Photograph of the Rangers and Penguins in a first period fight (three roughing penalties were charged to each team) at Madison Square Garden by Julie Jacobson/AP Pittsburgh 5 Rangers 3: Ryan Hollweg has a fantastic moustache, but his idiotic penalty probably cost the Rangers their season. New York fell behind right out of the gate with Marian Hossa scoring only a minute into the game. The Rangers tied things up, but Pittsburgh went ahead......

Photograph of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stopping a shot from Penguins player Sidney Crosby by Keith Srakocic/AP Penguins 5, Rangers 4: Martin Straka, Chris Drury and everyone's darling, Sean Avery, had the Rangers feeling good about themselves three minutes, 37 seconds into the second period. Game over? Not quite. Pittsburgh scored twice in 14 seconds near the eight-minute mark. Then they scored twice in a 20-second span five minutes into the third. Scott Gomez......

You have to pick your poison when playing the Penguins. Do you try and stop Pittsburgh’s top line, anchored by Sidney Crosby, or do you focus on shutting down the equally talented, Evegni Malkin and his line? And, don’t forget about the defensemen, Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney are both threats to score when they touch the puck. Clearly, keeping the Penguins off the scoreboard will be a monumental task. But, the Rangers have a......

Rangers 5 Devils 3: There is justice in the hockey world. One game after inadvertently deflecting the winning goal for the Devils off of his skate, Marc Staal scored the winning goal for the Rangers. Staal’s slap shot beat Martin Brodeur through the five-hole with three minutes left in regulation of a 3-3 game and gave the MSG crowd another chance to serenade Brodeur. Staal’s goal was one of the many highlights for the Rangers,......

Photograph of the Rangers' Ryan Callahan putting a puck pasting Devils goalie Martin Brodeur by Bill Kostroun/AP Rangers 4 Devils 1: Don’t let the score fool you, this was a close game for about 57 minutes. New York got on the board first thanks to Brendan Shanahan, but New Jersey answered with a power play goal from Paul Martin. The game remained tied until the 7:23 mark of the third period when the Devils......

Rangers 3 Buffalo 2 (Shootout): The Rangers earned at least a point for the 13th-straight game and swept Buffalo in their season series with another big win Monday. Things got off to a bad start as Buffalo scored only 16 seconds into the first period, but the Rangers tied things up just over a minute later thanks to Fedor Tyutin. Jaromir Jagr netted his 18th to put New York up 2-1, but Buffalo tied things......

Rangers 4, Islanders 1: Two days after having their dramatic rally ruined in a shootout, the Rangers crushed the Islanders, 4-1, and continued their surge at the season's most critical times. They drew Wade Dubielewicz in goal -- Rick DiPietro had missed too much time following the death of his grandmother -- but most goalies would have had trouble Thursday. The Rangers led this one 89 seconds into the game on a Brendan Shanahan goal.......

Rangers 2 Philadelphia 0: Stephen Valiquette certainly likes playing in Philadelphia. Last time he was there he shutout the Flyers and this time he provided the same result. While Valiquette’s play was solid, the game was highlighted by hard hits and a lot of fighting, including a major scrum in the second period. Nigel Dawes got the Rangers on the board near the end of the third period as he converted a power play chance.......

Rangers 5, Canadiens 3: Fans who tired of FOX's marathon Super Bowl pregame show may have migrated to NBC to catch this inspired effort by the Rangers. Playing in Montreal -- did any of them get to watch the Super Bowl, or even want to watch? -- the Blueshirts scored five unanswered goals after trailing, 3-0, early in the second period. Chris Drury had the go-ahead goal, and Scott Gomez, Michal Rozsival, Martin Straka and......

Bruins 4, Rangers 3 (SO): Sometimes teams are happy with a single point, but the Rangers won't be in this one. They blew a lead in the third period -- after rallying from a 2-1 deficit -- and then saw things go against them in the shootout. A sluggish January for continues for New York. Scott Gomez had two assists and a goal, but it didn't help the Rangers avoid dropping to 2-4-1 in the......

Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 0: When things aren’t going well, hockey coaches look to shake up their lines. That what Tom Renney did Tuesday, installing Gomez on the Jagr-Straka line and the results were very good. The top line looked like one, scoring twice at even strength and propelling New York to the victory. But, it wasn’t just the top guys. Chris Drury had added two points and the defense held Pittsburgh to 18 shots. Henrik......

Rangers 1 Devils 0 Overtime: This was one the Rangers needed to win and it showed. From the start of the game they played a smart, defensive style that gave New Jersey very few chances. It worked to perfection as the Devils only got 17 shots during the entire game, but the problem was the Rangers couldn’t score. Time and again Martin Brodeur stopped them and when the game went to overtime, it appeared likely......

Rangers 4 Philadelphia 3 (Shootout): The Rangers have overcome their slow start and moved into a tie for first place. Brendan Shanahan had a goal in regulation and the game-winner in the shootout to power New York. Henrik Lundqvist kept the Flyers off the board in the shootout, stopping all three shots he faced. Marc Staal played another solid game paired with Rozsival and Marek Malik has to be worried about regaining his starting spot.......

Rangers 4, Devils 2: Given New Jersey's recent dominance over its cross-river rivals, Martin Brodeur's picking up his 500th win against Rangers would have seemed appropriate. Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lunqvist had other ideas. Lundqvist stopped 22 shots and Jagr added a goal and an assist as the Rangers on the Prudential Center ice. Even defenseman Marc Staal got into the act. Jamie Langenbrunner had two goals for the home team, whose fans eagerly booed......

Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 2: That’s not a misprint, the Rangers really scored four goals tonight. Scott Gomez got things started for New York with a goal 7:35 into the game. But, Pittsburgh came right back and tied things on a Sergei Gonchar slap shot. But, Sean Avery did what he does best, get under opponents’ skin and he goaded Gary Roberts into a double minor. Roberts should know better and his mistake setup Michal Rozsival’s......

Rangers 2, Devils 1 (SO): Petr Prucha did enough to finally earn a second "E" for his name. He set up the only goal in regulation and scored the only goal in the shootout. Scott Gomez struck against his former club. The Rangers had other chances, including Chris Drury's breakaway in overtime, so this win helped them sleep better at night. Islands 3, Penguins 2: This could have been a Pyhrric victory. Rick DiPietro got......

Rangers 2, Devils 0: Everyone who had Nigel Dawes in the pool can collect his money. Nothing helps end a 126-minute goalless streak like a giveaway less than a minute into the game. Dawes took advantage and provided a bookend goal late in the game. The Rangers needed this game, having entered it in last place. Henrik Lundqvist handled himself well in goal, and the Devils looked like the team who came in on a......

Rangers 3, Capitals 1: Jaromir Jagr didn't break his scoreless drought to start the season, but he did help Scott Gomez end his. That was the first of three first-period goals -- all on the power-play -- that led the Rangers to their win. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 24 of 25 shots to pick up the win and help the Rangers even their record at 2-2. Martin Straka and defenseman Michal Rozsival also scored. Maybe it......

You may not have noticed that the NHL season started last weekend. While two games between two California teams in London may not have captured your interest, the three local teams that begin play tomorrow and the next few nights will all be fascinating stories throughout the season. No team enters the season with bigger expectations than the Rangers. After landing two big centers in free agency, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, New York......

In a flash the Rangers remade their team on the first day of free agency, adding Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Drury, grew up in Trumbull, Connecticut as a Rangers’ fan and has been one of the top centers in the game since breaking into the league with Colorado in 1998 (not to mention a Little League World Series champion). Gomez has been with the Devils since joining the league in 1999 winning two Stanley......

Senators 3, Devils 2: Scott Gomez's pair of goals couldn't save the Devils, who went out of the NHL Playoffs with a whimper by losing the conference semifinals series in five games. New Jersey just couldn't light the lamp enough in this series, and Martin Brodeur wasn't the best netminder. That title belongs to Ray Emery, who made 27 saves Saturday despite being in a car accident the day before. Ask any Devils fan if......

Rangers 4 Atlanta 2: The Rangers finished off their sweep of the Thrashers in dramatic fashion, coming back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to finally take the lead on a goal that had to be reviewed for over five minutes. Five minutes into the third period, Matt Cullen unleashed a vicious slapshot that caromed off the top crossbar and appeared to bounce out of the crease. Replays showed the puck had bounced down into......

Nets 91, Heat 81: Teams that score 21 straight points don't lose that often. The Nets used such a run in the third quarter to take down the Heat, who were playing without Dwyane Wade (wrist) and Shaquille O'Neal (knee). Jason Kidd, who described winning as "the best deodorant," had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as he helped his squad snap a four-game losing skid. New Jersey scored on 10 of 11......

What was Jagr doing on the ice? Down 5-1 with less than five minutes to go, why would the Rangers put Jagr on the penalty-kill unit? And why did Jagr suddenly decide to become a tough guy? We don’t know the answers to those questions but we know the results, a 6-1 loss and an injured superstar. In the covert world of the NHL playoffs we probably won’t find out what exactly happened to Jagr,......

In the mid-90’s it was the best local rivalry we had. Both teams were among the NHL elite and ferociously battled each other whenever they met. Then the Rangers fell on hard times and the Devils kept wining. Last night the two teams squared off at the Garden and when it was over New York had beaten New Jersey 3-1 and snapped their nine-game winning streak. Darius Kasparaitis got things going by delivering a vicious......

Yesterday, an emotional Larry Robinson discussed stepping down has head coach of the Devils on Sunday. Citing health reasons, including severe headaches, Robinson, 54, ended his second stint as the Devils' coach. Replacing Robinson in the interim is Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello. Robinson, a hall of fame player, won six championships with the Montreal Canadians and one with the Devils in 2000 as their head coach. The Devils, who have struggled this season, are......

Fans will be able to watch hockey again tonight for the first time in sixteen months as every team in the National Hockey League takes to the ice. Before turning on the game, it might be a good idea to review some of the multiple rule changes that will be in place for the 2005-2006 season. As for the local teams, expect a decent year from the Devils. They lost Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens,......