Rangers Win 7th Straight Against Floundering but Feisty Isles

Disparities in victories, statistics and payroll rarely register when the Rangers and Islanders meet. Although the visiting Rangers entered the latest installment of the rivalry having won their last six games, while the Islanders had lost 9 of their previous 10, the Rangers could not exhale until the final seconds of their 4-2 victory Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum.

“Whenever we play in this building, it’s up and down, over and about,” Rangers Coach John Tortorella said. “You just never know what’s going to happen. I thought we were good at periods of times. I thought we were brutal at periods of times. We’ve been on the back side of these, in this building. We’ve lost a lot of games here. But it’s an encouraging sign that we found a way to win.”

The game was intense throughout, a crowd-pleaser and coach-pleaser, undecided until Brad Richards took advantage of a Josh Bailey giveaway to break a 2-2 tie with just under five minutes left.

When the puck dropped, all streaks and slumps flew out the window. So what if the Islanders were 1-6-3 since beating the Rangers on Oct. 15? It mattered little that the Rangers were the hottest team in the N.H.L.

“I thought we gutted it out,” said Ryan Callahan, the Rangers’ captain, who had an assist and scored an empty-net goal as time expired. “I thought we stuck to our plan. There were a lot of emotional swings in this game. Nothing comes easy.”

It rarely does when facing a geographical rival, despite the personal and team statistics. The Islanders did not resemble the league’s 29th-place team. Jack Capuano’s club is battling an epic scoring slump, having already been shut out at home three times.

Kyle Okposo, the Islanders’ first-round pick in 2006, was a healthy scratch after failing to score a goal in the first 14 games of the season. Blake Comeau, a third-line wing with 24 goals last season, was held without a goal or assist by the Rangers – a season-opening drought of 13 games. Bailey, the goat, is a recent ninth overall draft pick with no goals and only one assist this season.

While the Rangers’ defensemen – Brad Park or Brian Leetch, none of them – have scored 11 goals this season, the Islanders have not seen a goal from any of their defensemen during even-strength play. This was about the only trend that held Tuesday night in Uniondale.

But even when the Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the middle of the second period on a goal by defenseman Steve Eminger, the Islanders generated more scoring chances for the next several minutes.

The Rangers, however, had Henrik Lundqvist in goal. Displaying his love for soccer, he blocked shots with his head. Dropping his stick and sprawling his pads across the crease to make a stunning save on P. A. Parenteau late in the period, Lundqvist drew echoes of Dominik Hasek.

“Hank kept us in it,” Tortorella said of Lundqvist, who is 22-11-5 in his career against the Islanders.

After kicking the habit of committing too many penalties during their six straight wins, the Rangers gave the Islanders five power plays in a 25-minute span over the final two periods. The Islanders finally took advantage of the fifth one. While Artem Anisimov sat in the box for high-sticking, the Islanders’ young star John Tavares slid a perfect pass to the crease, past a surprised Dan Girardi and on the stick of Matt Moulson, who scored to tie the game at 6 minutes 58 seconds of the third period.

Puck possession and battle levels were even for most of the third until Bailey’s shanked clearing attempt went from Brandon Dubinsky to Richards and past Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, whose acrobatic play between the pipes was almost the equal of Lundqvist’s.

“We had a lot of guys work very hard tonight,” said Capuano, who has some legitimately positive video to build on.

If the Islanders compete as ferociously in their coming games against Montreal, Boston and Pittsburgh as they did Tuesday against the Rangers, they will rise from the basement of the Eastern Conference. But that has been the question in Uniondale for a generation. Can the Islanders sustain a high level of play and tenacity when the old barn isn’t as crowded and the opponent not nearly as loathed?

As for the Rangers, they will look for their eighth straight win when they play Saturday in Montreal. The last time the Blueshirts won eight straight was during the 1974-75 season.

Rangers Ride Lundqvist to Another Shootout Victory

The shootout victory has become routine for the Rangers. Whether they hang on to stay even with opponents or tie the score late, the Rangers enter the shootout for the win (and second standings point) feeling good about their chances. They have Henrik Lundqvist on their side.

The scene played out again Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, when the Rangers beat Anaheim, 2-1, getting one more stop in the shootout from Lundqvist than Jonas Hiller could manage for the Ducks. As he often does, Erik Christensen started the shootout with a goal; he has scored on 24 of the 46 chances in his career. Lundqvist stopped Corey Perry, but Teemu Selanne beat him in the second frame. After Marian Gaborik scored, Lundqvist stayed with Bobby Ryan from post to post. Ryan’s wrist shot missed, and the Rangers had their second win in a row.

“We found a way to win a shootout,” Coach John Tortorella said after the game. “We’ll take the two points.”

The quote has become a common refrain for Tortorella and the Rangers. The shootout victory was Lundqvist’s 38th, the most by a goaltender in the seven-season history of the tie-breaking skills competition.

Like most hockey purists and fellow coaches, Tortorella does not hide his queasiness about deciding games with a breakaway contest. But he is a coach charged with winning games in the high-pressure atmosphere of New York and the N.H.L. If it appears at times like the Rangers are playing for the shootout, so be it.

This wasn’t the case Thursday. The Rangers dominated a thrilling five-minute overtime of four-on-four play, but they missed the net on a few scoring chances and Hiller made a pair of sparkling saves. But in the Rangers’ locker room after the game, Christensen made no secret about his team doing whatever is necessary to get games to shootouts.

“Torts tells us all the time, ‘There’s nothing wrong with going to the shootout,’” Christensen said. “It’s not like we make a point of playing it safe in overtime; you saw tonight it’s not our style. But there’s nothing wrong with being in the shootout when you have one of the best goalies in the league. Hank’s our M.V.P. He’s good for at least 10 or 11 wins a season for us.”

Christensen’s heart is in the right place, but he may be guilty of underestimating Lundqvist’s impact on the standings. Just 11 games into the season, Lundqvist has been their best player in three of the Rangers’ five wins.

Lundqvist, who is now 38-26 in the shootout, was asked how he feels when he loses one, as he did Saturday at the Garden against Ottawa. “I get really frustrated,” he said. “I take it personal because I’m a big part of it.” He usually looks forward to the challenge of stopping stars like Perry, Selanne and Ryan with most of the fans standing and roaring, but “only when I’m feeling good and confident.” Since the Rangers held Anaheim to just 12 shots on goal over the opening two periods, the goaltender said he never felt comfortable. But he was responsible for sending the game into overtime by making saves on all of the Ducks’ 15 shots in the third, and he handled two of their three snipers in the shootout.

Unlike many of his peers in net, Lundqvist does not keep a notebook on opposing shooters. He pointed to his triumph over the Ducks as his reasoning. “I faced them in the shootout just a few weeks ago in Stockholm” – a loss – “and all of their guys showed me a different move tonight.”

Metro Pucks Weekly: Blown Leads, a Controversial Call and a Lot of Losses

Our weekly review of the performances of the three local N.H.L. teams.

Grades

Rangers: The win Monday in Winnipeg was quickly forgotten, as the Rangers had a miserable pair of losses to open their schedule at the remodeled Madison Square Garden. They were beaten in every aspect of the game in the second and third periods of a 4-2 loss to Toronto on Thursday. They also blew a 4-1 lead in the third period to Ottawa and eventually lost the game, 5-4 in the shootout Saturday. “Some of the details of our game are still weak,” Coach John Tortorella calmly said after the deflating loss to the Senators. “Until we get the solid foundation of the details, we’ll sputter.” They face a big challenge Monday when the Sharks come to the Garden. Grade: C minus

Devils: After an impressive 3-0 win in Los Angeles on Monday, New Jersey ended its road trip with losses in Phoenix and Dallas. The Devils were unable to score clutch goals in the third period of their losses. Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, their go-to stars for offense, were both scoreless and minus-2 Saturday in Dallas. Coach Peter DeBoer was very pleased with the effort in Dallas. “I told the guys after the game if we play like that, we’ll win a lot more than we lose,” he said. New Jersey plays the surging Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center on Wednesday. Grade: C

Islanders: They have lost five games in a row, but it was not all bad for the Islanders this week. After getting shut out by the Penguins at home Tuesday, they took a 2-0 lead but lost, 3-2, in the shootout Thursday in Pittsburgh. They outplayed San Jose on Saturday but lost a heartbreaker in overtime when the Sharks scored a power play goal after a mistake by the on-ice officials. The Islanders do not play again until Thursday, when they host Winnipeg. Grade: C minus

Blown Call of the Week

Early in 4-on-4 overtime on Long Island on Saturday, Travis Hamonic cleared the puck off the top of the glass and into the stands. However, the two referees and two linesmen did not see the puck hit the glass and Hamonic was given a two-minute penalty for delay of game. Brent Burns scored for the Sharks 38 seconds into the power play for the win. The decision was particularly galling to the Islanders because the officials met to discuss Hamonic’s clearing attempt and still got it wrong. Under the rules, referees are not allowed to consult video replay for a better look. Here it is:

Metro Players of the Week

Dan Girardi, Rangers; Andy Greene, Devils; Marty Reasoner, Islanders – A loss-filled, star-less week like this presents a good opportunity to salute unheralded players who rarely hear their names called out for the three stars of the game. Girardi continues to play big minutes for the Rangers while Marc Staal is sidelined and management struggles to find defensemen the coaching staff can trust. Girardi played half of the 65-minute game Saturday. Greene, the Devils’ smooth-skating defenseman, had two assists and was plus-5 over three games this week. Reasoner, the journeyman grinder the Islanders signed as a free agent in July, has been a strong penalty killer and was dominant on faceoffs against the Sharks.

Trending

Down: Brandon Dubinsky – This is how badly the season is going for the Rangers’ forward: on Saturday against Ottawa, he created more and was as active as he’d been in any game his season, and he still ended up  minus-2 with two shots on goal in 21 minutes of ice time. Dubinsky has not scored a goal through nine games in 2011-12.

Up: Brad Richards – Although he was outworked by Milan Michalek on the game-tying goal for the Senators, Richards showed signs of life in his offensive game, scoring two goals and adding an assist on Saturday.

Up: Adam Henrique – The Devils’ rookie center has played well since his recall to replace Jacob Josefson. Saturday in Dallas, he won 7 of 11 faceoffs and admirably returned to the game after blocking a shot with his right foot at the end of the second period.

Down: Devils’ “Dirty” Goals – New Jersey scored just six goals in three games this week. A grinding team, the Devils need to crash the opposing net more frequently and with more tenacity.

Up: Travis Hamonic – The Islanders’ second-round draft pick in 2008 has emerged as one of the league’s finest young defensemen in his own zone. Hamonic possesses strength, toughness and hockey sense.

Down: Islanders’ ticket sales – On Saturday, the franchise honored Pierre Turgeon and the rest of the 1993 Patrick Division playoff champions and offered 50 percent off tickets to anyone who showed up in a Halloween costume. Announced attendance was 11,742. For a heavily promoted rivalry matchup against Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Nassau Coliseum was only half full.

This Week’s Head-Scratcher

Islanders Coach Jack Capuano said Evgeni Nabokov, after allowing just two goals in 65 minutes Thursday in Pittsburgh, “was fatigued and not feeling well.” Nabokov was replaced for the shootout by Rick DiPietro, who had yet to play this season. Nabokov said he sustained an injury during the first period, played through the discomfort, but “Jack pulled the trigger” to substitute DiPietro. The Islanders lost the shootout because they failed to score on their three tries while Evgeni Malkin scored on DiPietro. Capuano didn’t come close to making eye contact with reporters in Pittsburgh after the loss, and don’t be surprised if we learn more of this story down the road.

Analysis: Rangers Still Not Sharp, But Win in Winnipeg

Ryan Callahan’s goal midway through the third period gave the Rangers a 2-1 victory Monday night in Winnipeg.

Skating down the right side, Callahan attempted to slide a pass to an opponent outside the crease, but the puck caromed off Winnipeg defenseman Zach Bogosian and past goalie Chris Mason.

Ruslan Fedotenko’s redirection of a point shot by Dan Girardi on the power play opened the scoring early in the second period, but Nik Antropov answered for Winnipeg 10 minutes later.

Martin Biron made his first start of the season for the Rangers in goal and made 27 saves. A well-rested Henrik Lundqvist will be the starter when the Rangers play their home opener Thursday against the Maple Leafs.

Winnpieg out-shot the Rangers, 28-17. The Rangers completed its seven-game, season-opening trip with a record of 3-2-2. Despite only losing two games in regulation out of the seven, the Rangers will have to play much better to contend for the Stanley Cup this season.

Game Rating

Manitobans waited fifteen years for the return of the N.H.L. At this early stage of the comeback season, Jets fans are cheering everything. This game did not simmer until a frantic third period. Rating: 6 out of 10

Our Three Stars

1. Ruslan Fedotenko: A goal, an assist, plus a drawn penalty that led to the game-winning power play goal.

2. Martin Biron: Although Henrik Lundqvist started the first six games of the season, Biron did not look rusty.

3. Dustin Byfuglien: The immense Jets defenseman (latest estimate: 260 pounds) was a force for most of the night, especially in the offensive zone.

Rangers Plus/Minus

Plus: In a rarity this early in the season, the Rangers did not hold a parade to the penalty box. The Jets had only one power play.

Minus: Despite some line combination alterations by Coach John Tortorella, the Rangers were unable to sustain much of an offensive attack during five on five play for the second game in a row. During an intense 90-second stretch in the middle of the third period, the Jets had the Rangers scrambling in their own zone while they peppered Biron with shots.

Plus: Showing no favorites and identifying some uninspired play by Marian Gaborik, Tortorella benched the team’s leading goal scorer for all but three shifts in the third period.

Minus: After getting shut out by Edmonton on Saturday, the Rangers managed just 10 shots on goal after 40 minutes in Winnipeg.

Plus: Dan Girardi had assists on both goals and led the team with more than 25 minutes of playing time.

Plus: The Rangers’ seven-game road schedule — opening the season with four games in Europe, a pit stop in Uniondale and three games in Canada — is over. After a day off Tuesday, the Rangers will have one practice and a morning skate to prepare for their home opener Thursday. Their next six games are at Madison Square Garden.

Plus: After Callahan’s goal gave them the lead, the Rangers established an effective forecheck that stymied Winnipeg’s ability to create scoring chances in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Plus: The Rangers blocked 14 shots, including Callahan’s gutsy stop of a Bogosian slap shot in the final minute.

Tortorella’s Take

“Except for that one shift where they ran all over us, I thought we defended well. To watch our guys start blocking shots the way they did, that’s what we have to start with. We still have to be consistent having the puck.

“We’re 3-2-2, eight points,” he said of the seven-game trip. “We still have a lot of work to do to try and play the right way. But in this league, you grab your points and get out of here. There will be times when we play our best game and lose.”

Rangers Want Stralman

The Rangers have reportedly made a contract offer to Anton Stralman, an unrestricted free agent who has played 212 games in his N.H.L. career with Toronto and Columbus. Stralman attended the Devils’ training camp last month and impressed the coaching staff, but the team decided to go with other defensemen and did not offer him a deal. The Rangers are in need of experienced defensemen because of the uncertain status of Marc Staal, who continues to suffer from concussion symptoms.

Metro Pucks: A Week of Underachievement, and a Bit of Cheating

Our weekly review of the performances of the three local N.H.L. teams.

Grades

Rangers: What a strange trip it has been. Henrik Lundqvist won the game for the Rangers on Tuesday in Vancouver. They beat Calgary two nights later on a goal with two seconds left in overtime. The 2-0 loss in Edmonton on Saturday? Coach John Tortorella, who refused to take questions from reporters after the game, said the team was bad “from head to toe.” Unless you’re a goaltending aficionado, the Rangers have not been a fun team to watch on this marathon trip to start the season. Still, they won two of three this week. Grade: B

Devils: The week looked promising late in the third period Friday when the Devils held a one-goal lead over San Jose at Prudential Center. But the Sharks scored to tie the game after pulling their goalie for an extra attacker and earned the second point by beating the Devils in the shootout. A night later, the Devils lost, 4-1, in Pittsburgh to a team that manages to succeed without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Devils need more scoring outside of top talents llya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise and Patrik Elias. Grade: C

Islanders: “Except for the power play, we’ve got a lot to work on,” P.A. Parenteau said after the Islanders lost road games to the Lightning and the Panthers. The Islanders were dreadful for about 50 of the 60 minutes in their 4-1 loss in Tampa Bay on Thursday. In a 4-2 loss Saturday in Sunrise, Fla., the Islanders were inept during five-on-five play. Both goals were scored on the power play, but the Islanders failed to convert during four minutes of power play time at the end of regulation, including almost a minute of five-on-three play. The rebuilding Islanders, supposedly more mature with the addition of five elder statesmen, have to play more confidently and less tentatively on the road. Grade: D

Metro Puck Player of the Week

Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers: When the goalie took himself off the ice in the third period Saturday and word was he was suffering from dehydration, as opposed to a muscle injury, Rangers Nation exhaled. Lundqvist’s team would be worse than mediocre without him. His shutout in Vancouver was spectacular but also typical of how he keeps the Rangers in almost every game.

Dubious Achievement of the Week

Petr Sykora, Devils: Sykora managed to fool the referees in Pittsburgh by serving a four-minute high-sticking penalty called on Patrik Elias. When one of them realized what Sykora pulled – too late, after Elias scored a short-handed goal to tie the score at 1-1 – Sykora apologized and said his stunt was “unrespectful.” Worse, it was cheating and should be reviewed by the league for a fine for the player and his team. Maybe karma already exacted a price. After Elias’s goal, the Penguins scored three straight to win the game, 4-1.

Trending

Down: Brad Richards – The Rangers’ first-line center leads the team in scoring with one goal and four assists, but he has yet to take over a game. Richards will want to show more to the New York area fans when the Rangers start their home schedule Thursday against the Maple Leafs.

Up: Dan Girardi – In the absence of Marc Staal this season, Girardi is averaging 28 minutes a game and performing at a high level for the Rangers. “He can handle it,” said Tortorella, who has no choice but to lean on Girardi.

Down: Frans Nielsen – A strong playmaker, the Islanders’ second-line center has one goal and no assists in six games this season.

Down: Anton Volchenkov – For an annual salary cap hit of $4.25 million for the next five seasons, the defenseman is playing just 18 minutes a game and has not made a major impact in the Devils’ zone.

Theories

Kyle Okposo, the Islanders’ seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft, is a power forward with skill and excellent work habits, but he may have to alter his game. Okposo has just one assist and no goals in the Islanders’ first six games this season. He has yet to reach the 20-goal mark in his young N.H.L. career, in part because shooting accuracy is not his strength. At 210 pounds, Okposo needs to shoot from the perimeter less and crash the opposition net a lot more. Goals scored off shin pads count just as much.

The loss of Jacob Josefson for three to four months with a broken clavicle sustained in the game Thursday hurts the young player’s development and the Devils’ playoff chances. Josefson was one of the Devils’ top three centers and, if Lou Lamoriello is unable to acquire a player in a trade or through waivers, the Devils do not have the depth to replace him.

In Yogi Berra fashion, Ryan Callahan shed some light in a recent broadcast interview on the pressures of being a captain: “I have to focus more on not thinking about it,” Callahan said. In the Rangers’ first six games, Callahan has one goal and no assists.

This Week’s Mystery

On Sept. 30, Nino Niederreiter, a prized right wing prospect who was the Islanders’ fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, sustained a groin injury. The club said his return to the lineup was day to day. More than three weeks later, Niederreiter has practiced infrequently with the Islanders and, on some days, has not even skated on his own. Like the Rangers regarding Marc Staal’s concussion symptoms, the Islanders have had nothing to say about Niederreiter’s status. Perhaps we’ll learn more this week. His development is crucial to the success of the Islanders’ rebuilding program.

Metro Pucks: Rangers Win in Overtime; Isles Fall to Tampa Bay

Ryan McDonagh’s goal with two seconds left in overtime gave the Rangers a 3-2 win in Calgary on Thursday.

On the game-winning goal, Brandon Dubinsky kept the puck in the Flames’ zone in the final seconds and left it for Dan Girardi at the point. As Ryan Callahan screened Calgary goaltender Henrik Karlsson, Girardi shot wide of the net, but the puck bounced off the boards behind the goal and to the stick of McDonagh. He wristed the puck into a mostly uncovered goal just before the horn was about to sound.

“I knew there wasn’t a lot of time left, so I just tried to drill it home,” McDonagh said on the MSG Network broadcast after the game.

The Rangers had to kill a Calgary penalty in the final minutes of regulation when Jeff Woywitka, their new defenseman, inadvertently cleared the puck over the glass, resulting in a penalty for delay of game.

Before overtime, the Rangers and Flames scored all their goals in the first period. Marian Gaborik scored his fourth goal of the season to open the scoring. After Jarome Iginla, the Flames’ captain, tied the score, Brandon Prust gave New York a 2-1 lead at 13 minutes 42 seconds of the period.

Henrik Lundqvist showed some rare public frustration with a teammate after Mark Giordano scored on a snap shot soon after Prust’s goal. Just before Giordano prepared to shoot, McDonagh screened his goalie. Lundqvist was late to react on a shot he could not see. Although he was upset after the goal, Lundqvist did not allow Calgary to score for the remainder of regulation. He made 33 saves in the game’s 65 minutes.

The game was a return for Tim Erixon, the Flames’ first-round pick who declined to sign with Calgary, forcing a trade to the Rangers. Playing his fifth N.H.L. game Thursday, the 20-year-old defenseman was confronted by the Calgary news media after the Rangers’ morning workout about why he slighted the franchise.

“I had nothing against Calgary,” Erixon said. “I love the organization, and it’s a great city. Everybody was good to me. It was never about the money. There were just some small issues, and it’s in the past now.”

Asked to detail the issues, he declined to provide further details. “I really don’t think I have to explain myself,” he said. While he was booed by Calgary fans every time he carried the puck, Erixon played well in the game, especially during a pair of shifts in overtime.

While Comeau Sits Again, Isles Lose at Tampa Bay

The Islanders lost to Tampa Bay, 4-1, on Thursday, failing to sustain an offensive attack after dominating the Lightning in a victory in New York a week earlier.

“We didn’t skate in the first period,” Islanders Coach Jack Capuano said after the game. Tampa Bay “set the tone right away. Our line combinations, for whatever reason, couldn’t generate any offense. We weren’t able to establish our forecheck. They had more zone time than we did tonight.”

Although John Tavares created some scoring chances, the Islanders’ first line was held scoreless after dominating performances in the team’s last two games — wins over Tampa Bay and the Rangers. The Islanders’ only goal, by Michael Grabner, came in the third period after they were trailing, 3-0.

Asked about the possibility of altering some of his forward lines, Capuano said: “Yeah, I think there’s a good chance of that happening. Some guys deserve more of an opportunity. But there’s nothing to panic about yet.

The Islanders have a minor lineup controversy. The last two games, the team has scratched Blake Comeau, a third-line wing who scored 24 goals last season. In an early-season stretch in which the Islanders have received little offense outside of their first line, the benching of Comeau is suspicious.

Capuano’s non-responses to requests for an explanation have not clarified the Comeau matter. The coach has said his lineup decision is between him and the player, but Comeau said he has not received an explanation. Capuano is so mum on the issue, he has declined to even rule out that Comeau is being disciplined for an off-ice matter. All the secrecy has done is throw mud on Comeau and limit his trade value. With a surplus of skilled forwards, General Manager Garth Snow could make a move to fill his team’s biggest need, a regular shift defenseman.

The Islanders and Comeau agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract this summer before a scheduled arbitration hearing. As Comeau sat in the press box in Tampa Bay, Capuano played the enforcer Trevor Gillies for a total of 3 minutes 14 seconds. If the coaching staff plays him, the Islanders can probably count on an angry and motivated Comeau when they visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Touring the Renovated Madison Square Garden (to Be Continued)

The oddest part of seeing the first part of the three-part renovation of Madison Square Garden is traveling from the familiar lobby (which will not be done until Year 3), up the same old escalators (untouched until at least next year) and through the doors into the new main concourse, and feeling as if you’ve stepped into another building entirely.

That sixth-floor concourse, 50 percent wider and possibly 100 percent brighter than before, is one of a handful of the first-year projects that every fan will see. It will hold a new array of concession stands, some with seating.

The new locker rooms, player workout facilities and coaches’ offices will remain beyond most ticket holders’ views — except for the chosen few with access to the Delta Sky 360 Club, who will watch through a glass wall as the Rangers and Knicks players walk from their locker rooms to the arena — and the 20 event-level suites will be a mystery to everyone but the people who reportedly paid $1 million to occupy them.

Such are the realities of an arena renovation done in three parts, as the Garden has decided to do between seasons.

Still, unveiling the changes in a tour on Wednesday, Garden management proclaimed it is thrilled at what is accomplished so far, with the sixth-floor concourse as the centerpiece but also with an eighth-floor viewing deck and concourse area done a year ahead of schedule.

“What we set out to do is keep the magic of the Garden, the feel of the Garden, but to build a whole new arena,” said Hank Ratner, president of the Madison Square Garden Company.

From inside the arena bowl, the only noticeable difference is the new seats in the lower section, which are larger and cushier and a darker blue color. The upper deck renovations scheduled for next summer will significantly change the feel of the inside because the upper seats will be much closer to the playing surface. After Year 3, two catwalks will hang over the floor as well, with seating and a walkway for fans.

Part 1 required construction crews to work 24 hours a day since the last Rangers and Knicks games last spring, a rotation of three crews a day. The first event in the building will be a boxing match in the Theater on Sunday night. The Rangers’ first home game is next Thursday. The Knicks, of course, are mired in the N.B.A. lockout.

The renovations come with a cost, and not just to the Garden. Knicks’ ticket prices were raised an average of 49 percent and Rangers’ tickets jumped 23 percent. Ratner said that 90 percent of Knicks’ season-ticket holders renewed for this season and that 85 percent of Rangers’ ticket holders did.

Ratner also said the 20 new event-level suites sold out for this season. They are the most unusual of the new features, suites that are underneath the lower level of seats, unseen except for the door that leads out into the seating area.

Rangers Waive an Agitator Who Stirred Up Opponents and Headlines

The latest chapter for one of New York’s most colorful and controversial professional athletes may have come to an end Tuesday when the Rangers placed
Sean Avery on waivers.

If no other N.H.L. team claims him by noon Wednesday, Avery will probably be assigned to the Rangers’ A.H.L. farm team in Hartford or be lent to a European club.

In his two stints with the Rangers, Avery was by far their most visible player, a fixture not only on the ice but also in the fashion world and in celebrity gossip columns. He was also a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden, though much of the rest of the hockey world did not hold him in such high esteem.

The Rangers’ decision to waive Avery, 31, was announced by Pat Morris, his agent, and confirmed by the team. Morris said in an e-mail that Avery would “look at all options,” including playing in Europe.

Avery arrived in Sweden on Tuesday with the Rangers ahead of their season opener on Friday in Stockholm. A spokesman said he would stay with the team until the Wednesday waiver deadline.

In the end, Avery fell victim to a numbers game and to his fraught relationship with Coach John Tortorella, who chose the shootout specialist Erik Christensen over Avery as the team’s 13th forward.

For all of his popularity in New York, Avery was widely reviled in hockey circles. In a 2007 poll of 283 N.H.L. players, 66 percent said Avery was the most hated man in the league. He came by that judgment honestly, sucker punching opponents on the ice and insulting them off it. But he also earned admiration in many quarters for his public support of same-sex marriage legislation in New York State.

Avery’s final significant, characteristically controversial moment came Sept. 26 in a preseason game in Philadelphia, where he accused the Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds of directing a homophobic slur at him. Simmonds and some of his teammates countered that Avery had provoked the incident and then made it public, considered bad form among players.

There seemed to be video evidence to support Avery’s claim against Simmonds. And an audio feed captured Avery saying he might have to “kill” Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux in response to what he saw as cheap shots by the Flyers. Neither player was disciplined by the league.

Until the incident, Avery had kept relatively aloof from reporters this preseason after an eventful summer in which he seemed to threaten a reporter who asked him about his breakup with his girlfriend and was charged with shoving a Los Angeles police officer — incidents believed to have alienated Garden management, even though the battery charge was later dropped.

Avery’s career was filled with incident — and with unsavory public remarks — as he played the role of an agitator who tried to draw penalties, often by excessive means.

He played a marginal role with Detroit and Los Angeles after breaking into the league during the 2001-2 season, but after a French-Canadian player injured a Kings teammate with a body check, Avery said it was “typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up.” The Kings later suspended Avery after he argued with an assistant.

Avery was traded to the Rangers in February 2007 and played well as an energetic third-liner for two seasons. But controversy was never far behind. When the Rangers beat the Devils in the 2008 playoffs, he stood in front of Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, waving his stick to distract him. It was a bit of gamesmanship not explicitly against the rules, but it forced the N.H.L. to issue an ad hoc clarification forbidding it.

Afterward, when Brodeur ignored Avery on the handshake line, Avery said, “Fatso forgot to shake my hand.”

In July 2008, Avery, a free agent, signed a four-year contract with Dallas. That December, he walked up to reporters before a game against Calgary and said, “I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the N.H.L. for guys to fall in love” with his former girlfriends, though Avery substituted a vulgar term. He was referring to the Flames’ tough-guy defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who was dating Avery’s former girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert, a Canadian actress.

Avery was suspended by the N.H.L. and ordered to undergo anger-management treatment.

Tortorella, working then as a commentator on the Canadian network TSN, said that Avery “embarrassed” himself, and “doesn’t belong in the league.”

Still, after the Stars put Avery on waivers, the Rangers picked him up — partly because Dallas would be on the hook for half his salary — to reprise his role as a third-line pest. Tortorella had been named the team’s new coach a little more than a week earlier.

Tortorella played Avery but often noted that he took too many penalties — even though statistics showed that he drew significantly more penalties than he took. The often short-tempered Tortorella occasionally snapped at reporters when they asked him about Avery in postgame news conferences.

Last season, Avery hit a new low for on-ice behavior, seeming to decline a challenge to fight by Edmonton’s Ladislav Smid, then suddenly delivering a right to Smid’s jaw, giving him a concussion.

“It looked to me like he suckered him — I’m not going to deny it,” Avery’s teammate Christensen said afterward.

If Avery clears waivers, it will open $1.9 million of salary-cap space for the Rangers. He has played 249 games as a Ranger, scoring 42 goals and 120 points, with 35 fights and 580 penalty minutes. Revealing though they are, however, the numbers represent little more than a chapter in Avery’s complex New York tenures.

Avery Waived by Rangers

The Rangers career of Sean Avery has been colorful (and more than occasionally, off-color), controversial and confounding to both his coaches and many of his opponents, whom he has managed to goad into losing their composure. It has never, however, matched the promise of his first weeks with the Rangers, when he arrived at the trade deadline in 2007 and helped catapult an underachieving team to a scintillating playoff run.

So when Avery’s agent, Pat Morris, confirmed the Rangers were placing him on waivers Tuesday afternoon, it came as no great surprise. He had never worked his way into the heart of Rangers Coach John Tortorella, who seemed at best to tolerate Avery and all that came with him. And by the time the Rangers made him a healthy scratch for two preseason games in Europe, it seemed the end had finally arrived.

The Rangers have not yet announced the move.

Should Avery, 31, not be claimed by another team on waivers, the Rangers will send him to their American League team in Hartford to minimize his salary cap impact. They are already only on the hook for half his $4 million salary, having claimed him on re-entry waivers from the Dallas Stars after his disastrous tenure there in 2008-09. No matter where Avery goes, the Stars have to pay him $2 million this season.

Avery’s high-water mark as an N.H.L. player came in his first days as Ranger, when he scored eight goals and had 12 assists in 29 games after the trade deadline, when the Rangers made up a huge gap in the standing to make the playoffs. In 2007-08, he was somewhat less effective, but still enough of a pest to make himself valuable and had one of his most memorable moments in the playoffs with a power play goal against the Devils. To distract Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, Avery waved his stick and arms in front of Brodeur and when a shot got through, Avery put in the rebound for a goal. The N.H.L. then announced such a move would be penalized as goalie interference in the future.

Avery never had as big an impact after returning to the Rangers in 2009. Playing a diminishing role in Tortorella’s rotation, Avery had just 24 points in 76 games last season.

This summer, Avery taped a video supporting the push for same-sex marriage in New York. This became on-ice news when Avery claimed Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds called him an anti-gay slur during a preseason game. Simmonds was not punished by the N.H.L. despite the slur being captured on video.

Later, Tortorella indicated Avery was fighting for the 13th forward spot on the team with Erik Christensen.

Teams have 24 hours to claim players placed on waivers.

What Avery and Simmonds Said, in Their Own Words

PHILADELPHIA — The Rangers had already started boarding the buses that would take them to the Philadelphia airport and from there to Prague on Monday night as Wayne Simmonds was answering reporters’ questions about the homophobic slur he may have used against Sean Avery.

It all started in the first period, when Philadelphia’s Tom Sestito rammed the Rangers’ Andre Deveaux into the boards from behind, a play that will almost certainly result in a multigame suspension from the N.H.L.’s new, tough disciplinary boss, Brendan Shanahan.

In the aftermath of the hit, Simmonds and Avery wrestled and exchanged angry words, an exchange that continued after they separated. Simmonds was caught on video seeming to mouth the slur.

Simmonds is the black player who was the object of an apparent racial slur last week in London, Ontario, when a fan threw a banana peel on the ice as Simmonds was taking a penalty shot. Avery, who is white, was suspended and ordered to undergo anger management training in 2008 for his own vulgar remarks regarding former girlfriends, but he also publicly urged the New York State Legislature last summer to legalize same-sex marriage.

It is the recent histories of the two principals that makes this particular controversy all the more trenchant.

Below, Avery’s postgame remarks to reporters, followed by those of Simmonds:

Q: What exactly happened out there?

AVERY: Well, what are you guys asking me?

Q: Did he call you what we think he called you?

AVERY: Yes. Yeah.

Q: Is he going to say that there was anything you said that made say what he said?

AVERY: I certainly hope not. Are you implying that it would be from something I said?

Q: No, I’m just asking–

AVERY: From my end, there was certainly nothing.

Q: Are you aware of what happened with him last week?

AVERY: Yeah. It’s really disappointing. When I saw that I thought, first of all, who would do that, and why would you do it? It’s such an unnecessary thing. It’s something that’s not even an issue with us, or our sport. So to be here now and to have to answer questions about what he did is disappointing for me. I’m disappointed for him.

Q: Do you feel like, when something says something like that, that should be treated in a similar context?

AVERY: I mean, Kobe Bryant got fined a hundred grand. Everything’s different now. It’s an issue. It’s an issue that people are dealing with and trying to overcome. I guess 10 years ago maybe it wasn’t so much an issue. But it’s certainly an issue politically, with people in the game, and just in life in general.

Q: Is there concern or a feeling that because you’ve been vocal on the issue this summer with the video you did that players will come back and use that against you?

AVERY: You know what, I haven’t even — I mean, it’s been said for years, whether I thought about it in that sense … I don’t know.

Q: Did you think he just said it out of emotion?

AVERY: Again, I have no idea.

Q: Would you like to see the league make a stand on this?

AVERY: That’s something that I’m not going to really comment on. I think that first of all, me commenting on things like that, the backlash that I could receive is unknown. I don’t want to put the team in a situation where they would have to deal with something because of me wanting to see something happen, or anything along those lines. So I’m not going to go there.

In an odd coincidence, Avery was speaking the same night that Columbus’s James Wisniewski was suspended for the rest of the exhibition season and eight regular-season games and fined almost $537,000 for an illegal hit. Last season, Wisniewski was suspended two games for directing a vulgar homophobic gesture at Avery.

After Avery spoke, Simmonds appeared in the Philadelphia dressing room and spoke to reporters.

Q: Could you tell us the nature of the exchange you had with Sean Avery?

SIMMONDS: You know, it was just a scrum. I felt that he sucker-punched me. We were going back and forth for the rest of the game, and emotions run high. We both exchanged words with each other.

Q: On the video it looked like you might have said a particular thing to him, a slur or something. Was that the case?

SIMMONDS: Honestly, we were going back and forth for a while there, and I don’t recall every single thing that I did say to him. He said some things that I didn’t like, and I said some things that he didn’t like. But I can’t recall every single word I said.

Q: What did he say to you?

SIMMONDS: Things get said out there. It’s not necessary that I repeat it to the media. So I’m not going to say what he said.

Q: When we talked to Avery in the room he said very definitely that you called him what we’ll call a homophobic slur. And he said he didn’t think that he said anything that would have prompted that.

SIMMONDS: He didn’t think he said anything? I mean, he’s Sean Avery, come on now. Who knows what comes out of his mouth.

Q: He didn’t say anything to you that would have prompted that, or did he not?

SIMMONDS: Well, we were going back and forth, battling the whole time. So he definitely said some things to me I wasn’t too happy about. But that’s where it is.

Q: Did he say anything that crossed the line?

SIMMONDS: I don’t know. I can’t recall every single word that was said. So I can’t really– I’m not here to say that he said this, and I’m not going to rat him out. It’s in the heat of a hockey game, that’s what it is.

Q: Did you feel that you said anything to him that crossed the line?

SIMMONDS: I don’t think so. It just got heated, like I said before. If you have to write a couple stories on it, that’s just what happens sometimes.

Q: Just considering what happened with you earlier, last week, is it surprising to find yourself on the other, kind of, end of this?

SIMMONDS: You know what? It’s something that happens every game. Guys say stuff, and you know what? It’s just the heat of the battle, of the game. It’s not necessarily things are said to hurt people. Sometimes it happens.

How the N.H.L. handles this incident — and even how it determines whether there is evidence of an actionable offense in the first place — will be fascinating to watch in the coming days.