morning but isn't expected to play in today's game. He'll wear No. 32. It sounds like we'll see the same lineup today. (10:32 a.m.)
EARLIER: The Rangers’ patchwork defense held on against the Los
Angeles Kings’ top line of Anze Kopitar, Simon Gagne and Justin Williams in
their season-opener, but they’ll face an even tougher challenge when they take
on the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
Anaheim’s top line of Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry is widely considered to be the best in the league and it accounted for 100
goals in 2010-2011. If stopping them
isn’t a tough enough task, New York also must contend with Teemu Selanne, who
has 637 career goals and is back for what could be his final season.
To beat the Ducks, who fell 4-1 to Buffalo in their
season-opener, New York will have to do a much better job of staying out of the
penalty box.
Penalties plagued the Blueshirts throughout the preseason
and an overtime penalty to Ryan McDonagh cost them in their season-opening
loss to the Kings on Friday.
Anaheim went scoreless on five power play opportunities in
its first game, but the Ducks converted 23.5-percent of their power play opportunities
a year ago, third in the league. Selanne notched 16 goals on the man advantage, while Perry, the NHL’s leading
goal-scorer last season, added 16. Getzlaf, Lubomir Visnovsky and Cam Fowler all also finished with 23 points or more on
the power play.
Stopping Anaheim’s big four would be a tough task for any
team, but without Marc Staal the Rangers will really have their work cut out
for them. Staying out of the box will be
a key to the game, but the Blueshirts will also need a greater contribution from
their offense.
New York eventually got going against the Kings, but it took
15 minutes for the Blueshirts to register their first shot on goal. New York’s top line seemed to heat up as Friday’s
game progressed, but Ryan Callahan ended up with 11 of the team’s 26 total
shots. The rest of New York’s forwards
will need to give Callahan much more help against Anaheim. The Rangers’ top trio of Brandon Dubinsky,
Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik may have to produce on par with the Getzlaf
line for the Rangers to keep up.
Luckily, it sounds like Anaheim may start
backup goaltender Dan Ellis over All-Star Jonas Hiller, who missed
the end of last season with Vertigo, in Saturday’s matinee.
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2011-2012 season preview:
Eastern
Conference Preview > (10/3/11)
Western
Conference Preview > (10/4/11)
Experts
Predict Where The Rangers Will Finish > (10/5/11)
NY
Rangers Season Preview > (10/5/11)
Rangers
Claim Jeff Woywitka Off Waivers > (10/6/11)
“The
King” Vs. The Kings In Season-Opener > (10/7/11)
Penalties
Doom Rangers In OT Loss To Kings > (10/7/11)
To Duck Anaheim, Rangers Must Stay Out Of The Box > (10/7/11)
Click
here for our full 2011-2012 Season Archive >
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