"Every player remembers his first NHL game. The difference for Derek Stepan is that everyone who saw his will remember it, too. Stepan, a 20-year-old center who was the Rangers' second-round pick in the 2008 draft and turned pro this summer after two years at the University of Wisconsin, became the fourth player in NHL history to score a hat trick in his debut as the Rangers opened their season Saturday night with a 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. "It's special," Stepan said. "For me, it was just kind of getting my feet wet in my first NHL game, and it was a fun process and nervewracking, too, for a little bit, but I settled in pretty well." That's an understatement typical of a player who made the Rangers out of training camp with a preseason in which he impressed the organization just as much with his maturity as with his talent. Stepan didn't just become the first Rangers rookie to score three goals in a game since Jan Hlavac in 2000, he did so against the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, Buffalo goaltender and U.S. Olympic hero Ryan Miller. "I watched him in the Olympics, and if you watch him all year long, he's an unbelievable goaltender," said Stepan, whose mother and stepfather drove from Minnesota to Buffalo for the game. "I guess for me, it was one of those things where I guess you get lucky to beat him." The only goal on which Stepan might have been considered lucky was the game's first, 10:53 into the first period. On a blast by Dan Girardi from the right point, Stepan made a deflection, and the puck changed directions once more before getting past Miller, going off the skate of Buffalo defenseman Tyler Myers. Sean Avery, the left wing on a dynamic and abrasive line with Stepan and Ruslan Fedotenko, was at the post, but didn't get his stick on it, and Stepan had his first NHL goal." http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/h...ck_as_blueshirts_overwhelm_sabres_63_to_.html
