Stepan leads the way as Rangers roll over Sabres

2010-11 Game No. 1; Road Game No. 1		Rangers Record: 1-0-0
VIDEO: STEPAN ON HIS RECORD-SETTING NIGHT
• Complete Highlights | Tortorella Postgame		• More Video from MSG

GAME RECAP By Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com Following Saturday’s morning skate in Buffalo, roughly seven hours before the puck would officially drop on the 2010-11 regular season, Rangers head coach John Tortorella was asked if he thought rookie center Derek Stepan would be filled with nerves in his NHL debut. The coach’s answer was stated emphatically, and later proved to be prophetic. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, because I think he embraces all of his challenges and looks at it as an opportunity,” Tortorella said of the 20 year-old Stepan. “I think he’ll be a good player for us (Saturday) night.” Stepan was precisely that, scoring his first NHL goal, and then adding two more to finish with a hat trick, in his first game to lead the Rangers to a 6-3 opening night victory over the Sabres at HSBC Arena. “Good for him,” Tortorella said of Stepan following the game. “And he did a lot of other good things other than score goals for us. It’s good to see from a 20-year-old” Years from now fans might assume Stepan’s first NHL goal came off a gorgeous rush, in truth it was a case of being in the right place at the right time and benefitting from a fortuitous bounce. Stationed to the right of Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, Stepan deflected Dan Girardi’s slap shot from the point. The deflection shot diagonally across the crease, and fortunately for Stepan, the deflection then caromed off the skate of Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers and into the net at 10:53 of the first period. As a result, the Rangers were able to open their 2010-11 season with a hard-fought -- albeit somewhat lucky -- goal. ... • READ THE FULL STORY | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STATS OF THE GAME Stepan's hat trick established the following Rangers' team records: • First Ranger in franchise history to record a hat trick in his NHL debut. • Tied the Rangers' franchise record for most goals in an opening-night game, becoming just the second player in team history to record a hat trick in the season opener. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. D. Stepan 2. Dan Girardi 3. B. Dubinsky

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THE BIGGER PICTURE This lopsided victory in the season-opener was happily reminiscent of the start of the 2005-06 season, when a Blueshirts team that was written off by many preseason pundits, shocked Philadelphia 5-3 on the road to kick off a brilliant regular season.

RANGERS LEADERS Time on Ice -- Girardi (23:51) Shots on Goal -- Dubinsky (4) Hits -- Del Zotto (4) Blocked Shots -- Girardi (4) Faceoffs Taken -- Anisimov (20) Power-Play Time -- Del Zotto (3:16)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP AT BUFFALO
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Alex Frolov	Erik Christensen	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Artem Anisimov	Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery	Derek Stepan	Ruslan Fedotenko
Derek Boogaard	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Michal Rozsival
Michael Del Zotto	Dan Girardi
Steve Eminger	Michael Sauer
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, Staal, Rozsival, Frolov, Christensen, Gaborik.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Alex Frolov	Erik Christensen	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Derek Stepan	Ryan Callahan

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Michal Rozsival	Michael Del Zotto
Steve Eminger	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Ruslan Fedotenko	Brandon Dubinsky
Brandon Prust	Brian Boyle
Ryan Callahan	Artem Anisimov

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto	Michal Rozsival