The Rangers 2009-10 regular season campaign will get under way in Pittsburgh, against Sidney Crosby and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins. It’s a tough ask for a team that has lost eight straight games in Mellon Arena, all the moreso given the amount of turnover on the team.

Few Ranger fans will likely enjoy a banner raising ceremony on enemy ice, but a win on the road against the defending Cup champions would surely generate some early excitement for the season.

Other challenges for the team include seven of their last nine games on the road, including a season high six game road trip and a home and home series with the rival Philadelphia Flyers to finish the regular season off.

14 – Number of times the Rangers play on consecutive nights
9 – Number of afternoon games (1:00pm, 3:00pm and 5:00pm)
6 – Longest road trip (March 25th to April 26th)
4 – Number of home and home series (PHI, PIT, NYI and CAR)
3 – Longest home stand (7 times)

Rangers meeting old team for the first time:
Oct 8th – Donald Brashear (WAS)
Oct 14th – Brian Boyle (LAK)
Oct 24th – Christopher Higgins (MON)
Oct 26th – Enver Lisin (PHO)
Oct 30th – Marian Gaborik (MIN)
Nov 5th – Ales Kotalik (EDM)
Nov 27th – John Tortorella (TBL)
Dec 5th – Ales Kotalik (BUF)
Jan 6th – Sean Avery (DAL)
Jan 31st – Tyler Arnason (COL)

Former Rangers meeting old team for the first time:
Oct 12th – Colton Orr (TOR)
Oct 24th – Scott Gomez (MON)
Oct 24th – Paul Mara (MON)
Oct 26th – Nigel Dawes (PHO)
Oct 26th – Lauri Korpikoski (PHO)
Oct 26th – Al Montoya (PHO)
Oct 26th – Petr Prucha (PHO)
Oct 28th – Greg Moore (NYI)
Nov 5th – Tom Renney (EDM)
Nov 7th – Fredrik Sjostrom (CGY)
Nov 12th – Nik Antropov (ATL)

Teams the Rangers won’t visit:
Anaheim Ducks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Nashville Predators
San Jose Sharks

Teams that won’t visit the Rangers:
Calgary Flames
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild
Vancouver Canucks

Season Milestones:
Game 1 – October 2nd at Pittsburgh Penguins
Game 21 – November 17th v Washington Capitals
Game 41 – January 2nd v Carolina Hurricanes
Game 62 – February 14th v Tampa Bay Lighting
Game 82 – April 11th at Philadelphia Flyers

Holiday Game Dates:
New Year’s Eve – at Carolina Hurricanes
Valentines Day – v Tampa Bay Lightning

No game falls on the following:
Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, St Patrick’s Day