# 2009–10 New York Rangers season

The 2009–10 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 83rd season of play and their 84th season overall. For the first time in five years, the Rangers failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs after falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in each team's last game with the winner clinching the final Eastern Conference playoff spot and the loser being eliminated. This is the only season the Rangers missed the playoffs between 2005–06 and 2016–17.

## Off-season

On May 4, 2009, Markus Naslund announced that he would be retiring from professional hockey after playing one season for the Rangers.
At the NHL Entry Draft, the Rangers chose Chris Kreider with their first-round pick, 19th overall. The Rangers followed this with a couple of trades at the draft to acquire Brian Boyle and Chad Johnson. A bigger splash was made a few days later when the Rangers traded Scott Gomez to the Montreal Canadiens. With Gomez's $7 million contract gone, the Rangers then signed free agent Marian Gaborik on July 1, the first day of free agency. On July 16, the Rangers announced that Mike Sullivan had been hired as an assistant coach.
On August 16, 2009, Mark Messier rejoined the Rangers organization as a special assistant to general manager Glen Sather.

## Regular season

The NHL took a two-week break from February 15 to March 1 for the Olympics. The Rangers had five players represent their countries; Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan for the United States, Marian Gaborik for Slovakia, Olli Jokinen for Finland and Henrik Lundqvist for Sweden.

### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 222 | 191 | 103 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 257 | 237 | 101 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 236 | 225 | 88 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 222 | 218 | 87 |
| 5 | New York Islanders | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 222 | 264 | 79 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 54 | 15 | 13 | 318 | 233 | 121 |
| 2 | y – New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 222 | 191 | 103 |
| 3 | y – Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 235 | 207 | 100 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 257 | 237 | 101 |
| 5 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 44 | 32 | 6 | 225 | 238 | 94 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 206 | 200 | 91 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 236 | 225 | 88 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 217 | 223 | 88 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 222 | 218 | 87 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 234 | 256 | 83 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 230 | 256 | 80 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 217 | 260 | 80 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 222 | 264 | 79 |
| 14 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 208 | 244 | 77 |
| 15 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 30 | 38 | 14 | 214 | 267 | 74 |
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

## Schedule and results

Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
2009–10 game log :
October: 8–5–1 (Home: 5–2–0; Road: 3–3–1)
GameOctoberOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
12@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Lundqvist0–1–0
23Ottawa Senators5–2Lundqvist1–1–0
35@ New Jersey Devils3–2Lundqvist2–1–0
48@ Washington Capitals4–3Lundqvist3–1–0
511Anaheim Ducks3–0Valiquette4–1–0
612Toronto Maple Leafs7–2Lundqvist5–1–0
714Los Angeles Kings4–2Lundqvist6–1–0
817@ Toronto Maple Leafs4–1Lundqvist7–1–0
919San Jose Sharks7–3Valiquette7–2–0
1022New Jersey Devils4–2Lundqvist7–3–0
1124@ Montreal Canadiens5–4 OTLundqvist7–3–1
1226Phoenix Coyotes5–2Lundqvist8–3–1
1328@ New York Islanders3–1Lundqvist8–4–1
1430@ Minnesota Wild3–2Lundqvist8–5–1 :
November: 5–8–0 (Home: 2–4–0; Road: 3–4–0)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
151Boston Bruins1–0Lundqvist9–5–1
163@ Vancouver Canucks4–1Lundqvist9–6–1
175@ Edmonton Oilers4–2Valiquette10–6–1
187@ Calgary Flames3–1Valiquette10–7–1
1912Atlanta Thrashers5–3Lundqvist10–8–1
2014@ Ottawa Senators2–1 SOLundqvist11–8–1
2117Washington Capitals4–2Lundqvist11–9–1
2221Florida Panthers3–2Lundqvist11–10–1
2323Columbus Blue Jackets7–4Lundqvist12–10–1
2425@ Florida Panthers2–1 SOLundqvist13–10–1
2527@ Tampa Bay Lightning5–1Lundqvist13–11–1
2628@ Pittsburgh Penguins8–3Valiquette13–12–1
2730Pittsburgh Penguins5–2Lundqvist13–13–1 :
December: 6–4–3 (Home: 1–4–2; Road: 5–0–1)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
285@ Buffalo Sabres2–1Lundqvist14–13–1
296Detroit Red Wings3–1Lundqvist14–14–1
309@ Chicago Blackhawks2–1 OTLundqvist14–14–2
3112Buffalo Sabres3–2Lundqvist14–15–2
3214Atlanta Thrashers3–2 SOLundqvist14–15–3
3316New York Islanders2–1Lundqvist14–16–3
3417@ New York Islanders5–2Lundqvist15–16–3
3519@ Philadelphia Flyers2–1Lundqvist16–16–3
3621@ Carolina Hurricanes3–1Lundqvist17–16–3
3723Florida Panthers4–1Lundqvist18–16–3
3826New York Islanders3–2 OTLundqvist18–16–4
3930Philadelphia Flyers6–0Lundqvist18–17–4
4031@ Carolina Hurricanes2–1Lundqvist19–17–4 :
January: 6–7–3 (Home: 4–3–2; Road: 2–4–1)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
412Carolina Hurricanes2–1 OTLundqvist19–17–5
424Boston Bruins3–2Lundqvist20–17–5
436Dallas Stars5–2Lundqvist21–17–5
447@ Atlanta Thrashers2–1 SOJohnson21–17–6
459@ Boston Bruins3–1Lundqvist22–17–6
4612New Jersey Devils1–0 SOLundqvist22–17–7
4714Ottawa Senators2–0Lundqvist22–18–7
4816@ St. Louis Blues4–1Johnson22–19–7
4917Montreal Canadiens6–2Lundqvist23–19–7
5019Tampa Bay Lightning8–2Lundqvist24–19–7
5121@ Philadelphia Flyers2–0Lundqvist24–20–7
5223@ Montreal Canadiens6–0Lundqvist24–21–7
5325Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Lundqvist24–22–7
5427Carolina Hurricanes5–1Lundqvist24–23–7
5530@ Phoenix Coyotes3–2Johnson24–24–7
5631@ Colorado Avalanche3–1Johnson25–24–7 :
February: 3–3–0 (Home: 2–2–0; Road: 1–1–0)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
572@ Los Angeles Kings2–1Lundqvist25–25–7
584Washington Capitals6–5Lundqvist25–26–7
596New Jersey Devils3–1Lundqvist26–26–7
6010Nashville Predators2–1Lundqvist26–27–7
6112@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–2 OTLundqvist27–27–7
6214Tampa Bay Lightning5–2Lundqvist28–27–7 :
March: 6–5–3 (Home: 2–2–2; Road: 4–3–1)
GameMarchOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
632@ Ottawa Senators4–1Lundqvist29–27–7
644Pittsburgh Penguins5–4 OTLundqvist29–27–8
656@ Washington Capitals2–0Auld29–28–8
667Buffalo Sabres2–1 OTLundqvist29–28–9
6710@ New Jersey Devils6–3Lundqvist29–29–9
6812@ Atlanta Thrashers5–2Lundqvist30–29–9
6914Philadelphia Flyers3–1Lundqvist31–29–9
7016Montreal Canadiens3–1Lundqvist31–30–9
7118St. Louis Blues4–3Lundqvist31–31–9
7221@ Boston Bruins2–1Lundqvist31–32–9
7324New York Islanders5–0Lundqvist32–32–9
7425@ New Jersey Devils4–3 SOLundqvist33–32–9
7527@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–2 OTLundqvist33–32–10
7630@ New York Islanders4–3Lundqvist34–32–10 :
April: 4–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0; Road: 2–1–1)
GameAprilOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
772@ Tampa Bay Lightning5–0Lundqvist35–32–10
783@ Florida Panthers4–1Lundqvist36–32–10
796@ Buffalo Sabres5–2Lundqvist36–33–10
807Toronto Maple Leafs5–1Lundqvist37–33–10
819Philadelphia Flyers4–3Lundqvist38–33–10
8211@ Philadelphia Flyers2–1 SOLundqvist38–33–11 :

## Playoffs

The New York Rangers failed to qualify for the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, despite going 7–1–2 at the end of the season. Their run set up a home and home series with the eighth place Philadelphia Flyers, but the Rangers fell to the Flyers in a shootout in the final game of the season and finished one point out of the playoffs.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Marian Gaborik | 76 | 42 | 44 | 86 | 15 | 37 |
| Vaclav Prospal | 75 | 20 | 38 | 58 | 8 | 32 |
| Brandon Dubinsky | 69 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 9 | 54 |
| Michael Del Zotto | 80 | 9 | 28 | 37 | −20 | 32 |
| Ryan Callahan | 77 | 19 | 18 | 37 | −12 | 48 |
| Chris Drury | 77 | 14 | 18 | 32 | −10 | 31 |
| Sean Avery | 69 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 0 | 160 |
| Artem Anisimov | 82 | 12 | 16 | 28 | −2 | 32 |
| Marc Staal | 82 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 11 | 44 |
| Erik Christensen$^†$ | 49 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 14 | 24 |
| Daniel Girardi | 82 | 6 | 18 | 24 | −2 | 53 |
| Michal Rozsival | 82 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 3 | 78 |
| Ales Kotalik$^‡$ | 45 | 8 | 14 | 22 | −18 | 38 |
| Matt Gilroy | 69 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 23 |
| Olli Jokinen$^†$ | 26 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 22 |
| Wade Redden | 75 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 27 |
| Enver Lisin | 57 | 6 | 8 | 14 | −1 | 18 |
| Chris Higgins$^‡$ | 55 | 6 | 8 | 14 | −9 | 32 |
| Brandon Prust$^†$ | 26 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 65 |
| P. A. Parenteau | 22 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −2 | 4 |
| Aaron Voros | 41 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −2 | 89 |
| Brian Boyle | 71 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −6 | 47 |
| Jody Shelley$^†$ | 21 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 37 |
| Anders Eriksson$^†$ | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Donald Brashear | 36 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −9 | 73 |
| Dane Byers | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 |
| Corey Locke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Corey Potter | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bobby Sanguinetti | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ilkka Heikkinen | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Henrik Lundqvist | 73 | 4204 | 35 | 27 | 10 | 167 | 2.38 | 2109 | .921 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Steve Valiquette | 6 | 305 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 3.74 | 128 | .852 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chad Johnson | 5 | 281 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 2.35 | 135 | .919 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alex Auld$^†$ | 3 | 119 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2.52 | 52 | .904 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Zaba | 1 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3.53 | 16 | .875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

## Awards and records
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Reached |
| Michael Del Zotto | NHL Rookie of the Month | October 2009 |
| Marian Gaborik | NHL Third Star of the Month | November 2009 |

### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Matt Gilroy | 1st NHL game | October 2, 2009 |
| Michael Del Zotto | 1st NHL game | October 2, 2009 |
| Michael Del Zotto | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point | October 3, 2009 |
| Vaclav Prospal | 600th NHL point | October 3, 2009 |
| Daniel Girardi | 200th NHL game | October 3, 2009 |
| Michael Del Zotto | 1st NHL assist | October 5, 2009 |
| Matt Gilroy | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point | October 5, 2009 |
| Artem Anisimov | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | October 8, 2009 |
| Artem Anisimov | 1st NHL goal | October 11, 2009 |
| Vaclav Prospal | 200th NHL goal | October 14, 2009 |
| Chris Drury | 800th NHL game | October 19, 2009 |
| Matt Gilroy | 1st NHL assist | October 19, 2009 |
| P. A. Parenteau | 1st NHL goal | October 28, 2009 |
| Dane Byers | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point | October 30, 2009 |
| Henrik Lundqvist | 150th NHL win | November 1, 2009 |
| Donald Brashear | 1,000th NHL game | November 12, 2009 |
| Chris Higgins | 300th NHL game | November 12, 2009 |
| Enver Lisin | 100th NHL game | November 23, 2009 |
| Bobby Sanguinetti | 1st NHL game | November 27, 2009 |
| Sean Avery | 200th NHL point | November 28, 2009 |
| Vaclav Prospal | 900th NHL game | November 28, 2009 |
| Ilkka Heikkinen | 1st NHL game | December 5, 2009 |
| Marc Staal | 200th NHL game | December 26, 2009 |
| Chad Johnson | 1st NHL game | December 30, 2009 |
| Henrik Lundqvist | 300th NHL game | December 30, 2009 |
| Erik Christensen | 100th NHL point | December 31, 2009 |
| John Tortorella | 600th NHL game coached | December 31, 2009 |
| Brandon Dubinsky | 100th NHL point | January 4, 2010 |
| Brandon Dubinsky | 200th NHL game | January 6, 2010 |
| Chad Johnson | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | January 7, 2010 |
| Michal Rozsival | 600th NHL game | January 9, 2010 |
| Matt Zaba | 1st NHL game | January 23, 2010 |
| Ryan Callahan | 200th NHL game | January 25, 2010 |
| Chad Johnson | 1st NHL win | January 31, 2010 |
| Marian Gaborik | 500th NHL point | January 31, 2010 |
| Chris Drury | 600th NHL point | February 14, 2010 |
| Brian Boyle | 100th NHL game | March 7, 2010 |
| Brandon Prust | 100th NHL game | March 10, 2010 |

## Transactions

The Rangers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.
Trades
Date
Details
June 27, 2009
To Los Angeles Kings
3rd-round pick in 2010
To New York Rangers
Brian Boyle
June 27, 2009
To Pittsburgh Penguins
5th-round pick in 2009
To New York Rangers
Chad Johnson
June 30, 2009
To Montreal Canadiens
Scott Gomez Tom Pyatt Michael Busto
To New York Rangers
Chris Higgins Ryan McDonagh Pavel Valentenko Doug Janik
July 13, 2009
To Phoenix Coyotes
Lauri Korpikoski
To New York Rangers
Enver Lisin
July 16, 2009
To Colorado Avalanche
Brian Fahey
To New York Rangers
Nigel Williams
February 1, 2010
To Calgary Flames
Chris Higgins Ales Kotalik
To New York Rangers
Olli Jokinen Brandon Prust
February 12, 2010
To San Jose Sharks
Conditional 6th-round draft pick in 2011
To New York Rangers
Jody Shelley
March 3, 2010
To Detroit Red Wings
Jordan Owens
To New York Rangers
Kris Newbury
March 3, 2010
To Phoenix Coyotes
Miika Wiikman 7th-round pick in 2011
To New York Rangers
Anders Eriksson :
Lost via retirement
Player
Markus Naslund
Player signings
PlayerContract terms
Matt Zabaundisclosed
Michael Del Zottoundisclosed
Jordan Owensundisclosed
P. A. Parenteauundisclosed
Chris Higgins1 year, $2.25 million
Brian Boyle2 years, $1.05 million
Dane Byersundisclosed
Chad Johnsonundisclosed
Ryan Callahan2 years, $4.6 million
Corey Potter1 year, $550,000
Enver Lisin1 year, $790,000
Brandon Dubinsky2 years, $3.7 million :

## Draft picks

New York's picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Canada, at the Bell Centre.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 19 | Chris Kreider | LW | United States | Phillips Andover (USHS-MA) |
| 2 | 47 (compensatory) | Ethan Werek | C | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
| 3 | 80 | Ryan Bourque | C | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL) |
| 5 | 127 (from Phoenix) | Roman Horak | C | Czech Republic | České Budějovice Mountfield Jr. (Czech Extraliga-Jr) |
| 5 | 140 | Scott Stajcer | G | Canada | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) |
| 6 | 170 | Daniel Maggio | D | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 7 | 200 | Mikhail Pashnin | D | Russia | Mechel Chelyabinsk (Russia-2) |
* On March 11, 2009, the NHL general managers agreed to award the 17th selection of the second round as a compensatory pick to the New York Rangers for deceased player Alexei Cherepanov.