Rangers Off to Encouraging Start

The New York Rangers won their first game of the season against the the Phoenix Coyotes last night despite missing their premier big man in Alexei Ponikarovsky. There was concern in Rangerland that the hole left by the hulking winger might be two big to fill but into that void stepped young star in the making Martin Erat. Erat made several scintillating plays as he fired 7 shots on net and potted two goals. He added an assist to end the night with 3 points. Big things are expected from the young Czech this season and he's off to a great start.

The Rangers played well as a team but the penalty kill was a concern as the Rangers as they allowed 3 goals on 6 Coyote attempts. In the post game scrum GM Burns said "We're very happy with the effort. I thought our team played a great game. We got in penalty trouble and it almost cost us. We'll address that in practice and tighten up the powerplay. I was glad to see JP Dumont back on the ice and he produced a pretty assist. None of the goals were Dunham's fault particularly and we continue to be pleased with his play. It's a long season and we hope to be in the playoff hunt the whole way through."