# 2010–11 New York Rangers season

The 2010–11 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 84th season of play and their 85th season overall. The Rangers celebrated 85 years since their establishment in 1926.

## Pre-season

After an off-season of speculation and rumors, the Rangers waived veteran defenseman Wade Redden on September 25. By waiving Redden, the Rangers were able to rid themselves of his large salary and have more flexibility to sign players under the current salary cap.

## Regular season

The Rangers won their first game of the season, on October 9 at Buffalo. Derek Stepan had a hat trick in the 6–3 win, becoming only the fourth player in NHL history to record a hat trick in his first career NHL game.
On November 12, 2010, the Rangers unveiled their 85th anniversary Heritage "third" jersey at an event at Rockefeller Center. The Rangers wore the jersey for a game for the first time on November 17 against the Boston Bruins.
Three Rangers participated in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game. Marc Staal and Henrik Lundqvist played in the main game, and rookie Derek Stepan took part in the SuperSkills Competition.
On April 4, 2011, the Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 5–3 after trailing in the game 3–0. According to the Versus broadcasters, this was the first time in franchise history that the Rangers were able to overcome a 3–0 deficit to the Bruins to win the game. The two teams had played each other 624 times since 1926.
The Rangers tied the Boston Bruins for the most shutouts for, with 11.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 47 | 23 | 12 | 44 | 259 | 223 | 106 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 49 | 25 | 8 | 39 | 238 | 199 | 106 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 82 | 44 | 33 | 5 | 35 | 233 | 198 | 93 |
| 4 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 38 | 39 | 5 | 35 | 174 | 209 | 81 |
| 5 | New York Islanders | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 26 | 229 | 264 | 73 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference :
| R | vte | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 48 | 23 | 11 | 43 | 224 | 197 | 107 |
| 2 | y – Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 47 | 23 | 12 | 44 | 259 | 223 | 106 |
| 3 | y – Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 44 | 246 | 195 | 103 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 49 | 25 | 8 | 39 | 238 | 199 | 106 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 40 | 247 | 240 | 103 |
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 216 | 209 | 96 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 43 | 29 | 10 | 38 | 245 | 229 | 96 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 33 | 5 | 35 | 233 | 198 | 93 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 35 | 236 | 239 | 91 |
| 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 32 | 218 | 251 | 85 |
| 11 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 38 | 39 | 5 | 35 | 174 | 209 | 81 |
| 12 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 29 | 223 | 269 | 80 |
| 13 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 30 | 192 | 250 | 74 |
| 14 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 26 | 229 | 264 | 73 |
| 15 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 26 | 195 | 229 | 72 |
bold – qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2010-11 game log :
October: 5-4-1 (Home: 1-3-1; Road: 4-1-0)
GameOctoberOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
19@ Buffalo Sabres6 – 3Lundqvist1–0–0
211@ New York Islanders6 – 4Lundqvist1–1–0
315Toronto Maple Leafs4 – 3 OTLundqvist1–1–1
418Colorado Avalanche3 – 1Lundqvist1–2–1
521@ Toronto Maple Leafs2 – 1Biron2–2–1
623@ Boston Bruins3 – 2Lundqvist3–2–1
724New Jersey Devils3 – 1Lundqvist4–2–1
827Atlanta Thrashers6 – 4Biron4–3–1
929Carolina Hurricanes4 – 3Lundqvist4–4–1
1030@ Toronto Maple Leafs2 – 0Lundqvist5–4–1 :
November: 9-7-0 (Home: 4-4-0; Road: 5-3-0)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
111Chicago Blackhawks4 – 2Lundqvist6–4–1
124@ Philadelphia Flyers4 – 1Lundqvist6–5–1
135@ New Jersey Devils3 – 0Lundqvist7–5–1
147St. Louis Blues2 – 0Biron7–6–1
159Washington Capitals5 – 3Lundqvist7–7–1
1611Buffalo Sabres3 – 2 OTBiron8–7–1
1714Edmonton Oilers8 – 2Biron9–7–1
1815@ Pittsburgh Penguins3 – 2 OTLundqvist10–7–1
1917Boston Bruins3 – 2Lundqvist10–8–1
2019@ Colorado Avalanche5 – 1Lundqvist10–9–1
2120@ Minnesota Wild5 – 2Biron11–9–1
2222Calgary Flames2 – 1Biron12–9–1
2324@ Tampa Bay Lightning5 – 3Lundqvist12–10–1
2426@ Florida Panthers3 – 0Lundqvist13–10–1
2527@ Nashville Predators2 – 1 SOLundqvist14–10–1
2629Pittsburgh Penguins3 – 1Lundqvist14–11–1 :
December: 8-3-1 (Home: 4-1-1; Road: 4-2-0)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
272@ New York Islanders6 – 5Lundqvist15–11–1
283New York Islanders2 – 0Lundqvist16–11–1
295Ottawa Senators3 – 1Lundqvist16–12–1
309@ Ottawa Senators5 – 3Lundqvist17–12–1
3111@ Columbus Blue Jackets3 – 1Lundqvist17–13–1
3212Washington Capitals7 – 0Lundqvist18–13–1
3315@ Pittsburgh Penguins4 – 1Lundqvist19–13–1
3416Phoenix Coyotes4 – 3 SOBiron20–13–1
3518@ Philadelphia Flyers4 – 1Lundqvist20–14–1
3623Tampa Bay Lightning4 – 3 SOLundqvist20–14–2
3727New York Islanders7 – 2Lundqvist21–14–2
3829@ New Jersey Devils3 – 1Lundqvist22–14–2 :
January: 7-6-1 (Home: 3-3-0; Road: 4-3-1)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
391@ Tampa Bay Lightning2 – 1 OTLundqvist22–14–3
402@ Florida Panthers3 – 0Lundqvist22–15–3
415Carolina Hurricanes2 – 1 OTLundqvist23–15–3
427@ Dallas Stars3 – 2 SOLundqvist24–15–3
438@ St. Louis Blues2 – 1Biron25–15–3
4411Montreal Canadiens2 – 1Lundqvist25–16–3
4513Vancouver Canucks1 – 0Lundqvist26–16–3
4615@ Montreal Canadiens3 – 2Lundqvist26–17–3
4716Philadelphia Flyers3 – 2Biron26–18–3
4819Toronto Maple Leafs7 – 0Lundqvist27–18–3
4920@ Carolina Hurricanes4 – 1Lundqvist27–19–3
5022@ Atlanta Thrashers3 – 2 SOLundqvist28–19–3
5124@ Washington Capitals2 – 1 SOBiron29–19–3
5225Florida Panthers4 – 3Lundqvist29–20–3 :
February: 4-7-1 (Home: 2-3-1; Road: 2-4-0)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
531Pittsburgh Penguins4 – 3 SOLundqvist29–20–4
543New Jersey Devils3 – 2Lundqvist29–21–4
555@ Montreal Canadiens2 – 0Biron29–22–4
567@ Detroit Red Wings3 – 2Biron29–23–4
5711@ Atlanta Thrashers3 – 2Lundqvist29–24–4
5813Pittsburgh Penguins5 – 3Lundqvist30–24–4
5917Los Angeles Kings4 – 3 SOLundqvist31–24–4
6018@ New Jersey Devils1 – 0Lundqvist31–25–4
6120Philadelphia Flyers4 – 2Lundqvist31–26–4
6222@ Carolina Hurricanes4 – 3 SOLundqvist32–26–4
6325@ Washington Capitals6 – 0Lundqvist33–26–4
6427Tampa Bay Lightning2 – 1Lundqvist33–27–4 :
March: 8-5-1 (Home: 4-2-1; Road: 4-3-0)
GameMarchOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
651Buffalo Sabres3 – 2Lundqvist33–28–4
663Minnesota Wild3 – 1Lundqvist33–29–4
674@ Ottawa Senators4 – 1Lundqvist34–29–4
686Philadelphia Flyers7 – 0Lundqvist35–29–4
699@ Anaheim Ducks5 – 2Lundqvist35–30–4
7012@ San Jose Sharks3 – 2 SOLundqvist36–30–4
7115New York Islanders6 – 3Lundqvist37–30–4
7218Montreal Canadiens6 – 3Lundqvist38–30–4
7320@ Pittsburgh Penguins5 – 2Lundqvist39–30–4
7422Florida Panthers1 – 0Lundqvist40–30–4
7524Ottawa Senators2 – 1 SOLundqvist40–30–5
7626@ Boston Bruins1 – 0Lundqvist41–30–5
7730@ Buffalo Sabres1 – 0Lundqvist41–31–5
7831@ New York Islanders6 – 2Lundqvist41–32–5 :
April: 3-1-0 (Home: 2-1-0; Road: 1-0-0)
GameAprilOpponentScoreDecisionRecord
793@ Philadelphia Flyers3 – 2 SOLundqvist42–32–5
804Boston Bruins5 – 3Lundqvist43–32–5
817Atlanta Thrashers3 – 0Lundqvist43–33–5
829New Jersey Devils5 – 2Lundqvist44–33–5 :

## Playoffs

For the second straight season, the Rangers playoff hopes came down to the final game of the regular season. The Rangers defeated the Devils 5–2 on the afternoon of April 9, 2011 and then had to wait for the result of the Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning game that night. The Lightning defeated the Hurricanes, securing the Rangers spot in the playoffs. (Both the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils missed the 2011 playoffs; had the Rangers also failed to qualify, it would have marked the first time since 1966 that the Stanley Cup playoffs did not feature a club from the New York metro area.) The Rangers qualified for the playoffs, after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since the lockout, as the #8 seed. They were defeated by the #1 seeded Washington Capitals in the first round.
Key: Win Loss
2011 Stanley Cup playoffs :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Brandon Dubinsky | 77 | 24 | 30 | 54 | -3 | 100 |
| Marian Gaborik | 62 | 22 | 26 | 48 | 8 | 18 |
| Ryan Callahan | 60 | 23 | 25 | 48 | -7 | 46 |
| Derek Stepan | 82 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 8 | 20 |
| Artem Anisimov | 82 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 3 | 20 |
| Brian Boyle | 82 | 21 | 14 | 35 | 2 | 74 |
| Daniel Girardi | 80 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 7 | 37 |
| Brandon Prust | 82 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 2 | 160 |
| Marc Staal | 77 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 8 | 50 |
| Erik Christensen | 63 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 3 | 18 |
| Ruslan Fedotenko | 66 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 9 | 25 |
| Sean Avery | 76 | 3 | 21 | 24 | -4 | 174 |
| Vaclav Prospal | 29 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 4 | 8 |
| Mats Zuccarello | 42 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 3 | 4 |
| Wojtek Wolski$^†$ | 37 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 12 | 8 |
| Alexander Frolov | 43 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 8 |
| Michael Sauer | 76 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 75 |
| Michal Rozsival$^‡$ | 32 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 22 |
| Michael Del Zotto | 47 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -5 | 20 |
| Matt Gilroy | 58 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 14 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 40 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 14 |
| Steve Eminger | 65 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -5 | 22 |
| Bryan McCabe$^†$ | 19 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -1 | 6 |
| Chris Drury | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| Derek Boogaard | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 45 |
| Todd White | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 2 |
| Kris Newbury | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 35 |
| Chad Kolarik | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| Jeremy Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brodie Dupont | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Evgeny Grachev | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 |
| Dale Weise | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 19 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Wojtek Wolski | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Dubinsky | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 2 |
| Bryan McCabe | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Ruslan Fedotenko | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| Marian Gaborik | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Vaclav Prospal | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Drury | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Sean Avery | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 12 |
| Erik Christensen | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Brandon Prust | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Marc Staal | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| Michael Sauer | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Artem Anisimov | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Matt Gilroy | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| Mats Zuccarello | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Brian Boyle | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 6 |
| Daniel Girardi | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Derek Stepan | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Henrik Lundqvist | 68 | 4007 | 36 | 27 | 5 | 152 | 2.28 | 1965 | .923 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Martin Biron | 17 | 928 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 33 | 2.13 | 426 | .923 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chad Johnson | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6.00 | 11 | .818 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Henrik Lundqvist | 5 | 346 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 2.25 | 156 | .917 | 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 | Awarded |
| Henrik Lundqvist | NHL Third Star of the Week | March 28, 2011 |
| Brandon Prust | Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award | April 7, 2011 |
| Henrik Lundqvist | Rangers' MVP (voted by New York Rangers media) | April 7, 2011 |
| Ryan Callahan | Players' Player Award (voted by Ranger players) | April 7, 2011 |
| Ryan Callahan | John Halligan Good Guy Award (voted by the NY chapter of the PHWA) | April 7, 2011 |

### Records

With a 6–3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on March 18, 2011, Henrik Lundqvist became the first goalie in NHL history to record 30 wins or more in each of his first six seasons.

### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Derek Stepan | First Career NHL Game First Career NHL Goal First Career NHL Point First Career NHL Hat-trick | October 9, 2010 |
| Derek Stepan | First Career NHL Assist | October 18, 2010 |
| Ryan Callahan | 100th Career NHL Point | October 23, 2010 |
| Michael Sauer | First Career NHL Assist First Career NHL Point | October 23, 2010 |
| Evgeny Grachev | 1st Career NHL Game | October 29, 2010 |
| Henrik Lundqvist | 25th Career NHL Shutout | October 30, 2010 |
| Sean Avery | 500th Career NHL Game | November 1, 2010 |
| Artem Anisimov | 100th Career NHL Game | November 14, 2010 |
| Michael Del Zotto | 100th Career NHL Game | November 19, 2010 |
| Daniel Girardi | 300th Career NHL Game | November 19, 2010 |
| Ruslan Fedotenko | 700th Career NHL Game | November 24, 2010 |
| Erik Christensen | 300th Career NHL Game | November 29, 2010 |
| Michael Sauer | 1st Career NHL Goal | December 9, 2010 |
| Marian Gaborik | 600th Career NHL Game | December 18, 2010 |
| Dale Weise | 1st Career NHL Game | December 18, 2010 |
| Mats Zuccarello | 1st Career NHL Game | December 23, 2010 |
| Mats Zuccarello | 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | December 27, 2010 |
| Daniel Girardi | 100th Career NHL Point | January 1, 2011 |
| Mats Zuccarello | 1st Career NHL Goal | January 5, 2011 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 1st Career NHL Game | January 7, 2011 |
| Matt Gilroy | 100th Career NHL Game | January 16, 2011 |
| Chad Kolarik | 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | January 20, 2011 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | January 20, 2011 |
| Brodie Dupont | 1st Career NHL Game | January 22, 2011 |
| Brandon Dubinsky | 100th Career NHL Assist | February 1, 2011 |
| Marc Staal | 300th Career NHL Game | February 7, 2011 |
| Henrik Lundqvist | 200th Career NHL Win | February 17, 2011 |
| Brandon Dubinsky | 300th Career NHL Game | March 3, 2011 |
| Steve Eminger | 400th Career NHL Game | March 4, 2011 |
| Ryan Callahan | 1st Career NHL Hat-trick | March 6, 2011 |
| Henrik Lundqvist | 400th Career NHL Game | March 26, 2011 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 1st Career NHL Goal | April 9, 2011 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Brian Boyle | 1st Career NHL Playoff Game | April 13, 2011 |
| Matt Gilroy | 1st Career NHL Playoff Game 1st Career NHL Playoff Goal 1st Career NHL Playoff Point | April 13, 2011 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 1st Career NHL Playoff Game | April 13, 2011 |
| Brandon Prust | 1st Career NHL Playoff Game 1st Career NHL Playoff Assist 1st Career NHL Playoff Point | April 13, 2011 |
| Michael Sauer | 1st Career NHL Playoff Game | April 13, 2011 |
| Derek Stepan | 1st Career NHL Playoff Game | April 13, 2011 |
| Mats Zuccarello | 1st Career NHL Playoff Game | April 13, 2011 |
| Erik Christensen | 1st Career NHL Playoff Goal | April 17, 2011 |
| Artem Anisimov | 1st Career NHL Playoff Goal 1st Career NHL Playoff Point | April 20, 2011 |
| Michael Sauer | 1st Career NHL Playoff Assist 1st Career NHL Playoff Point | April 20, 2011 |

## Transactions

The Rangers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2010–11 season.
Trades
Date
Details
May 25, 2010
To New York Islanders
6th-round pick in 2010
To New York Rangers
Jyri Niemi
June 26, 2010
To Carolina Hurricanes
Bobby Sanguinetti
To New York Rangers
6th-round pick in 2010 2nd-round pick in 2011
July 9, 2010
To Anaheim Ducks
Aaron Voros Ryan Hillier
To New York Rangers
Steve Eminger
July 19, 2010
To Anaheim Ducks
Tomas Zaborsky
To New York Rangers
Matt McCue
August 2, 2010
To Atlanta Thrashers
Donald Brashear Patrick Rissmiller
To New York Rangers
Todd White
November 11, 2010
To Columbus Blue Jackets
Dane Byers
To New York Rangers
Chad Kolarik
November 23, 2010
To Anaheim Ducks
Nigel Williams
To New York Rangers
Stu Bickel
January 10, 2011
To Phoenix Coyotes
Michal Rozsíval
To New York Rangers
Wojtek Wolski
February 26, 2011
To Florida Panthers
Tim Kennedy 3rd-round pick in 2011
To New York Rangers
Bryan McCabe
February 28, 2011
To Toronto Maple Leafs
7th-round pick in 2012
To New York Rangers
John Mitchell :
Lost via retirement
Player
Player signings
PlayerContract terms
Jyri Niemi3 years, $1.86 million entry-level contract
Dane Byers1 year, $500,000
Kris Newbury2 years, $1.025 million
Derek Stepan3 years, $2.4625 million entry-level contract
Erik Christensen2 years, $1.85 million
Vaclav Prospal1 year, $2.1 million
Brandon Prust2 years, $1.6 million
Ryan McDonagh3 years, $3.9 million entry-level contract
Daniel Girardi4 years, $13.3 million
Brodie Dupont1 year, $500,000
Michael Sauer1 year, $500,000
Marc Staal5 years, $19.875 million
Ryan Bourque3 years, $1.97 million entry-level contract
Dylan McIlrath3 years, $2.2 million entry-level contract
Carl Hagelin2 years, $1.325 million entry-level contract
Roman Horak3 years, $1.83 million entry-level contract :

## Draft picks

New York's picks at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 10 | Dylan McIlrath | D | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 2 | 40 | Christian Thomas | RW | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 4 | 100 | Andrew Yogan | C/LW | United States | Erie Otters (OHL) |
| 5 | 130 | Jason Wilson | RW | Canada | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) |
| 6 | 157 (from Carolina) | Jesper Fast | RW | Sweden | HV71 Jr. (J20 SuperElit) |
| 7 | 190 | Randy McNaught | F | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |