RANGERS LOSE TOP END OF VARSITY/JV BATTLE WITH ISLANDERS 

     VERSUS    

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
New York Rangers 2, New York Islanders 4
October 15, 2011 (Game 3, Away Game 3)
Nassau Coliseum – Uniondale, New York

Team Notes:

-The Rangers were defeated by the New York Islanders, 4-2, tonight at Nassau Coliseum in their first game in North America this season.

-The Blueshirts out-hit the Islanders, 28-11, in the contest, and have now out-hit their opponents, 48-24, in their last two games.

-The Rangers were credited with 14 blocked shots, led by Steve Eminger’s game-high four blocked shots.

-The Rangers registered a 56% faceoff winning percentage, having won 28-of-50 faceoff attempts in the contest, and now lead the NHL with a 57.3% faceoff winning percentage (94-164) on the season.

Player Notes:

–Marian Gaborik notched the Rangers first goal of the contest with an even strength tally at 6:23 of the second period, and led all skaters with eight shots on goal in 18:43 of ice time.  He now leads the team with two goals on the season.

-Brandon Prust tallied an even strength goal at 18:26 of the second period while skating in his 200th career NHL contest.

-Brad Richards registered an assist on Gaborik’s second period goal to extend his scoring streak to three games (one goal, two assists over the span), and is now two assists shy of 500 career NHL assists.  He leads the team in scoring with three points on the season.  Richards also recorded six shots on goal and won 5-of-6 faceoff attempts (83%) in 21:17 of ice time.  He leads the NHL with an 80.0% faceoff winning percentage (24-30) through three games.

–Ruslan Fedotenko recorded an assist on Prust’s second period goal, and is now tied for the team lead with two assists on the season.

-Mike Rupp made his 500th career NHL appearance, and defenseman Jeff Woywitka made his Rangers debut after being claimed off waivers from Montreal on October 6.

–Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30-of-33 shots in 58:59 of ice time, and is now 0-1-2 with a 2.23 goals against average and a .923 save percentage on the season.

–Dan Girardi led all skaters with five hits and 26:50 of ice time, and registered three blocked shots in the contest.  He leads the NHL in average ice time (29:31), and leads the Rangers with eight blocked shots on the season.

–Michael Del Zotto and Tim Erixon each posted a plus-two rating in the contest.  Del Zotto  also registered five shots on goal and three hits in 18:01 of ice time, and now leads the Rangers with 10 hits on the season.  Erixon also logged a career-high 18:10 of ice time in the contest.

-Brandon Dubinsky led all skaters with 10 faceoff wins in 14 attempts for a 71% winning percentage, was credited with four hits and led all forwards with 21:46 of ice time.  Dubinsky has now won 20-of-35 faceoff attempts for a 57.1% faceoff winning percentage on the season.

Transaction Update:

-New York Rangers President and General Manager, Glen Sather, has announced that forward Kris Newbury has been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL), and forward Mats Zuccarello has been assigned to Connecticut.

Team Schedule:

-The Blueshirts’ practice schedule for tomorrow, October 16, is 4:30 p.m. PT at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.