The New York Rangers will try to put the brakes on a three-
game losing streak tonight when they welcome the Phoenix Coyotes for an
interconference battle at Madison Square Garden.
After beginning the season with a 7-1-0 record, the Rangers have picked up
just one point in going 0-2-1 in their last three outings. However, New York
is still second in the Eastern Conference with 15 points on the year.
The Blueshirts were handed their most recent setback Saturday in Montreal, as
Mike Cammalleri completed a hat trick by scoring the game-winner at the 2:42
mark of overtime. New York led 3-1 after one period, but wound up losing the
game, 5-4, at Bell Centre.
Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist, while Ales Kotalik netted his fifth
goal of the season for the Rangers. Gaborik has recorded a point in all but
one game this year and has eight goals and seven assists to lead the team in
scoring.
Henrik Lundqvist was tagged for a season-high five goals on 31 shots.
"The effort was there, but they came out and really came at us," said New York
coach John Tortorella. "We had a huge mistake on our power play, turning it
over that caused a goal. We took a couple of penalties that put us in a jam."
The Rangers are 4-2-0 as the host this year, but have dropped their last two
tests at the Garden.
New York enforcer Donald Brashear is questionable for tonight's game with body
soreness.
The Coyotes, meanwhile, had a four-game winning streak halted their last time
out, dropping Saturday's home test against the Los Angeles Kings. The tilt
also ended a four-game homestand for the Coyotes, who are playing the first of
three straight on the road tonight.
Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll each scored twice to lead LA past the Coyotes,
5-3, at Jobing.com Arena. It was the second meeting of the year between the
Pacific Division rivals after Phoenix had slammed the Kings, 6-3, in the
season opener for both clubs.
Shane Doan scored twice and Radim Vrbata added a goal for the Coyotes. Ilya
Bryzgalov made 16 saves in defeat to drop his record on the season to 6-2-0.
"It comes down if you want to win consistently in this league you can't have
mental mistakes," said Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett. "It just decreases
your percentages of winning."
The Coyotes allowed three power-play goals on seven chances and have killed
off just 77.8-percent of its shorthanded situations this season.
Phoenix is 3-1-0 on the road this season, but hasn't played away from the
desert since beating San Jose on October 12.
The Rangers recorded a 4-1 home victory over the Coyotes in the only meeting
between the clubs last year and New York has won four of the last five
matchups in the series. The Coyotes franchise has lost 10 of its last 12
contests in the Big Apple dating back to the club's days as the Winnipeg Jets.
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