Rookie Stepan gaining confidence

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Every NHL rookie travels a road through hills and valleys. It happened last year to Rangers freshmen Matt Gilroy and Michael Del Zotto.

Derek Stepan is no exception.

"He'll have his ups and downs," Rangers coach John Tortorella said of Stepan, the playmaking center who left the University of Wisconsin last summer to turn pro.

Well, for the 20-year-old from Hastings, Minn., chalk up this recent stretch as a positive one. Heading into last night's game against the Predators, Stepan was the club's hottest player, sporting a six-game point streak, with three goals and four assists.

On Nov. 17 against the Bruins, Stepan provided an assist, only his third point in 14 games. That seemed to light the fire.

Last Friday in Colorado, he scored his first goal since a hat trick in the season opener Oct. 9 in Buffalo. Last Saturday against the Minnesota Wild, with three busloads of family and friends watching at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Stepan registered an assist in the 5-2 win. He had another assist in Calgary. In Tampa on Wednesday, he scored his fifth goal on a power-play rocket and got his eighth assist. Then against the Panthers on Friday, he scored his sixth goal on a rebound of Sean Avery's shot in a 3-0 win.

"It's coming," Stepan said after the win against the Flames. "In my game, you can see it; my lifestyle, everything's coming around. It's a big change and it's a process. You've just got to continue to stay confident and keep your ball rolling."

Tortorella conceded that his team was tired from eight games in 13 days, but Stepan seemed to have discovered a second wind. His ice time was reduced for about six games, and he was dropped to the fourth line.

"I don't think all our guys are tired," Tortorella said last night, "I just think in some situations, we're just a step behind. For the most part, they have played hard. But Stepan, since he's come back, he's done everything: power play, he's killed penalties. He hasn't won any faceoffs - we need to work on that but we haven't had much practice time. But he's played well offensively and defensively."

The inexperience on faceoffs did not stop Tortorella from installing him on the first line with Marian Gaborik and Alex Frolov, where he clicked. It's not surprising that he was up to the challenge.

Stepan, a second-round draft pick in 2008 who captained the gold medal-winning Team USA in the World Junior Championship, led the tournament in points with 14. As a Badger, he tied for first in the NCAA in assists and was second in points.

"This is all part of the process for me," said Stepan, who is 6-8-14 and a plus-1 in 24 games. "It was good for me to play 10 minutes a night in a somewhat different role. It helped get me to what I am doing now."

Teammates say he is gaining confidence and a comfort level. After Del Zotto pump-faked Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom, waited, and scored after Stepan's pass, Stepan congratulated him on the bench with this: "That takes a lot of patience for a guy with a monkey on his back."