2001–02 New York Rangers season

2001–02 New York Rangers
Division	4th Atlantic
Conference	11th Eastern
2001–02 record	36–38–4–4
Goals for	227
Goals against	258
Team information
General Manager	Glen Sather
Coach	Ron Low
Captain	Mark Messier
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Average attendance	18,038 (99.1%)
Team leaders
Goals	Eric Lindros (37)
Assists	Brian Leetch (45)
Points	Eric Lindros (73)
Penalties in minutes	Theoren Fleury (216)
Wins	Mike Richter (24)
Goals against average	Johan Holmqvist (0.00)
<2000–01 2002–03>

The 2001–02 New York Rangers season was the 76th season for the team in the National Hockey League (NHL). During the regular season, the Rangers finished fourth in the Atlantic Division, compiling a 36–38–4–4 record.^[1] Their 11th-place finish in the Eastern Conference kept them out of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fifth straight season.^[2] Head coach Ron Low was fired after the season.^[3]

Pre-season

On September 20, 2001, in the middle of a 2–2 game between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, the game was stopped. A message from United States President George W. Bush about the September 11 attacks was broadcast on the arena video screen. After the message, the game did not resume and it was declared a 2–2 tie.^[4]

Regular season

The Rangers struggled in short-handed situations, finishing the regular season with the most power-play opportunities against (398), the most power-play goals allowed (80) and the lowest penalty-kill percentage (79.90%).^[5]

Final standings

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	27	10	3	234	192	97
2	5	New York Islanders	82	42	28	8	4	239	220	96
3	6	New Jersey Devils	82	41	28	9	4	205	187	95
4	11	New York Rangers	82	36	38	4	4	227	258	80
5	12	Pittsburgh Penguins	82	28	41	8	5	198	249	69

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference^[6]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Z- Boston Bruins	NE	82	43	24	6	9	236	201	101
2	Y- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	42	27	10	3	234	192	97
3	Y- Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	35	26	16	5	217	217	91
4	X- Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	43	25	10	4	249	207	100
5	X- New York Islanders	AT	82	42	28	8	4	239	220	96
6	X- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	41	28	9	4	205	187	95
7	X- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	39	27	9	7	243	208	94
8	X- Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	36	31	12	3	207	209	87
8.5
9	Washington Capitals	SE	82	36	33	11	2	228	240	85
10	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	35	35	11	2	213	200	82
11	New York Rangers	AT	82	36	38	4	4	227	258	80
12	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	28	41	8	5	198	249	69
13	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	27	40	11	4	178	219	69
14	Florida Panthers	SE	82	22	44	10	6	180	250	60
15	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	19	47	11	5	187	288	54

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z- Clinched Conference; Y- Clinched Division; X- Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

2001-02 Game Log
October: 6-6-1-0 (Home: 3-3-0-0; Road: 3-3-1-0) Game October Opponent Score Record 1 5 @ Carolina Hurricanes 3 - 1 0-1-0-0 2 7 Buffalo Sabres 5 - 4 OT 1-1-0-0 3 10 Washington Capitals 5 - 2 1-2-0-0 4 13 @ Ottawa Senators 2 - 2 OT 1-2-1-0 5 15 @ Montreal Canadiens 2 - 1 2-2-1-0 6 17 New Jersey Devils 4 - 3 OT 3-2-1-0 7 19 @ Atlanta Thrashers 4 - 3 4-2-1-0 8 20 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 5 - 2 4-3-1-0 9 22 San Jose Sharks 5 - 1 4-4-1-0 10 25 @ St. Louis Blues 5 - 1 4-5-1-0 11 27 @ Boston Bruins 2 - 1 OT 5-5-1-0 12 29 Dallas Stars 4 - 2 6-5-1-0 13 31 Florida Panthers 3 - 1 6-6-1-0
November: 9-3-1-1 (Home: 6-1-0-0; Road: 3-2-1-1) Game November Opponent Score Record 14 2 @ Carolina Hurricanes 3 - 2 6-7-1-0 15 3 @ Florida Panthers 5 - 3 7-7-1-0 16 6 Minnesota Wild 3 - 1 8-7-1-0 17 8 @ New York Islanders 6 - 2 9-7-1-0 18 10 @ Buffalo Sabres 4 - 2 10-7-1-0 19 11 Montreal Canadiens 3 - 2 OT 11-7-1-0 20 14 Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 2 12-7-1-0 21 17 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - 0 OT 12-7-1-1 22 18 Atlanta Thrashers 6 - 2 13-7-1-1 23 20 Colorado Avalanche 5 - 3 14-7-1-1 24 23 @ Washington Capitals 6 - 2 14-8-1-1 25 25 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3 - 2 14-9-1-1 26 27 @ Buffalo Sabres 2 - 2 OT 14-9-2-1 27 29 Carolina Hurricanes 5 - 0 15-9-2-1
December: 7-6-1-1 (Home: 4-3-0-1; Road: 3-3-1-0) Game December Opponent Score Record 28 1 @ Montreal Canadiens 3 - 1 16-9-2-1 29 2 Tampa Bay Lightning 1 - 0 17-9-2-1 30 4 @ Washington Capitals 5 - 2 17-10-2-1 31 6 Toronto Maple Leafs 6 - 3 17-11-2-1 32 8 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4 - 3 17-12-2-1 33 10 Carolina Hurricanes 4 - 3 OT 17-12-2-2 34 12 Nashville Predators 4 - 2 17-13-2-2 35 15 Buffalo Sabres 4 - 2 18-13-2-2 36 17 Florida Panthers 4 - 2 19-13-2-2 37 19 New Jersey Devils 2 - 2 OT 19-13-3-2 38 21 New York Islanders 2 - 1 19-14-3-2 39 23 Ottawa Senators 3 - 2 20-14-3-2 40 28 @ San Jose Sharks 5 - 3 21-14-3-2 41 29 @ Los Angeles Kings 5 - 4 22-14-3-2 42 31 @ Phoenix Coyotes 5 - 0 22-15-3-2
January: 3-8-1-1 (Home: 2-2-1-0; Road: 1-6-0-1) Game January Opponent Score Record 43 2 @ Edmonton Oilers 4 - 1 22-16-3-2 44 3 @ Colorado Avalanche 3 - 2 OT 22-16-3-3 45 5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - 1 22-17-3-3 46 9 Los Angeles Kings 4 - 0 22-18-3-3 47 12 @ Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 2 22-19-3-3 48 14 Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 2 OT 22-19-4-3 49 16 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 0 22-20-4-3 50 17 @ New Jersey Devils 6 - 4 22-21-4-3 51 22 @ New York Islanders 5 - 4 23-21-4-3 52 23 Boston Bruins 8 - 4 24-21-4-3 53 26 Washington Capitals 6 - 3 25-21-4-3 54 28 Tampa Bay Lightning 1 - 0 25-22-4-3 55 30 New York Islanders 6 - 3 25-23-4-3
February: 2-4-0-0 (Home: 1-2-0-0; Road: 1-2-0-0) Game February Opponent Score Record 56 6 @ Detroit Red Wings 3 - 1 25-24-4-3 57 8 @ Atlanta Thrashers 2 - 1 26-24-4-3 58 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - 3 27-24-4-3 59 13 @ Dallas Stars 4 - 2 27-25-4-3 60 26 New Jersey Devils 4 - 3 27-26-4-3 61 28 Ottawa Senators 3 - 0 27-27-4-3
March: 5-9-0-1 (Home: 2-6-0-0; Road: 3-3-0-1) Game March Opponent Score Record 62 2 Philadelphia Flyers 6 - 5 28-27-4-3 63 4 Calgary Flames 5 - 3 28-28-4-3 64 5 @ Minnesota Wild 3 - 2 OT 29-28-4-3 65 7 @ Chicago Blackhawks 5 - 1 29-29-4-3 66 9 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - 2 OT 29-29-4-4 67 11 Montreal Canadiens 2 - 1 30-29-4-4 68 13 Boston Bruins 3 - 1 30-30-4-4 69 16 @ New Jersey Devils 3 - 1 30-31-4-4 70 17 Detroit Red Wings 5 - 3 30-32-4-4 71 19 Vancouver Canucks 3 - 1 30-33-4-4 72 21 @ Ottawa Senators 5 - 2 31-33-4-4 73 22 Atlanta Thrashers 5 - 2 31-34-4-4 74 25 @ New York Islanders 4 - 2 31-35-4-4 75 27 Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 2 31-36-4-4 76 30 @ Florida Panthers 4 - 2 32-36-4-4
April: 4-2-0-0 (Home: 1-1-0-0; Road: 3-1-0-0) Game April Opponent Score Record 77 1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 6 - 4 33-36-4-4 78 4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4 - 2 34-36-4-4 79 6 @ Boston Bruins 6 - 4 35-36-4-4 80 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - 2 36-36-4-4 81 10 Toronto Maple Leafs 7 - 2 36-37-4-4 82 13 @ Philadelphia Flyers 2 - 1 36-38-4-4

Playoffs

The Rangers failed to qualify for the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, missing the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.^[2]

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM Lindros, EricEric Lindros 72 37 36 73 19 138 Fleury, TheorenTheoren Fleury 82 24 39 63 0 216 York, MikeMike York^‡ 69 18 39 57 8 16 Leetch, BrianBrian Leetch 82 10 45 55 14 28 Nedved, PetrPetr Nedved 78 21 25 46 -8 36 Dvorak, RadekRadek Dvorak 65 17 20 37 -20 14 Malakhov, VladimirVladimir Malakhov 81 6 22 28 10 83 Johansson, AndreasAndreas Johansson 70 14 10 24 6 46 McCarthy, SandySandy McCarthy 82 10 13 23 -8 171 Messier, MarkMark Messier 41 7 16 23 -1 32 Berard, BryanBryan Berard 82 2 21 23 -1 60 Barnaby, MatthewMatthew Barnaby^† 48 8 13 21 -3 144 Bure, PavelPavel Bure^† 12 12 8 20 9 6 Samuelsson, MikaelMikael Samuelsson 67 6 10 16 10 23 Malhotra, MannyManny Malhotra^‡ 56 7 6 13 -1 42 Ciger, ZdenoZdeno Ciger^‡ 29 6 7 13 -3 16 Rucinsky, MartinMartin Rucinsky^† 15 3 10 13 6 6 Toms, JeffJeff Toms^‡ 38 7 4 11 -4 10 Karpa, DaveDave Karpa 75 1 10 11 -9 131 Poti, TomTom Poti^† 11 1 7 8 -4 2 Ulanov, IgorIgor Ulanov^‡ 39 0 6 6 -4 53 Grosek, MichalMichal Grosek 15 3 2 5 -3 12 Lefebvre, SylvainSylvain Lefebvre 41 0 5 5 -3 23 Kloucek, TomasTomas Kloucek 52 1 3 4 -2 137 Purinton, DaleDale Purinton 40 0 4 4 4 113 McKenna, SteveSteve McKenna 54 2 1 3 0 144 Murray, RemRem Murray^† 11 1 2 3 -9 4 Lyashenko, RomanRoman Lyashenko^† 15 2 0 2 0 0 Van Impe, DarrenDarren Van Impe^‡ 17 1 0 1 3 12 Smrek, PeterPeter Smrek 8 0 1 1 -7 4 Whitfield, TrentTrent Whitfield^† 1 0 0 0 1 0 Dawe, JasonJason Dawe 1 0 0 0 -1 0 Mottau, MikeMike Mottau 1 0 0 0 0 0 Scott, RichardRichard Scott 5 0 0 0 0 5 Fata, RicoRico Fata 10 0 0 0 -2 0 Heisten, BarrettBarrett Heisten 10 0 0 0 -4 2

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO
Richter, MikeMike Richter	55	3195	24	26	4	157	2.95	1832	.906	2
Blackburn, DanDan Blackburn	31	1737	12	16	0	95	3.28	1030	.898	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

^[7]

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft in Sunrise, Florida at the National Car Rental Center.^[8][9]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	10	Dan Blackburn	G	Canada	Kootenay Ice (WHL)
2	40	Fedor Tyutin	D	Russia	SKA Saint Petersburg (Russia)
3	79	Garth Murray	C	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
4	113	Bryce Lampman	D	United States	Omaha Lancers (USHL)
5	139	Shawn Collymore	RW	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
6	176	Marek Zidlicky	D	Czech Republic	HIFK (FNL)
7	206	Petr Preucil	LW	Czech Republic	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
7	226	Pontus Petterstrom	LW	Sweden	Tingsryds (Sweden)
8	230	Leonid Zvachkin	D	Russia	Podolsk Jr. (Russia)
8	238	Ryan Hollweg	C	United States	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
9	269	Juris Stals	C	Czech Republic	Lukko (FNL)

See also

• 2001–02 NHL season

References

1. "2001–02 New York Rangers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
2. Reel, Ursula (April 15, 2002). "Rangers aim higher by firing Low". The Hour. Associated Press. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
3. "New York Rangers fire coach Ron Low". Bangor Daily News. April 16, 2002. p. C5. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
4. Hockey’s Book of Firsts, p.71, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
5. "2001–02 NHL Season Summary". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
6. "2001–2002 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
7. "2001-02 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
8. "2001 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
9. "NHL Draft History". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 4, 2012.