John Tortorella

Chris Drury

Henrik Lundqvist

Jason Arnott

Dan Ellis

Notes:

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on the team…

“When you are trying to crawl out of a hole and trying to gain some consistency in your game, your structure of your team concept and your discipline, at all times, at this time of year, is so important.  We are not good enough not to be dead on with that stuff there.”

Henrik Lundqvist on his play…

“I felt good.  There were a lot of breakaways tonight.  They created a lot around the net.  I knew, going into the game, I can’t afford any mistakes.  I think the D played really well around the net.  It is really tough.  We play as good as we can in our end, still let up a couple of breakaways, but I still think we played pretty good in our end.  It comes down to scoring.  You can see how you feed off of a goal.  As you score we get energy and some speed but then they score and we lose that energy a little bit.”

Chris Drury on the team…

“We have just been trying to play the right way. We have been playing the right way for the most part. It’s just such a fine line in this League, the smallest little mistake, whether it’s a penalty or just not finishing a great chance, or just the bounce of the puck can cost you the game and can get you spinning in the wrong direction.”

For more information contact Bob Trainor at trainorcomm@gmail.com.

Coach Scott Gordon’s trek to his organization’s AHL affiliate two weeks ago showcased Matt Martin’s skills in providing a physical presence and a power play threat.

Gordon’s initial impressions paid off when the 20-year-old Martin capped his NHL debut by assisting on two Islanders power play goals in a 4-3 shootout win over Nashville on Tuesday night.

Martin logged 14:41 in his first game, including 5:05 on the power play. The 2008 fifth-round draft pick found an open Mark Streit at the point, setting up the defenseman’s goal with 11.4 seconds left in regulation to facilitate the comeback win.

“That was the first thing that caught my eye about Matt Martin is his willingness to stand in front of the net on the power play,” Gordon said.

Gordon said he elevated Martin to the first unit power play during the game after the left-handed shot assisted on Bruno Gervais’ second-period power play goal.

Martin didn’t waste time using his physicality, knocking down Predators leading scorer Patric Hornqvist to the ice midway through the opening period. But Martin’s exuberance also brought a career first when he was whistled for interference.

The Isles killed off the penalty while Martin’s speed compensated for his infraction when he drew a Nashville interference call later in the period. That set-up the rookie’s first power play action as the 6-2 forward used his sizable frame to screen goalie Pekka Rinne.

Martin’s efforts earned him the team’s plastic hard hat, awarded to the club’s hardest working player. The headwear was another milestone in Martin’s first professional season, which included nine goals and nine assists through Bridgeport’s first 53 games before the promotion.

“Early on I had some butterflies,” Martin said. “As soon as you get in the rhythm of the game; it’s the same game, just a little quicker. I felt really confident that I could be an NHLer and play at this level.”

Click here to listen to an audio report on Matt Martin’s NHL Debut Feb. 9, 2010

Trainor Communications has provided us with this sound from the game.

Henrik Lundqvist

Marian Gaborik

Ryan Callahan

Martin Brodeur

Ilya Kovalchuk

For more information contact Bob Trainor at trainorcomm@gmail.com.

Notes:

• New York has posted a record of 12-4-2 vs. New Jersey since the start of the 2007-08 season; goaltender Henrik Lundqvist improved to 17-6-5 in 28 career regular season appearances vs. New Jersey, including a record of 16-3-4 head-to-head vs. Martin Brodeur.
• The Rangers tallied one goal in three power play opportunities (4:36), and are now five-for-nine (55.6%) on the man advantage in the last two games.
• Henrik Lundqvist stopped 41 of 42 shots to improve to 23-21-6 on the season, including a 12-13-4 mark at MSG; he has now held opponents to two or fewer goals in 21 of his last 28 games dating back to a 2-1 win at Buffalo on Dec. 5, posting a 12-11-5 record, along with a 2.33 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and one shutout over the span; it was Lundqvist’s sixth 40-plus save performance of his career and second of the season, having registered a career-high 45 saves on Jan. 12 vs. New Jersey.
• Rangers Alternate Captain Ryan Callahan notched the game-winning goal and added a power play assist in 22:22 of icetime; he has recorded four points (two goals and two assists) in the last two games; Callahan also led all skaters with six hits, and registered a team-high five shots on net.
• Marian Gaborik opened the game’s scoring with a power play goal at 7:20 of the second period to extend his point streak to five games, registering eight points (six goals and two assists) over the span; he is currently tied for the NHL lead with 13 power play goals, which marks his single-season career-high.
• Rangers Captain Chris Drury tallied the Rangers’ third goal at 9:59 of the second, registered four hits and won a team-high 10 faceoffs in 16 attempts (63%); Drury is now two points shy of 600 career NHL points.
• Brandon Prust tallied his first point as a Ranger with an assist on Drury’s second period goal, and finished the contest with two fighting majors; he is currently tied for the NHL lead with 21 fighting majors on the season.
• Michael Del Zotto registered an assist on Gaborik’s power play goal, and has now recorded a power play assist in each of the last two games; he leads the team with 14 power play assists and ranks third with 17 power play points.
• Matt Gilroy recorded one assist in 14:00 of icetime, and now has two assists in the last two games; the Rangers have now posted a record of 6-3-1 when he registers a point.
• The Blueshirts’ next practice is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 8 (11:00 a.m.), at the MSG Training Center.
• The Rangers will conclude their three-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 10, vs. the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.); the game will be televised live on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on Henrik Lundqvist…

“He played very well.  He made some good saves early.  When they mounted on us in the third period, he made some great saves.  We need it, that is how you win.  We are not the only team, every team that wins gets goaltending.  Henrik is the backbone.  He played very well tonight.”

Henrik Lundqvist on beating New Jersey…

“It doesn’t matter who you play.  The top teams are not that much better than the teams that are in 10th place, they are just more consistent.  The game, itself, is not tougher.  They have been very consistent, that is why they are up there.  Don’t get me wrong, they are a very good team.  It is going to be just as tough to play a seventh place team.  It was a fun game, a lot of action.  We scored some huge goals in the second period.  It was a good game to get.”

Marian Gaborik on the upcoming Winter Olympics…

“Everybody is focused on the season here.  The Olympics hasn’t started yet.  When the day comes we will focus on that but the main focus is the season right now.”

Reportedly, the Blueshirts will send disgruntled forward Ales Kotalik and disappointing left wing Christopher Higgins west for center Olli Jokinen and enforcer Brandon Prust. It’s a win-win for the Rangers, since they would free up salary on the cap while addressing two very pressing needs.

Yet, they are reportedly waiting for Kotalik’s approval, since he has a limited no-trade clause in his contract. One of those teams is the Flames.

If the details can be worked out, general manager Glen Sather would have found his No. 1 pivot to go with Marian Gaborik and a tough guy, a role both Donald Brashear and Aaron Voros failed at this season for different reasons. (Brashear doesn’t fight, while Voros doesn’t win his fights.)

In Jokinen, the Rangers get a 31 year-old veteran who has scored more than 30 goals four times in his career and current has 11 lights of the lamp with 24 assists. He will immediately become the No. 1 center on the team between Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik, forming a very good scoring combination.

Prust will become the Rangers fighter, a role they sorely missed this season after Colton Orr left as a free agent and his replacement Brashear turned out to be a bust.

In turn, the Sather will ship away Kotalik, who has been a healthy scratch for the past eight games and reportedly was looking to be traded. On the season, he has eight goals with 14 assists and an awful minus-18. The former Buffalo Sabre was supposed to the answer on the power play point when he signed a three-year, $9 million contract over the summer, but he couldn’t handle that role and his defense has been extremely suspect.

Also going to Calgary will be Higgins, who came to the Rangers in the Scott Gomez trade. A former 20 goal scorer, the Smithtown, NY native just couldn’t find the net this season and only has six goals with eight assists and a minus-9.

If this trade goes through the Rangers would assume Jokinen’s $5.25 million contract for the rest of the season, yet is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and Prust makes $500,000. Sather will free up Kotalik’s $3 million per for the next two seasons with this trade.

Higgins will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Nothing will be announced until later today at the earliest. In the meantime, Ranger fans can take solace in Gaborik’s natural hat trick in the team’s 3-1 win over the Avalanche.

And you know what eighth place means – playoffs.

“Yeah you win a few games during the week,” said Christopher Higgins, “and you move up three places in the standings.”

Even though the 2009 portion of the season, wasn’t up to Hoyle, John Tortorella’s team is, at least, treading water and if the Rangers can pull off more wins like tonight’s 3-2 comebacker against the Bruins, then maybe there will be a postseason in the picture in 2010.

The Rangers fought hard off the puck. They took the body to the board, and the goals they scored came from the sources the team hoped would become their secondary scorers after Marian Gaborik.

First, Ales Kotalik scored his first goal in almost two months when he rifled one in from the point on the power play at 9:58 of the first. And Erik Christensen was able to score his first at the Garden at 7:34 of the second when Michael Del Zotto was able to shoot one down the ice to Brandon Dubinsky, who hit Christensen to knock it past Tuukka Rask, who stopped 32 on the night.

“It was the first goal I ever scored in this building,” Christensen said. “It has been fun playing these last few games with [Brandon Dubinsky] and Gaborik. It’s a big boost to the confidence and we had a perfect breakout there.

“It was a perfect play by Dubi, because he brought the defense in. It was electrifying.”

What was even more electrifying was Higgins gamewinner. After the Rangers gave up the lead in less than a minute and a half late in the third on a shorthander by Matt Hunwick and an even strength tally from Blake Wheeler, the scoring-scarce Higgins was able to poke one past Rask for his first Garden goal since he opened MSG after the lockout as a member of the Canadiens back on October 6, 2005 in the Rangers 4-3 overtime loss to the Habs.

“Points have been difficult to come by for guys around here, including myself, so to be able to contribute feels good,” Higgins said. “It was my first goal here since my first game with the Canadiens, so it’s been a while.”

And it’s been some time since the Rangers looked this good. Henrik Lundqvist was his usual self stopping 26, although he probably would want the two that went in back. Yet, with his team scoring three, the netminder  felt good about his chances.

“When we score three goals, we are going to have a good chance, no question,” Lundqvist said. “We had some guys, who haven’t been scoring for awhile, step up scoring some big goals. That is huge, because Gabby can’t score them all. It’s a crucial tie right now. It’s a big month. It is important to get everyone going.”

The Islanders won’t know until season’s end if the Atlanta Thrashers’ comeback on Saturday night will be the difference in qualifying for the playoffs.

But the Isles still earned the victory despite blowing two separate three-goal leads in a 6-5 shootout win over Atlanta at home.

Ilya Kovalchuk temporarily silenced most of the Nassau Coliseum crowd with a blistering point shot for a power play goal as Atlanta roared back from a 5-2 deficit to tie it almost midway through the final period.

Instead of folding, Jeff Tambellini and Frans Nielsen scored critical shootout goals to send the Islanders into a three-game Western Conference road trip with momentum.

The Islanders entered Sunday tied with Atlanta for the ninth spot at 42 points with the Thrashers playing two fewer games. Despite giving back a point, Josh Bailey said the win was good for the club’s confidence since the Islanders started its game as the NHL’s lowest scoring offense.

“We needed a game like this,” Bailey said. “We haven’t been giving too much support for our goalies lately, so it’s definitely a positive.”

Five regulation goals tied a season-high for the Islanders. The team first accomplished the feat Halloween night against Buffalo.

Even after the scoring barrage, the Islanders ranked second-to-last in goals scored, trailing only Carolina. The Hurricanes claim the league’s worst record and fewest points and has 102 goals compared to 107 for the Isles.

Scott Gordon’s club can make it back to .500, entering Wednesday’s game in Colorado. At 17-18-8, the Islanders will face an Avalanche squad currently occupying first-place in the Northwest Division before venturing to Dallas and Phoenix.

After that stretch of three games in four days, the Islanders head back to the Coliseum to face the defending Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings Jan. 12. Gordon said his team needs to do a better job of protecting leads should the Islanders surge ahead against the challenging non-conference opponents.

“It’s something you have to learn from,” Gordon said. “You can’t think for a moment that you can take a shortcut or take the easy way out. It’s a lesson learned.”

The Blueshirts played hard last night, especially in the third period, but John Tortorella’s crew just couldn’t score on the power play, as they went 0-5 on the night, including an 0-3 in the third period.

“Well we can say it is unfair…whatever,” Tortorella said. “We just came away empty.  I thought it was important tonight that we get consecutive games.  I thought we played two good games.  You just want to get something out of it, at least a point out of it but we didn’t.  We just have to fight through it.  We fought through it after a shaky start.  We will just get back at it.”

You probably have heard this story before. This is a team that’s built for offense, but only has one scorer, and since they sacrifice the defensive end, Henrik Lundqvist is left naked out there in the crease.

And last night’s game personified that problem. Although the team played very hard, the Red Wings were determined to keep Marion Gaborik off the board, leaving it in the hands of the rest of the Rangers, who could only muster a goal by Brian Boyle in the first period.

Without any other scoring, the team was left fighting for opportunities. Sean Avery missed an open net in the third and Ryan Callahan was stopped on a penalty shot.

“I thought I had him,” Callahan said. “I did the move the way I wanted to, but he just came up with a toe save.”

Now, they did look better in the past two games on defense, allowing Lundqvist to do his job.

“ I like the way we play in our own zone,” Lundqvist said.  “It feels like we are more in control and we are not running around too much and guys are doing a good job with that.  We have calmed down a little bit.  You don’t feel like you have to cover up for anyone else.  They are doing a good job coming back.  That is a good thing and something we will keep on doing.  We played well enough in our zone and in the defensive zone to win this game.”

But these aren’t Tom Renney’s Rangers who are built to keep goals off the board; this is Tortorella’s team, which is failing to come through in the clutch.

And that’s the story this year. Too many times the team has failed to come through in the clutch, just drifting along through the first two months of the season hoping for some consistency.

Ilya Kovalchuk, as usual, was the story. The Russian star, out since Oct. 24 when the Thrashers captain broke his right foot when struck by a puck, had a goal and two assists in leading his team. Kovalchuk had missed seven games in a row until tonight, but it looked like he hadn’t missed any time at all. He and his linemates had a big night. The victory was sealed when he and former Rangers forward Nik Antropov set up Maxim Afinogenov’s empty-netter in the closing seconds.

“Our line was clicking real well,” he said. “We all speak Russian, so it’s kind of cheating because they can’t understand what we’re saying.”

Kovalchuk also helped set up Rich Peverley’s power-play goal in the second period and then put Atlanta back in front after the Rangers tied it a second time.

Thrashers rookie Evander Kane, questionable because of a foot injury, chipped in with a goal and assist. Johan Hedberg stopped 33 shots while playing in his third straight for Atlanta, which won for the fourth time in six games. Colby Armstrong also scored.

Atlanta was 3-3 without Kovalchuk.

“It is pretty surprising to see a guy come back like that after being off for about three weeks,” Armstrong said. “To come back and be as smooth and as solid as he was is pretty incredible. The guy is a natural. He’s our leader, and he played well for us.”

Despite outshooting the Thrashers decisively (36-27), including an 18-5 advantage in the third period, the Rangers lost this game because they couldn’t seem to stay out of the penalty box and they couldn’t stop the Thrashers when they were a man short. Atlanta scored on two of five power plays, tonight.

The Rangers went into this game slumping and missing two of their most important players, Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky. Drury was out with a concussion and Dubinsky will be gone for several weeks more with a broken bone in his right hand he sustained blocking a Jay Bouwmeester shot early in the second period of the Rangers’ game against Calgary.

As a result, the thinnest position on the roster and in the organization has taken on a look of decided weakness. Vinny Prospal will shift back to center the first line. As of the moment, Artem Anisimov would be the second-line pivot. It looks like Brian Boyle will man the third-line center slot.

Ranger goalie, Henrik Lundquist returned from an eight day injury tonight and showed the quick reflexes and instincts he’s known for. He had to, as the Thrashers tested him throughout the first two periods.

“Of course I feel that I haven’t played in a while and to start the game giving up a goal right away was tough,” said Lundqvist. “The whole night was a big battle. They didn’t have that many shots but they got pretty big scoring chances. It was tough to play but I tried to stay in there and tried to play my game. I could feel some technical mistakes. I was happy with the way we played in the third.”

“We get a good start and they put it in the net,” Lundqvist added. “After that, we regrouped pretty well. It is tough to let in a goal like that right away, you get on your heels. We were 1-1 after the first. What killed us was five minutes of the second period. We played a great third period. The guys played really hard. We hit the post a couple of times. It was close, but it just wasn’t enough tonight.”

During the latter part of the second, the Rangers started to take the play to the Thrashers, peppering their goalie, Johann Hedberg with a variety of shots.

Marion Gabarik tied the game on a power play goal, his 13^th of the season, when he took a pass from Michael Del Zotto, and he one-timed it inside the post to beat Hedberg. Gabarik now has six power play goals, tied for the league lead.

Almost a minute later. Kolvochuk put the Thrashers ahead with a powerful wrister from the right circle at 17:41. His shot was one only a world class hockey player could have pulled off.

Just 25 seconds later, at 18:06 of the period, Evander Kane, the Thrashers 18-year old rookie, put the next goal behind Lundqvist to break open the game, 4-2.

Atlanta were dominating play at this stage. The Rangers looked like they were stationery as the Thrashers were coming at Lundqvist in waves and getting shots on goal that looked like the Rangers had no chance of stopping.

The familiar sound of boos in Madison Square Garden rained down on the Rangers as the period buzzer sounded. The Knicks now have nothing on the Rangers as far as fan disappointment is concerned.

Artem Anisimov and Marian Gaborik erased one-goal deficits for the Rangers, and Lundqvist, who missed two games made 22 saves. Brian Boyle brought New York within 4-3 when he slammed in a rebound of Ales Kotalik’s shot 6:18 into the third.

The Rangers couldn’t tie it again despite two power plays and an 18-5 shots advantage. Kotalik ripped a drive from the blue line that was deflected before hitting the goal post with 8:47 remaining.

“We are not getting the results right now,” forward Vinny Prospal said. “The third period really showed how effective we can be playing 5-on-5 … we just can’t seem to stay out of the box.”

For Rangers head coach John Tortorella, his charge was to get his young team to tighten up defensively in the third period. The Rangers, playing without Dubinsky and Drury were weary and thinned-out, personnel-wise.

“We were bad defensively, I thought we were slow,” said Tortorella. “The first shift of the game, it’s two on two, both skaters skate right by our defense. You come off our road trip, and everyone goes through it, you end up trying to find your game early on in the game. It is hard. I thought we prepared, I thought we traveled correctly coming back from the West, I thought we practiced correctly. But, we were slow through the first half of the game.”

“As far as lineup changes, I am not sure what we are going to do. It is hard. The other games are spread out. Am I interested in playing guys 27, 28 minutes a game. No, I don’t think that’s a great situation. I am hoping other guys step up so they get the minutes. We will talk about it tomorrow and see where we go with it.”

“Obviously, Brandon and Drury are big players for our PK (penalty kills),” said Ryan Callahan. “Some of our guys stepped up and did a good job on the PK but we have to stay out of the penalty box.”

At 6:18 of the third, Brian Boyle, the Rangers 6’7” 250 pound center rebounded a slap shot from Alex Kotalik into the net behind Hedberg to bring the Rangers within one, 4-3. It was his second goal of the season.

They won tight games and they won blow outs. They could shut out teams and they can win the shooting matches.

But one thing was constant during their first five wins, the Rangers were the better team on the ice.

That is until tonight where they were outplayed by a fresher Los Angeles Kings team, which pretty much outclassed the home team in every facet, except one – the final score.

Even with a superior effort by Los Angeles, the Blueshirts prevailed 4-2 to win their sixth straight in a row.

“We looked like a tired hockey club,” said coach John Tortorella, who saw his team not sweep a homestand, but also win the three games in four days. “I thought the guys were tried, we just couldn’t win the battle. We just couldn’t catch up with them but you still find a way to win one of those games when you are not on and we were not on.”

Much like a number of other wins this year, this is a game the Rangers would have lost last season. The difference here was the power play and man advantage goals by Vinny Prospal – the second being a 5-on-3 – in the first period to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

It was just enough to allow the team some comfort and leave it in the hands of Henrik Lundqvist who stopped 34 shots on the night.

“If we didn’t have Henrik in the net, who knows what the score would have been, but I guess it happens,” said Prospal who scored his 200th career goal in this match. “Sometimes you get outplayed and good teams find a way to win. Even though we didn’t play that great, we still didn’t give them anything in the third period.”

Speaking of the third, the Rangers only managed one shot, but what a shot it was. A great effort by Marian Gaborik who took a pass from Prospal and rode it along behind him like he was walking his dog. Then No. 10 composed himself which a tight wrister past Erik Ersberg (17 saves) to make the score 4-2.

In fact, all six of Gaborik’s goals this season have come in the third period.

“That’s is where game breakers make it,” Tortorella said. “That is just a great shot tonight. I thought Gaborik was our best player in all facets of the game. Third period is crunch time and he makes another big play.”

“He is a guy when he is on his game, he scores in bunches,” Prospal said. “Look at the fourth goal tonight. I don’t think too many guys can reach the shelf from where he did.”

So now the Rangers get a well deserved rest. A day off after this game means the team can rest comfortably, especially after the team looked drained for most of this match.

“The toughest part (of this game) is, obviously, the mental part,” Lundqvist said. “We know they are a really good tea, they showed it, especially in the second period where we struggled. They good part is that we didn’t panic.”

Notes: The Rangers play in Toronto on Saturday..Gaborik is tied for the league lead in goals with six and second in points with 10…Michael Del Zotto collected two assists; he now leads all first year played in league and ranks second among defensemen with seven points (two goals and five assists)…Brian Boyle scored the Rangers third goal, which proved to be the game winner in the second . It was his first light of the lamp as a Blueshirt.

The Devils and the Islanders played 20 minutes of scoreless hockey to open up Tuesday’s game, and the Islanders killed off the one power-play opportunity afforded to the Devils.

“Two good shifts, two bad shifts. One good shift, one bad shift,” New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire said. “The thing that is happening is that we don’t have five guys working together.”

A pre-season mistake of too-many-men put the Devils down a man 41 seconds into the second period, and the Isles took advantage.

New York scored 1:12 into the second on a shot by Jack Hillen that careened behind Martin Brodeur into the far corner of the net.

But the Devils were not defeated, as the goal seemed to open up the game.

With a little more than five minutes past in the second, Zach Parise forced a turnover in the Devils offensive zone. He dug the puck out from the left boards and found Travis Zajac left of Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson, and Zajac passed to Jamie Langenbrunner on the right corner of the crease.

Langenbrunner fired, and Parise met the rebound and poked it past Roloson to tie the game at one.

“Most importantly for our line is getting the chemistry back,” Parise said. “Tonight we were a lot sharper, we were making smart plays, and it showed for us on the scoresheet.”

Poor decisions put the Devils down two men half-way into the second period.

On a 5-on-3 opportunity, Mark Streit fired from the right circle and the puck went over Brodeur, off the crossbar and into the net to reinstate the New York lead. First-overall draft pick John Tavares added an assist on the goal.

The power play remained key for both teams, as Brian Rolston evened the game at 14:21 in the second, driving up the left side of the ice, passing to himself between Radek Martinek’s legs and firing his signature shot past Roloson. Rookie Cory Murphy assisted on the play.

The “ZZ Pop” line continued to regain their regular season playing level when Zajac forced a turnover at the blue line. He sent the puck in deep behind the Islander net, and Parise sent it back to Zajac for the perfect give-and-go combination.

Another well-executed pass between Brendan Shanahan and Nicklas Bergfors resulted in a 4-2 lead in the third period.

Bergfors sent a pass up ice to Shanahan in the left faceoff circle, and Shanahan one-timed the puck past Roloson. Dainius Zubrus, who switched centering lines with new-acquisition Rob Niedermeyer earlier in the game, was credited with the secondary assist.

The Devils played a conservative third period to ensure that they took a win and a healthy roster into the regular season.

New Jersey opens the regular season at home on Saturday, Oct. 3, against the Flyers at 7 p.m. Lemaire said after the game that Saturday’s line-up would be very similar to Tuesdays, with, “maybe one or two guys are changed.”

NOTES: Matt Halischuck switched from #63 to #16, Joel Rechlicz was sent to the showers early for 3 fights in one game and for blindsiding Colin White after the play… The two teams racked up a total of 88 penalty minutes including two game misconducts and 10 five-minute fighting penalties… David Clarkson fought Brendan Witt because he respects Witt and wanted to get a fight in before the regular season… Mike Mottau was an unexpected member of the lineup. He was originally considered out from the upper body injury he got Thursday in Philadelphia, but Mottau said that he was strong enough to play, and that the injury was just sore after the game… Jay Pandolfo was scratched with a groin injury.