After the Rangers played their first two games of the season in Prague, they play host to the Blackhawks in their home opener at Madison Square Garden. The unbeaten Blueshirts take the ice with a 2-0 early-season mark, earning two consecutive 2-1 victories over the Lightning last weekend.
For the new Rangers it will be their Garden home debut. Left wing Markus Naslund, 35,one of the newcomers, said yesterday it would be special and admitted he will be nervous.
“I played there my first stint in Pittsburgh when I was young, and I don’t think I realized it then,” he said. “It was more when I moved out to the West Coast and didn’t have a chance to play in New York very often that you cherished it.”
It will be something to cherish for defenseman Wade Redden too. Before this season, Redden had spent his whole career in Ottawa, but said he was aware of what the Garden’s meant since before he joined the Rangers.
“I think just the history,” Redden said. “When I came in the league, a lot of the buildings were brand new and didn’t have that kind of aura to ’em or nostalgia. So definitely MSG’s seen a lot, and you can feel that when you walk in there and especially playing there in front of a sold-out crowd.”
Coach Tom Renney said he didn’t have too many instructions for his team, insisting they should just get ready and let the crowd be an asset.
“Go play,” he said. “I think that what we want to do is concentrate on our preparation through the day naturally and get down there and let the excitement of playing at MSG work for you as opposed to against you.”