The Top 10 Rangers Games of the 2010-2011 Season: Part 1

This season saw many ups and downs on the ice by the Rangers, but overall it was a fairly successful season. The Rangers found ways to win at times when it seemed almost impossible, and overachieved in games when it was a necessity to win. It wasn't a single players effort throughout the season, a plethora of the players that stepped on the ice managed to do great things at important times for the Rangers. When people look back on the 2010-2011 season, these are the games they are going to remember.

#10: March 18, 2011 (Rangers 6 - Canadiens 3)


Right off the opening face-off, you knew this was going to be an entertaining game, as Brandon Prust and Travis Moen had themselves a good scrap one-second into the game. This would translate into a hard-fought, chippy game and would lead to one of the most stellar 1st-periods the Rangers had all season.

The scoring began as Artem Anisimov blocked a shot from the point and had a nearly uncontested breakaway to the net as he put a backhander behind Carey Price. Following a PK Subban goal, Dan Girardi gobbled up a juicy rebound and slapped it home. Several minutes later, Ryan Callahan became the recipient of a fortunate bounce as the puck rainbowed over the back of Carey Price and found its way into the back of the net. This would be the goal that opened the floodgates for the Rangers as swiftly after that goal, Marian Gaobirk followed up with a wonderful snap-shot that found the twine, and then shortly after that Brian Boyle capitalized on a 3-on-1 to give the Rangers five goals in the 1st period, those last three coming in a span of 67 seconds. The Canadiens made a push in the 3rd, scoring two goals, but one more goal from Vinny Prospal, and this wonderful save by Henrik Lundqvist capped a victory for the Rangers on home ice.

#9: January 5, 2011 (Rangers 2 - Hurricanes 1 in OT)


This game had more story behind it than the scoreboard may entail. The Rangers and Hurricanes were jockeying for a playoff position all season, and a win against them that night was vital to impede the Hurricanes progress up the standing. This game was an all around shooting clinic, and a goalie show and the Rangers threw everything including the kitchen sink at Cam Ward all game, and nothing got by until the 3rd period when a shot by the now- Lightning player Matt Gilroy scorched one over the glove hand of Ward. Not long after that, Eric Staal of the Canes tied the game at 1-1, and eventually the game was sent to overtime, where newcomer to the Rangers lineup, Mats Zuccarello, would be the hero of the game with a wrap-around, top shelf goal with two-minutes left in overtime to cap a victory for the Rangers.

#8: October 9, 2010 (Rangers 6 - Sabres 3)

On the first game of the year, no one expects anything brilliant, or stellar, or history making, especially not from a rookie. Well, apparently no one told that to Derek Stepan who did all of that in his first NHL game against the Sabres. Stepan became the recipient of a lucky deflection that managed to find its way past Ryan Miller to give the Rangers their first goal of the season. Then in the 2nd, Stepan dug one out in front of Miller and put another one in for his second goal, and then got another in the same period to give him the hat-trick... in his first NHL game! Stepan became the fourth player ever to score three goals in his first NHL game, which would lead him to a great first year with 21 goals and 24 assists.

#7: April 3, 2011 (Rangers 3 - Flyers 2 in a Shootout)


In almost storybook fashion, the Rangers were forced to face the team who knocked them out of the playoffs on the last day of the season the previous year, the Philadelphia Flyers, in a must-win game for the Rangers in order to stay in the hunt this year. Two points was a necessity as the Hurricanes were still right on the tail of the Rangers, but they were not about to let themselves be trumped in the shootout again for a second year. Deadlocked once again, the Rangers and Flyers headed into a shootout tied at two goal a piece. Lundqvist stopped ex-Ranger Nikolai Zherdev on the first shot for the Flyers to give the Rangers the advantage. Erik Christensen took the first shot for the Rangers and simple undressed Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Rangers up by one goal. The man who scored for the Flyers last year, Claude Giroux, was the next shooter for the Flyers, and his shot was poked away by Lundqvist. It all came down to Wojtek Wolski for the Rangers. If he scored, the game was over and the Rangers got a much needed second point to give them some leverage in the standings. And that's just what he did. Wojtek Wolski faked to his left and put the puck just over the line to give the Rangers their extra point that paid off immensely in the final stretch of the regular season.