 The Rangers followed by playing two NHL regular-season games against Tampa Bay in Prague on October 4 and 5, winning both games 2–1.The Rangers tied the 1983–84 Rangers for the best start in franchise history with a 5–0 record and set the franchise record for best start in a season through the first 13 games by going 10–2–1 for 21 points, with the 10 wins and 21 points each becoming franchise records.However, a successful start to the season was tempered with by the news of the sudden death of 2007 first-round pick Alexei Cherepanov, which occurred during a KHL game in Russia on October 13, 2008.