New York Rangers Recap: Rangers Fall 4-2 On Long Island; Zuccarello Assigned To Connecticut

The Rangers got into trouble with penalties and a man named John Tavares tonight on Long Island. The Islanders came out hungry and got themselves on the board first with an early tally, to make it 1-0. The original shot by John Tavares was blocked, and came out to the wide open Matt Moulson who slipped it past Lundqvist.

The Rangers were finally able to break their scoring slump, coming from Marian Gaborik. Brad Richards made a slick pass up the middle, sprung Gabby on a breakaway, and Gaborik beat Nabokov five-hole. The Rangers got into penalty trouble, and sent the Islanders on an eventual 5-on-3. The Rangers were able to kill off one of the penalties, until John Tavares struck with his first of the evening. Lundqvist stopped the original shot from Streit, and Tavares slipped it between the legs of Lundqvist.

The second penalty was a bit awkward, as Brian Boyle was called for delay of game. Boyle was down in the corner, and apparently covered the puck with his hand. From my view, I couldn't see this, but what can you do.

Follow after the jump for more and the official New York Rangers post-game notes.

Just over seven minutes later, the Rangers fought back, with a goal by none other than

. Prust made a strong move around the net, and tucked it between the pads of Nabokov on the wrap around. Not to mention, if it wasn't for

, this game would have slipped away real quick.To start the third, the Rangers once again found themselves in the box early in the period. John Tavares struck once more on the powerplay, and made it a 3-2 game. Tavares re-directed a slap pass from Marc Streit, and Lundqvist didn't have a chance. The Rangers had some late pressure in the third period, until Marian Gaborik took a very undisciplined hooking calling at 15:21 of the third period. John Tavares capped off the hat trick with an empty netter, and closed out the game 4-2.

Overall it wasn't a terrible game, but it wasn't that great of a game either. It just goes to show how valuable Marc Staal and Michael Sauer really are to this defensive core. With them in the lineup tonight, this could have easily been a different game in the defensive end.

Also, news broke shortly after the game that Mats Zuccarello was assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the AHL, and Kris Newbury was recalled. Zuccarello stated that he was "very disappointed" in his post-game conference with the media. Kris Newbury will placed on the 4th line, and will add some grit as well.

The Rangers leave tomorrow morning to head on their Western Canada road trip. The Rangers will face-off against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at 10:00 PM.

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.