NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

September 21, 2009 - New York Rangers 4, Detroit Red Wings 2 (Pre-Season: Game No. 5, Home No. 2)

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Red Wings vs Rangers recap

Red Wings vs Rangers boxscore

• The Rangers opened the game's scoring with three straight goals in the first period, and held on to defeat the Red Wings, 4-2, tonight at Madison Square Garden.
• The Blueshirts notched two goals on the power play in eight opportunities, and have tallied three goals with the man advantage in the last two games; New York held Detroit scoreless in four power play chances.
• Marian Gaborik registered a power play assist and tied for the game-high with five shots in 19:38 of icetime in his Rangers debut.
• Free agent acquisition, Vinny Prospal, tallied the Rangers' opening goal with the man advantage at 5:13 of the first period; He also tied for the team-high with nine faceoff wins.
• Enver Lisin gave New York a two-goal advantage with a power play tally, and is tied for the team-lead with three goals in the pre-season.
• Henrik Lundqvist (W, 12 saves) and Steve Valiquette (16 saves) combined to stop 28 of 30 shots for the victory.
• Ryan Callahan gave the Rangers a three-goal lead mid-way through the first period, off an assist from Evgeny Grachev; Callahan also tied for the game-high with five hits and a plus-two rating; Grachev now has two assists in his last two games.
• Artem Anisimov, Rangers' second round pick (54^th overall) in 2006, sealed the win with an empty net goal in the game's closing seconds; He entered tonight's game tied for fifth in the league in pre-season scoring, and currently leads the team with five points (three goals and two assists) in four games.
• Blueshirt defensemen Wade Redden, Dan Girardi and Bobby Sanguinetti each collected one assist in the contest.
• The Ranges return to action on Thursday, September 24, when they will face-off against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their final home game of the 2009-10 pre-season schedule; the game will be televised live on MSG.

Click after the jump for post game quotes

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on tonight's game...

"I thought we played a really good first period and probably played one of our worst periods in the second, but we found a way to win. Third period I thought we grinded it pretty well but still struggled with turnovers. They had more NHL players in there. It was good for our guys to play against (them)."

John Tortorella on Marian Gaborik...

"I thought he did some good things. Obviously, you can see his talent. He did some things in our end zone; he did some lousy things in our end zone; he did some good things in some other areas. I think he is going to add a dimension to our team that I think you need and that is his creativity and the dynamic player that he is. I am sure it is hard for him. I haven't talked to him at all about playing today or even after the game. I am sure it is hard for him, he wants to be healthy. I thought he gave us some good minutes. He did a good job killing penalties."

Marian Gaborik on tonight's game...

"I felt pretty good out there for the first game. I felt nervous at the start but it felt pretty good. It was a win for us. Hopefully, it is going to get better and better."

Henrik Lundqvist on tonight's game...

"We were playing well in the first period. It feels good to just be out there and get the game feeling. It is just about being out there and getting the feel for it. We are getting closer, it is exciting."