2008–09 New York Rangers season

All you want to know about 2008–09 New York Rangers season

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Information may change as the event progresses.
2008–09 New York Rangers
Division 1st Atlantic
Conference 2nd Eastern
2008–09 record 17-8-2
Home record 10-5-1
Road record 7-3-1
Goals for 72
Goals against 65
Team information
General Manager Glen Sather
Coach Tom Renney
Captain Chris Drury
Alternate captains Scott Gomez
Markus Naslund
Arena Madison Square Garden
Average attendance 18,200
Team leaders
Goals Markus Naslund (9)
Assists Nikolai Zherdev (15)
Points Nikolai Zherdev (23)
Penalties in minutes Colton Orr (67)
Plus/Minus Nikolai Zherdev (+8)
Wins Henrik Lundqvist (15)
Goals against average Henrik Lundqvist (2.11)

The 2008–09 New York Rangers season is the New York Rangers' 82nd season in the National Hockey League, and sees the Rangers attempt to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Rangers started the season in Europe. First, as part of the inaugural Victoria Cup being held in Switzerland, the Rangers played an exhibition game against SC Bern on September 30, and then the main game against the 2008 European Champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk on October 1 (the first game between a Russian club and an NHL team since 1991). They won both games, and were awarded the first Victoria Cup. The Rangers opened the NHL regular season against the Tampa Bay Lightning with two games in Prague, Czech Republic, on October 4 and 5.[1] Alexei Cherepanov, a former first-round draft pick of the Rangers, died suddenly on Monday, October 13 during a Continental Hockey League game in Moscow.[2] The Rangers tied the 1983–84 Rangers for the best start in franchise history with a 5–0 record. The quest for the greatest start in franchise history was put to a hault on October 15, 2008 with a 3–1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.[3] The Rangers set the franchise record for best start in a season by going 10-2-1 for 21 points in the first 13 games. The 10 wins and 21 points are both franchise records.[4]

Contents: Regular season — Playoffs — Player stats — Awards and records — Transactions
Roster — Draft picks — Farm teams — See also — References


Regular season

Divisional standings

Atlantic Division GP W L OTL GF GA PTS
New York Rangers * 26 17 7 2 72 61 36
Pittsburgh Penguins 23 14 6 3 75 63 31
Philadelphia Flyers 23 11 7 5 76 71 27
New Jersey Devils 22 12 8 2 65 60 26
New York Islanders 24 10 12 2 65 80 22

Conference standings

Eastern Conference GP W L OTL GF GA PTS
Boston Bruins * 24 16 4 4 82 56 36
New York Rangers * 26 17 7 2 72 61 36
Washington Capitals * 24 13 8 3 77 75 29
Pittsburgh Penguins 23 13 6 3 75 63 31
Montreal Canadiens 23 13 6 4 67 61 30
Philadelphia Flyers 23 11 7 5 76 71 27
New Jersey Devils 22 12 8 2 65 60 26
Carolina Hurricanes 24 12 10 2 64 71 26
Buffalo Sabres 23 11 9 3 65 69 25
Toronto Maple Leafs 23 8 9 6 71 82 22
New York Islanders 24 10 12 2 65 80 22
Ottawa Senators 22 8 10 4 52 56 20
Atlanta Thrashers 22 8 11 3 65 78 19
Florida Panthers 22 8 11 3 52 65 19
Tampa Bay Lightning 22 6 9 7 50 68 19

* – division leader

Game log

      Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

2008–09 Game Log
October: 10–2–1 (Home: 6–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–1)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
1 October 4 NY Rangers 2 - 1 Lightning At O2 Arena in Prague, CZE Lundqvist 17,085 1-0-0 2 [9]
2 October 5 Lightning 1 - 2 NY Rangers At O2 Arena in Prague, CZE Lundqvist 17,085 2-0-0 4 [10]
3 October 10 Blackhawks 2 - 4 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 3-0-0 6 [11]
4 October 11 NY Rangers 4 - 3 Flyers Valiquette 19,623 4-0-0 8 [12]
5 October 13 Devils 1 - 4 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 5-0-0 10 [13]
6 October 15 Sabres 3 - 1 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 5-1-0 10 [14]
7 October 17 Maple Leafs 0 - 1 NY Rangers SO Valiquette 18,200 6-1-0 12 [15]
8 October 18 NY Rangers 4 - 5 Red Wings OT Lundqvist 20,066 6-1-1 13 [16]
9 October 20 Stars 2 - 1 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 6-2-1 13 [17]
10 October 24 NY Rangers 3 - 1 Blue Jackets Lundqvist 14,724 7-2-1 15 [18]
11 October 25 Penguins 2 - 3 NY Rangers SO Lundqvist 18,200 8-2-1 17 [19]
12 October 27 NY Rangers 4 - 2 Islanders Lundqvist 15,581 9-2-1 19 [20]
13 October 30 Thrashers 2 - 3 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 10-2-1 21 [21]
November: 7–6–1 (Home: 4–3–1 ; Road: 3–3–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
14 November 1 NY Rangers 2 - 5 Maple Leafs Valiquette 19,179 10-3-1 21 [22]
15 November 4 Islanders 2 - 1 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 10-4-1 21 [23]
16 November 6 Lightning 2 - 5 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 11-4-1 23 [24]
17 November 8 NY Rangers 1 - 3 Capitals Lundqvist 17,948 11-5-1 23 [25]
18 November 10 Oilers 3 - 2 NY Rangers SO Lundqvist 18,200 11-5-2 24 [26]
19 November 12 NY Rangers 5 - 2 Devils Lundqvist 17,625 12-5-2 26 [27]
20 November 15 Bruins 2 - 3 NY Rangers SO Lundqvist 18,200 13-5-2 28 [28]
21 November 17 Senators 1 - 2 NY Rangers SO Lundqvist 18,200 14-5-2 30 [29]
22 November 19 Canucks 6 - 3 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 14-6-2 30 [30]
23 November 22 NY Rangers 1 - 4 Senators Valiquette 19,619 14-7-2 30 [31]
24 November 24 Coyotes 1 - 4 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 15-7-2 32 [32]
25 November 26 NY Rangers 3 - 2 Lightning SO Lundqvist 16,991 16-7-2 34 [33]
26 November 28 NY Rangers 4 - 3 Panthers SO Lundqvist 18,106 17-7-2 36 [34]
27 November 30 Panthers 4 - 0 NY Rangers Lundqvist 18,200 17-8-2 36 [35]
December: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0 ; Road: 0–0–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
28 December 3 Penguins NY Rangers
29 December 4 NY Rangers Canadiens
30 December 7 Flames NY Rangers
31 December 10 NY Rangers Thrashers
32 December 12 NY Rangers Devils
33 December 13 Hurricanes NY Rangers
34 December 16 NY Rangers Ducks
35 December 17 NY Rangers Kings
36 December 20 NY Rangers Sharks
37 December 23 Capitals NY Rangers
38 December 27 Devils NY Rangers
39 December 29 Islanders NY Rangers

Playoffs

The Rangers will attempt to make the playoffs for the 4th straight season.

Player stats

Skaters

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
Nikolai Zherdev 13 27 8 15 23 +8 19 - - - - - -
Markus Naslund 91 27 9 11 20 -2 14 - - - - - -
Brandon Dubinsky 17 27 5 11 16 0 39 - - - - - -
Dan Girardi 5 27 3 12 15 -2 8 - - - - - -
Chris Drury 23 27 8 6 14 -5 4 - - - - - -
Michal Rozsival 3 27 2 12 14 -6 16 - - - - - -
Scott Gomez 19 22 4 10 14 -4 8 - - - - - -
Aaron Voros 34 27 8 5 13 -1 61 - - - - - -
Wade Redden 6 27 2 8 10 -3 18 - - - - - -
Ryan Callahan 24 27 6 3 9 -3 13 - - - - - -
Paul Mara 27 27 1 7 8 +1 47 - - - - - -
Dmitri Kalinin 45 27 0 6 6 -10 14 - - - - - -
Blair Betts 15 27 3 2 5 -1 2 - - - - - -
Nigel Dawes 10 19 2 3 5 +2 6 - - - - - -
Marc Staal 18 27 1 4 5 +5 19 - - - - - -
Dan Fritsche 49 15 1 3 4 -2 2 - - - - - -
Fredrik Sjostrom 20 25 2 1 3 -4 10 - - - - - -
Lauri Korpikoski 29 17 1 2 3 -3 2 - - - - - -
Colton Orr 28 27 0 2 2 -3 67 - - - - - -
Petr Prucha 25 8 0 0 0 -1 0 - - - - - -
Patrick Rissmiller 12 2 0 0 0 -2 0 - - - - - -

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.
‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Goaltenders

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP MIN W L OTL GA SO Sv% GAA GP MIN W L GA SO Sv% GAA
Henrik Lundqvist 30 23 1343 15 6 2 49 0 .925 2.19 - - - - - - - -
Stephen Valiquette 40 6 300 2 2 0 13 1 .908 2.60 - - - - - - - -

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Lauri Korpikoski 1st NHL Regular Season Game October 4, 2008
Henrik Lundqvist 200th NHL Appearance October 15, 2008
Brandon Dubinsky 100th NHL Game October 27, 2008
Nikolai Zherdev 300th NHL Game November 8, 2008
Lauri Korpikoski 1st NHL Regular Season Goal
1st NHL Regular Season Point		 November 12, 2008
Marc Staal 100th NHL Game November 15, 2008
Lauri Korpikoski 1st NHL Assist November 15, 2008
Michal Rozsival 500th NHL Game November 17, 2008
Fredrik Sjostrom 300th NHL Game November 22, 2008
Nikolai Zherdev 200th NHL Point November 24, 2008

Transactions

The Rangers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2008–09 season.

Trades

Date
Details
July 2, 2008[5]
 To Columbus Blue Jackets
Fedor Tyutin
Christian Backman		 To New York Rangers
Nikolai Zherdev
Dan Fritsche
July 14, 2008[6]
 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Ryan Hollweg		 To New York Rangers
5th round pick in 2009
October 30, 2008[7]
 To Nashville Predators
Hugh Jessiman		 To New York Rangers
Future Considerations

Free agents acquired

Player Former team Contract terms
Aaron Voros Minnesota Wild three years, $3 million.
Patrick Rissmiller San Jose Sharks one year, $1 million.
Wade Redden[8] Ottawa Senators six years, $39 million.
Markus Naslund Vancouver Canucks two years, $8 million.
Dmitri Kalinin Buffalo Sabres one year, $2.1 million.
Andreas Jämtin HV71 (SEL)
Vladimir Denisov Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)
Brian Fahey Chicago Wolves (AHL)

Free agents lost

Player New team Contract terms
Sean Avery Dallas Stars four years, $15.5 million.
Jaromir Jagr Avangard Omsk (KHL) two years, $20 million.
Martin Straka HC Lasselsberger Plzen (Czech) one year
Jason Strudwick Edmonton Oilers one year, $650,000.
Andrew Hutchinson Tampa Bay Lightning two years, $1 million.
Marek Malik Tampa Bay Lightning one year, $1.2-million.

Players re-signed

Player Contract terms
Michal Rozsival four years, $20 million.
Stephen Valiquette one year, $725,000
Paul Mara one year, $1.95 million.
Dan Fritsche one year, $875,000.
Nigel Dawes one year, $587,500.
Greg Moore one year, $578,000.
Fredrik Sjostrom one year, $840,000.

Roster

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Updated November 16, 2008.[36]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
15 Flag of Canada Betts, BlairBlair Betts C L 28 2004 Edmonton, Alberta
24 Flag of the United States Callahan, RyanRyan Callahan RW R 23 2004 Rochester, New York
10 Flag of Canada Dawes, NigelNigel Dawes LW L 23 2003 Winnipeg, Manitoba
23 Flag of the United States Drury, ChrisChris Drury (C) C R 32 2007 Trumbull, Connecticut
17 Flag of the United States Dubinsky, BrandonBrandon Dubinsky C L 22 2004 Anchorage, Alaska
49 Flag of the United States Fritsche, DanDan Fritsche C R 23 2008 Parma, Ohio
5 Flag of Canada Girardi, DanielDaniel Girardi D R 24 2006 Welland, Ontario
19 Flag of the United States Gomez, ScottScott Gomez (A) C L 28 2007 Anchorage, Alaska
45 Flag of Russia Kalinin, DmitriDmitri Kalinin D L 28 2008 Chelyabinsk, U.S.S.R.
29 Flag of Finland Korpikoski, LauriLauri Korpikoski LW L 22 2004 Turku, Finland
30 Flag of Sweden Lundqvist, HenrikHenrik Lundqvist G L 26 2000 Are, Sweden
27 Flag of the United States Mara, PaulPaul Mara D L 29 2007 Ridgewood, New Jersey
91 Flag of Sweden Naslund, MarkusMarkus Naslund (A) LW L 35 2008 Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
28 Flag of Canada Orr, ColtonColton Orr RW R 26 2005 Winnipeg, Manitoba
25 Flag of the Czech Republic Prucha, PetrPetr Prucha RW R 26 2002 Chrudim, Czechoslovakia
6 Flag of Canada Redden, WadeWade Redden D L 31 2008 Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
12 Flag of the United States Rissmiller, PatrickPatrick Rissmiller LW L 30 2008 Belmont, Massachusetts
3 Flag of the Czech Republic Rozsival, MichalMichal Rozsival D R 30 2005 Vlasim, Czechoslovakia
20 Flag of Sweden Sjostrom, FredrikFredrik Sjostrom RW L 25 2008 Fargelanda, Sweden
18 Flag of Canada Staal, MarcMarc Staal D L 21 2005 Thunder Bay, Ontario
40 Flag of Canada Valiquette, StephenStephen Valiquette G L 31 2003 Etobicoke, Ontario
34 Flag of Canada Voros, AaronAaron Voros LW L 27 2008 Vancouver, British Columbia
13 Flag of Russia Zherdev, NikolaiNikolai Zherdev RW R 24 2008 Kiev, U.S.S.R


Staff

New York Rangers staff
Executive Operations  

Hockey Operations

  • Assistant General Manager, Player Personnel - Jim Schoenfeld
  • Assistant General Manager, Hockey Administration - Cameron Hope
  • Senior advisor; Director of U.S. Scouting - Mike Barnett
  • Director, Player Personnel - Gordie Clark
  • Head coach - Tom Renney
  • Assistant coaches - Perry Pearn, Mike Pelino
  • Goaltending coach - Benoit Allaire
  • Strength & conditioning - Reg Grant

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa • Ontario.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 20 Michael Del Zotto Defense  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
2 51 Derek Stepan Center  United States Shattuck-Saint Mary's (High-MN)
3 75 Evgeny Grachev Center  Russia Lokomotiv-2 Yaroslavl (RUS-3)
3 90 Tomas Kundratek Defense  Czech Republic Trinec Ocelari (CZE)
4 111 Dale Weise Right Wing  Canada Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
5 141 Chris Doyle Center  Canada P.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL)
6 171 Mitch Gaulton Defense  Canada Erie Otters (OHL)

See also

Farm teams

Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)

The 2008–09 season will be the 12th season of AHL hockey for the franchise.

Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)

The 2008–09 season will be the 16th season of ECHL hockey for the franchise.

References

  1. ^ NHL's European plans finalized
  2. ^ http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/News/2008/10/13/7070806-cp.html
  3. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/rangers/2008/10/13/2008-10-13_rangers_tie_mark_for_best_start_with_41_.html
  4. ^ http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=281030013
  5. ^ TSN "COLUMBUS SENDS ZHERDEV TO THE RANGERS," July 2, 2008 - accessed July 2, 2008
  6. ^ http://rangers.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=368368&page=NewsPage&service=page
  7. ^ http://rangers.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=389483
  8. ^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - NY Rangers - Rangers sign Redden to six-year deal
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