With tonight’s Garden match against San Jose the Rangers’ ninth of the year and thus the final game that Michael Del Zotto can play before this season kicks in against his Entry Level contract, The Post has learned that the 19-year-old defenseman will be moving.
No, not back to the OHL — Hello? — but out of the hotel in which he has been staying and into a more permanent place of residence, for Rangers management has given that green light to Del Zotto and to fellow rookies Matt Gilroy and Artem Anisimov as well as to Brian Boyle.
Del Zotto, a plus-three, is tied with Philadelphia’s Matt Carle for the NHL lead in scoring by defensemen with eight points (3-5). He leads the rookie-scoring race by one point over the Islanders’ John Tavares. He has been on the ice for all eight of the Rangers’ five-on-four power play goals.
“He has a nice strut to him,” head coach John Tortorella said. “But he hasn’t crossed the line.”
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In addition to acknowledging slippage in the Rangers’ overall game despite the seven-game winning streak they bring into tonight’s match, Tortorella specifically cited the club’s propensity for facing two-man disadvantages as an area in need of immediate correction.
“Brian [Boyle] has taken two penalties while killing penalties the last two games that were needless,” Tortorella said. “That’s just a lack of concentration.
“When you have five-on-three’s [against], you lose the flow. There have just been too many penalties.”
The Rangers have faced six two-man disadvantages amounting to 2:53 on the season, with all occurring in their last six games. They have killed them all, using two forwards and one defenseman each time, and with Marc Staal as the defenseman each time.
Dan Girardi (twice), Chris Drury and Marian Gaborik have been the culprits in addition to Boyle.
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Rangers have outscored opposition 32-15 overall, 20-10 at even-strength and 12-5 on specialty teams. Vinny Prospal has been on for nine of the 10 power play goal’s and 19 of the 32 overall while Gaborik has been on for 18 of the 32. Ales Kotalik has been on for nine of the 10 power play goal’s . . . The Wade Redden–Matt Gilroy defense pair has not been on the ice for an even-strength goal-against the last four games, going plus-four. Gilroy has not yet been on the ice for a power play goal.
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The Rangers have not won eight in a row since midway through 1974-75 season. Tortorella coached Lightning to a personal NHL-best eight game winning streak late in that club’s 2003-04 Stanley Cup-winning season.
The Blueshirts are seeking to match best nine-game getaway in franchise history first established by the 1983-84 club that opened 9-1 en route to a 42-29-9 record. That was the team that lost a five-game first-round series to the four-time defending champion Islanders on Ken Morrow‘s overtime goal.
Sights and sounds: Sean Avery in the practice locker room referring to neighbor Gaborik as, “Page Six Gabby,” following No. 10’s appearance on The Post’s celebrity page yesterday.