Powered by powerfully powerful power-plays late in the 3rd period, the New York Rangers were once more able to fend off the Tampa Bay Lightning and come away with the win. Chris Drury, the indisputable star of the game, scored his first goal in the second period, then added two more in the third when the Rangers were on powerplay advantage. With 27.5 seconds left in the game, hats rained down on the ice to celebrated Drury’s difference-making hat trick. The Rangers won the match 5-2. Check out more NFL action right here.

Moments after being rushed out of Prague and hurried on to an awaiting charter plane back to the United States, the New York Rangers were able to finally reflect on their whole foreign experience. After a week or so of adjusting to the new climate and surroundings of the Czech Republic (including a fair amount of tourism), the Rangers finally got down to business on Saturday and Sunday night and stole a pair of victories from the Tampa Bay Lightning in their first two regular season NHL games.

The entire experience overjoyed all of the Rangers players who expressed sincere interest in returning for a similar situation next year. However, there was no time to reminisce or loiter around the Prague arena. The Rangers needed to literally jet out of there in order to hopefully readjust to their native Eastern Coast Time Zone in time for their Friday night home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks.

But heading home 2-0 in the season after back-to-back 2-1 victories has the Rangers feeling mighty contented. They played extremely well together on both sides of the puck and their transitional game was executed very tightly. Fans can’t wait to greet their Prague Champions at the Madison Square Garden this Friday in New York.

In Prague, Czech Republic, both the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning hockey teams have been practicing and acting as tourists for the past week. Now that their October 4th and 5th showdowns are approaching, there is little time for tourism anymore. Each team needs one more day of good practice and one more night of good sleep.

Then, it’s showtime.

To the players and coaches, these matches must be treated as just another day at the office. Very simple math actually: Win and take your two points. They can’t afford to be distracted by the foreign land, signs, or people. They need to even put out of their minds the fact that the very ice they will be playing on will be different; slightly smaller than an NHL rink.

To the NHL executives, on the other hand, these matches are part of the attempt at NHL globification; the hopes of spreading the popularity of the NHL overseas and to open up new markets of sales. The executives aren’t necessarily concerned with the way the game plays out, provided it generates a lot of buzz and excitement. Other than that, they could care less who wins, loses, or does what.

The players will want to give the crowd their money’s worth, however. Both the Rangers and Lightning are coming into the new season as enigmas. Experts can’t really figure them out. They’ll both want to make a strong charge out of the gates and give the experts something to talk about.

The New York Rangers forward Sean Avery was released from the hospital last Sunday where he had been receiving treatment for the spleen injury that he suffered in a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sean’s injury is so severe that he is ruled out for the rest of the NHL games this season. He was immediately admitted to the St. Vincent’s Medical Center shortly after the loss of the Rangers to the Penguins last Saturday night.

There is no hope of Avery playing for the Rangers anymore this season no matter how far the Rangers go in the playoff games. Avery was a winger in the New York Rangers hockey team and was brought into the Rangers squad from Los Angeles in February 2007. He was very dominant in the Ranger’s playoff run last season and had a 17-6-6 record in the games that he played for the Rangers.

The New York Rangers team is in a discussion to play their final game on the chilly ice at the Yankee Stadium. A report said that the Rangers are making rapid progress in this discussion and a final solution in their favor is likely to be the outcome of this discussion. The Yankees are in full support of this proposal as well. The NHL deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, said that they have spoken to both the Yankees and the team about this proposal, but the deal is not yet closed as there are lots of ifs and buts’ to be still discussed.

The Rangers want to ride on the noise that has been created by this year’s NHL winter Classic that had the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby fight against the Sabres at the Ralph Wilson Stadium. The New York Rangers opponents for their final match at the Yankees is not yet decided, and reports are filtering through that the NHL will be looking for a major team to compete with the Rangers in an attempt to woo a larger television audience. The Islanders Vice President Chris Botta said that he wants the Islanders to compete with the Rangers at the Yankees and he has been working for two years to get this deal through.

Nigel Dawes, a 5 foot 9 inch player of the New York Rangers, has silenced his critics, who has criticized him for his small stature, by scoring ten goals and as many as 21 points in his 45 games for the Rangers this season. He acknowledges the fact that there will be critics who will keep on questioning him throughout his entire career and he says that he would not like to reply for those unwarranted comments and feels that his play will do the talking. He feels that he will have to change people’s opinion on him by showing his skills on the playing arena.

The rookie player has gained a certain respect in the New York Rangers team and has adapted well as the left winger of the side. The veteran Rangers right wing Shanahan feels that Nigel pretty knows well how to score a goal and is always thinking of ways on how to beat a goalie with his shot. The Rangers are pretty happy about the offensive lift that Dawes has provided their team and Dawes is playing in the defense as well this season. Dawes says that the game is not totally about scoring goals and raking up points, but it is important for a player to play at both ends of the ice with reasonable consistency.

Dallas Stars 3, New York Rangers 2: Morrow’s power-play goal early in the 3rd period lifted the visiting Dallas Stars over the New York Rangers on Sunday and stretched the Stars’ winning streak to 5 matches. Despite being outshot 41-18, Dallas used a sizzling power play in order to win the 1st of a 6-game road trip that will take the team to all 5 teams in the EC’s Atlantic Division.

Anaheim Ducks 3, Los Angeles Kings 2: Kunitz and Getzlaf scored 3rd-period goals as the Anaheim Ducks rallied for a win over Los Angeles.

Vancouver Canucks 2, Chicago Blackhawks 0: Morrison scored an early goal and Luongo made twenty-seven saves to lead Vancouver over the visiting Blackhawks.

Jaromir Jagr scored with only 9:15 remaining yesterday night to help the Rangers to a 3-1 win over Tampa Bay. Former Wing Shanahan connected for another power-play goal a couple of minutes later, with assists from Jaromir Jagr and Chris Drury, to seal the Rangers’ 2nd win in 7 matches (2-4-1). Dawes scored the 1st for New York, who have an NHL-low ninteen goals in eleven games. Lecavalier scored his 9th on a 2nd-period penalty shot for Tampa Bay– 5-0-1 at home, 0-4 on the road.

Fleury stopped 36 shots in another fierce start last night, and the Penguins won their 3^rd consecutive game by handing the New York Rangers their 2nd 1-0 loss in a row. It marked the 1st ever time in the team’s history that the New York Rangers, who have thirteen goals in 8 matches, have suffered back-to-back 1-0 loss. Malkin scored a power-play goal in the 2nd against Lundqvist, who made a succession of excellent saves while stopping twenty-one shots. The best came on Staal’s penalty shot less than one minute after Evgeni Malkin’s goal.