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Rangers look to rebound against Avalanche

Dec 21, 2007 - 4:30 PM NY Rangers (17-14-3) at Colorado (19-13-2), 9:00 pm EST

DENVER (Ticker) -- Defense has been a strength for the offensively-challenged New York Rangers this season but not in their last game.

The Rangers look to rebound from a defensive nightmare when they visit the Colorado Avalanche on Friday in the finale of a two-game road trip.

New York suffered a 6-3 loss at Minnesota on Thursday, allowing six goals in a game for only the second time this season.

Martin Gaborik became the first player to score five goals in an NHL game since Detroit's Sergei Fedorov accomplished the feat on December 26, 1996. The last player to score five goals in a game against the Rangers was Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux.

Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist, who entered the contest with a 1.98 goals against average, yielded all six goals on just 18 shots.

The onslaught dropped the Rangers to fourth in goals-against (2.32) but they are second-to-last in scoring (2.22), ahead of only the New York Islanders.

New York is just two points behind first-place New Jersey in the Atlantic Division but its suddenly struggling defense could get tested agaiin.

Colorado boasts an NHL-best 13-3-0 home record and has scored 63 of its 102 goals this seson at the Pepsi Center - an average of 3.9 per home contest.

Second-year center Paul Stastny leads the offensive charge for the Avalanche with 41 points, although he has been held to just two points over the last five games.