The Rivalry

Going Home

2011-10-25T00:09:00.000-04:00

The Islanders had a fairly dreadful trip to Florida, losing two games and not looking particularly competitive in either. Fortunately, they come home to meet some old friends in the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If you're into sports betting, the Islanders are considered underdogs, which makes sense to some degree. But no Islanders fan will forget the events of this past February. Regardless of where you stand on the fighting issue, you can't deny that the Islanders get a charge out of playing the Penguins. This has become a legitimate rivalry in every sense of the word, and we should be in for quite a game on Tuesday.

Familiarity breeds contempt, and nothing is better than a home-and-home between divisional rivals. Sure enough, the Isles and Penguins are slated to face off once again in Pittsburgh on Thursday. Hopefully the Islanders can continue their good home form while finally getting some points on the road, giving them the psychological edge over a hated rival.

Fantasy Football

2010-10-23T09:27:00.002-04:00

This post has nothing to do with the Islanders, the Rangers or hockey in general. However, I found it worth mentioning because it does have to do with me destroying Zach in fantasy football last week.

That's me, Favre Dollar Footlong, putting a beatdown on Zach's Squirting Arians. Prior to this game, we were both in first place in our respective divisions. Now, thanks to the strong efforts of Eli Manning and Felix Jones, I am at the top of our league. All bow to Favre Dollar Footlong!

First place. Just like the Jets. Just like the Islanders. Feels pretty good.

James Dolan Flunked Math in Private School...

2010-10-22T02:07:00.003-04:00

The ice is painted. The jerseys have patches sewn on the shoulders. The stores are filled with shirts. Even the beer cups have the New York Rangers 85th anniversary logo on it.

A couple of years too early, but indeed, the Rangers are fully immersed in celebrating the 85th anniversary of the hockey club. I wonder if this will go until their actual 8th anniversary. Seeing as there are lots of expensive renovations to do to Madison Square Garden, James Dolan and his gang can really milk this thing for all it’s worth.

In fact, the Rangers are either 83 or 84 years old, depending on how you look at it. See, the Rangers first year of hockey was in 1926. That makes 2010 technically the 84th year. However, a lockout destroyed the entire 2004-05 season (as we all vaguely remember), which brings us to the small but irrefutable fact that this is the New York Rangers’ 83rd season in the NHL.

I’ll help you with the math if you don’t believe me. Ten seasons in each of the 30s (1930-31 to 1939-40), 40s, 50, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s makes 70 seasons. Then there were 4 seasons in the 20s (26-27, 27-28, 28-29, 29-30) and the 2010-11 season makes 9 seasons so far in the 2000s.

I have a friend who I play golf with sometimes. He’ll kick the ball from the rough into the fairway - a good 15 years - and not count it as a stroke. If a putt lands within 6 feet of the hole, he’ll pick it up and say, “That’s a gimme.” But he won’t count the “gimme” stroke, just the one that landed before the hold. We call this “funny math” and it seems that’s what MSG is using.

To be honest, I’m even a little confused at how Madison Square Garden came up with this idea. I guess to the 2011-1926 is 85, which is true. But that’s also like celebrating your 1st birthday on January 1st of the next year, even if you’re born in December.

What’s funnier is that I haven’t even heard anybody question this logic. Someone should tell quintessential team player Marty Biron about it before he debuts that 85th anniversary helmet in November.

After all, I wouldn’t want Biron to be an unwitting part of a marketing ploy. I really like that guy.

Point Blank Night

2010-10-21T23:30:00.001-04:00

Chris Botta held his annual Point Blank Night at Social tonight, and The Rivalry was in attendance. Here are some notes from a quality evening...

- Social is a pretty nice place. I'm a graduate student at Hofstra, so I always pass by it and dismiss it as an average Hofstra bar. Turns out it's not a bad place at all. I'd go back there again. However, I did not notice the requisite touch-screen machine with Photo Hunt that's present in every bar everywhere.

- I arrived at Social around 7:50 or so. I had to take a midterm right before (it was harder than I thought, but I still did well) and so it was nice to head out and blow off some steam afterward. What was also nice was that the Islanders were already winning 1-0 when I got there. Sadly, I missed out on the complimentary shot after that goal.

- The food was catered by Danny Gagnon, who was on a show called Top Chef that I've never heard of. I never got the appeal of these cooking shows. But this food was all kinds of awesome. Truly impressive stuff. And it was free!

- I didn't even get a beer before Tampa Bay tied the game at 1-1. Bergenheim, of course. Where were those moves last year?!?!?

- Social was pretty packed, and it was clear that the focus of the night was the Islanders game. A small TV showed the NLCS game, which was nice for those who are stuck with Cablevision and can't watch the series. Every other TV was on the Islanders game, and virtually every person in there was dressed in Islanders gear. Except for me, that is; I forgot to bring a change of clothes, so I was the d-bag in his shirt and tie from work earlier in the day.

- I couldn't stay for the whole game because I'm married with kids and so I don't get to have any fun anymore. But before I left, Botta took the mic to thank everyone for coming. He also announced that Billy Jaffe was in attendance, which brought a large cheer from the crowd.

- On my way out, I wanted to see if I could find Botta, but I couldn't do it. But then, I turned around and noticed two guys with bald spots watching the game. It was Botta and Jaffe at the same table, watching the game! My brother encouraged me to say hello, which I usually never do, but I wanted to say thanks to both of them for their contributions to my enjoyment of Islanders hockey. So I ran over there at a stoppage, apologized for interrupting, said my piece, shook both their hands, and got out of there. Both men were extremely gracious - Jaffe even got up out of his seat - and I came away liking both of them even more than I did before.

- I wanted to share this story with Botta, but I didn't want to keep him. My mom used to work with his mom at North Shore-LIJ. When my mom bought me "Pride and Passion", the "official" Islanders coffee table book that Chris co-wrote, my copy ended up getting in Chris' hands so that it could get autographed by some Islanders. It came back to me some time later with Al Arbour's signature. I still have that book today, and much of it holds up pretty well. However, the full-page picture of Dan Plante, future Islanders scrub who was hailed as a cornerstone of the future, does not hold up very well.

- I got home in time to see the end of the third period and the overtime, in which the Islanders scored a much-debated goal to win the game. Watching the game on MSG Plus 2 in standard definition was a rude awakening as to how life will change when I switch to Verizon FiOS next month and say goodbye to Islanders HD games forever. On a night like tonight, it was very inconvenient, especially when it came to judging the merits of the game-winning goal. Butch Goring claimed it "clearly" went in, which I guess is why he was calling the game and Billy Jaffe was drinking beers at Social. Either way, it's an Islanders win, and I'll definitely take it.

- One last note on tonight. As Jaffe himself might say about himself, here's a guy who was canned by the Islanders just months ago. And yet, he came out to watch his former team play. He came to an event hosted by Chris Botta, who was let go as an Islanders-sanctioned blogger more than a year ago, but continues to blog about the team. On color commentary was Butch Goring, a former player who was unceremoniously dumped by the Islanders as coach in 2001, yet still sticks around on Islanders telecasts. Three men who have every right to be bitter towards the Islanders organization, but who have willingly stuck around. Does this happen elsewhere, in other cities for other teams? I don't think so.

I guess you could say the same about Islanders fans. For all of the crap we fans give the Islanders, we've all stuck around. Things might finally be starting to turn the corner with this team, and we all deserve to take pride in that. On this night, seeing the scene at Social, and even seeing some spurned people show their loyalties, it made me very proud to be an Islanders fan.

The Enforcer...

2010-10-21T09:33:00.003-04:00

If Derek Boogaard doesn't do one of these two things tonight against Toronto, he literally has no purpose being on the New York Rangers' roster:

Make life hell for Colby Armstrong by either pummeling him in a fight or delivering fierce body checks to him every single time he's on the ice.
Hit Phil Kessel or Kris Versteeg or Luke Schenn so hard that no Toronto player wants to have the puck all night.

Last time the Leafs and Rangers met, last Friday, Armstrong boarded Gaborik. The no-suspension hit from behind left Gaborik out for the better part of a month. Only one player - Sean Avery - stepped up on his teammate's behalf.

What did $1.6M (for 4 years!) Boogaard do? Nothing. He did nothing in his 5 minutes and 29 seconds of ice time.

When he was signed, they quoted his size (6'7", 265 lbs.) and protective nature (after all, he played with Gaborik in Minnesota) as the reason for throwing him more years and more money than Colton Orr wanted. Well, 3 games into his Ranger career, and he failed to protect Gaborik from an injury.

If he doesn't respond tonight, then you might as well buy him out tomorrow, because no team will be afraid to take liberties with Gaborik or Henrik Lundqvist if they know there is nobody to answer to.

Oh, and if he fights Colton Orr tonight? Buy him out tomorrow. There's no need for one tough guy to fight another tough guy. Boogaard should hit Armstrong as hard as he can as often as possible for the illegal hit on Gaborik, or he should hit Toronto's young stars as hard and as often as possible to send a message.

Take out mine, we'll take out yours.

After all, why is he being paid?

After Two Games...

2010-10-11T22:57:00.001-04:00

The Islanders season is just 125 minutes old, and a ton has already happened. Three points out of four? Not bad. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Let's review this young season after two games...

- Injuries: They happen. Do they knock out your three best players before the end of the first period of your first game? Not really. But the Islanders should be used to fighting back from injuries. These Islanders cannot use the injuries to Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and John Tavares as an excuse. I don't care what the front office says about rebuilding; this year has to be the year the Islanders go to the playoffs.

(Just a quick note about Tavares... I've suffered from four concussions that I know about. The most recent was in 2007 in a car accident; it was also the only one that prompted me to see a doctor or even stop what I was doing. As it happens, I can't recall a week over the past two years when I haven't had a migraine. Coincidence? I think not. After watching the Mets nearly kill Ryan Church and Jason Bay in recent years, please Islanders, I beg of you, do not rush John Tavares back.)

- Rick DiPietro: Couldn't be happier that Ricky is back among the active and healthy. His first two games have been a bit spotty, but this is what happens when you've played roughly a dozen games in the past two years. It takes a while to play the game in an ultra-competitive setting. I'm willing to spot him the occasional bad goal, especially as he gets his bearings back.

Of course, his rust hasn't stopped people on the comment boards and forums from proclaiming DP as the Antichrist. Do you people even realize how easy it would have been for Rick DiPietro to quit? How can you not admire someone who fights back like that? Nevermind that DP signed his future to this team at a time when they had just brought Garth Snow in as GM and nobody wanted anything to do with the Islanders. Me, I gladly welcome DiPietro back, and I look forward to seeing him return to form.

- Offense: Love it. In fact, from now on, when I do my online betting, I'm taking the over in every Islanders game. This team can score, and the power play is red-hot. Let's not forget this outburst has come without the Islanders' top three point scorers from last year. The big stories are the emergence of Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey as big-game players. While the odds of Comeau and Bailey producing at this level for the duration of the season are long indeed, both players should be counted on for at least 20 goals each in 2010-11.

- The Wisniewski Incident: This is one of those stories, that quite frankly, wouldn't even be an issue if the Internet didn't exist. An isolated incident becomes a huge story because YouTube can quickly spread around the "offensive" action, and the blogosphere, talking heads and Twitter people can debate the issue ad nauseum. The other side of the issue, of course, is that people wouldn't feel the need to debate the possible consequences so fervently if the NHL actually used consistency when disciplining wrongdoers, but that's a different story altogether.

What does Wisniewski deserve? One game. Let's face it, the incident was hardly incendiary, but the NHL has to establish a precedent when it comes to on-ice conduct that doesn't involve maiming someone. The whole "first-time offender" argument won't save Wisniewski, as the NHL simply must make him a sacrificial lamb so that players won't think they can get away with these actions. You could argue that Sean Avery is implicit in this incident, but you have to know he's going to try to get under your skin, so you shouldn't do anything stupid. Like, you know, simulating a BJ right in front of a referee.

- New Goal Song: For those who haven't heard, the Islanders players have requested a change to their goal song. The request was made at the behest of Zenon Konopka, who chose a song called "Live is Life" by Opus. While I enjoy the irony of a player with six career goals spurring the charge to change the team goal song, and I don't particularly care for the new song - I'm also a huge Pennywise fan - at least the Islanders are trying to do something different. That's always a good thing as you try to establish your own identity. The subtext to all of this is that these Islanders are a unified team. They're on the same page, both on and off the ice. You can't ask for more than that.

- Low Attendance: I'm not surprised. Before the season started, I wrote that the Islanders were drastically increasing expectations when they drastically increased their ticket prices. Right now, Long Island sees the Islanders as the sad-sack team they've always been. The only thing that can change this perception is by winning. A lot.

One thing we can't forget is that virtually all of Long Island - and everywhere else, for that matter - is broke. Zach is fond of saying that Long Island is a great place to live if you have money. For those of us who don't, though, it's not so easy. Personally, I can't see myself getting to the Coliseum even once this year, and that's with two jobs. I'm far from the only one in this predicament. Dee Karl echoed many of these sentiments earlier today. The Islanders are going to have to do something about these ticket prices or else face seeing many, many empty seats.

One last thing about attendance. Whose bright idea was it to schedule a rivalry game on Columbus Day?!? This is a day that's usually targeted towards families, who generally don't want to buy tickets to what may be a fight-filled game. It's also not really ideal for working adults, many of whom didn't have today off, myself included. Just a disaster all-around. When the fans of two teams can't fill up your arena, somebody screwed up big-time.

2010-11 Predictions

2010-10-09T16:43:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, Zach cited my proficiency at pre-season predictions (nice alliteration). I managed to beat out "experts" like Eklund and E.J. Hradek, which is going on my resume ASAP. After a nice little celebration, which consisted of merely a smile and a fist pump, I submit my predictions for 2010-11. Just a note for purposes of full disclosure, I went on a nice five-month break from everything that relates to hockey. If these predictions make no sense, I'd cite that as a reason. Of course, if these predictions do come true, forget I said anything.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1) Washington

2) New Jersey

3) Boston

4) Pittsburgh

5) NY Rangers

6) Montreal

7) Tampa Bay

8) Toronto

9) Philadelphia

10) Buffalo

11) NY Islanders

12) Atlanta

13) Ottawa

14) Carolina

15) Florida

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1) San Jose

2) Detroit

3) Vancouver

4) Chicago

5) Los Angeles

6) Colorado

7) Nashville

8) St. Louis

9) Edmonton

10) Columbus

11) Calgary

12) Anaheim

13) Phoenix

14) Dallas

15) Minnesota

CONFERENCE FINALS

Washington over NY Rangers

Detroit over Chicago

CUP FINAL

Detroit over Washington in 6

FEARLESS PREDICTIONS

Picking the right teams to finish in the right spots is the easy part of prognostication. The far more difficult (and fun) proposition is to predict the events of the season. As I see it, the season will include the following elements...

- A big-name coach will be fired before November 15. My prediction: John Tortorella.

- An unheralded team will come out of nowhere to start red-hot, defying "experts". Last year, it was Phoenix and Colorado. This year, I pick Tampa Bay and St. Louis.

- The league's new blind-side hits rule will prove itself to be woefully ineffective, resulting in at least one suspension in the league's first month.

- Islanders fans will pine for Billy Jaffe by the time the first period ends tonight. Fans will also proclaim the new radio deal with Hofstra as "bush-league" and clamor for the return of the simulcast before ever hearing a game on the radio.

- None of the agonizing decisions and heated debates over who should be the 23rd man on an NHL roster will amount to anything.

- This year's Winter Classic will draw the highest ratings and interest levels the NHL has ever seen.

- The Islanders-Rangers rivalry will finally receive a shot in the arm, with at least one big fight or controversial incident helping these games reach their potential.

- Doug Weight and Dwayne Roloson will be traded at the trade deadline.

- The Islanders will get off to a slow start, but nobody will question the bizarre split-squad games as a potential reason why.

- Rick DiPietro will finally make it through a season in perfect health.

- Henrik Lundqvist will finally get to go on a ridiculous playoff run.

- Ilya Kovalchuk will win the Hart Trophy.

- The Jack Adams Award will go to a first-year coach who makes a big difference. I predict Guy Boucher of Tampa Bay.

- At least one team will unveil a new retro third jersey that will end up replacing their current uniforms next year.

- The NHL will re-sign with NBC, but will take its cable package to TBS.

- Bad officiating and inconsistent discipline will become a huge issue yet again, this time playing a significant role in the Stanley Cup Final.

Rex Ryan and Paradigm Shifts

2010-10-08T18:15:00.002-04:00

Word from the Islanders is that Rex Ryan will be dropping the puck at tomorrow night's opening faceoff. A great move, to be sure - the Jets are red-hot, and Ryan is arguably the most popular coach in New York right now. As a Jets fan, I love it. But I can't help but feel like there's more to this story than meets the eye.

Most people confuse Rex Ryan's bluster as sheer arrogance, but that's not entirely the case. He talks a lot, but with a very specific goal - to change the culture of his team. Being a Jets fan has always meant failure, being let down at the worst possible moment and never winning the big game. Rex Ryan was smart enough to realize the team's - and the fans' - entire outlook had to change. When he said he wasn't here to kiss Bill Belichick's rings, it wasn't a shot at a rival team. It was a clear message to the players and fans that the Jets should view themselves as the Patriots' equals. When he unveiled his playoff itinerary that went all the way up to the Jets' eventual visit to the White House, he wanted everyone to believe the Jets had a legitimate shot at winning the Super Bowl. He encouraged fans and players alike to visualize the ultimate outcome in their minds and consider it a distinct possibility.

To say Rex Ryan's methods have worked is a gross understatement. When I watched the Jets play the Colts in the AFC Championship Game in January, I truly believed the Jets could and would win. The possibility of losing didn't even enter my thoughts. That was NEVER the case before. In years prior, I kept my guard up, knowing the Jets would eventually snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But no more. Today, the Jets are considered a winning organization; the stigma of countless losing seasons and crushing defeats is virtually non-existent.

So, then, is it a coincidence that Rex Ryan is dropping the puck on Opening Night? Not in the least. He turned the Jets fanbase from hapless lamenters into rabid fans who believe their team should win each week. This is exactly the kind of paradigm shift the Islanders desperately need. True, it won't happen just by having a local coach drop a puck before a game. But Rex Ryan has proven that it can be done, and don't think for a second he won't address the Islanders and tell them they can change their organization as well.

Tomorrow night, as the puck is dropped, each player, coach and fan should look at Rex Ryan tomorrow night and say to themselves, "Hey, we can turn this thing around." After all, it took Rex Ryan just a year and a half to transform the Jets in his image. Who's to say the Islanders can't do the same thing?

Looking Back at Predictions...

2010-10-08T12:31:00.003-04:00

Every year, I compile the preseason predictions of both writers on this site as well as 3 or 4 other predictions. Last year, I only gathered 5 of them. Besides Bryan and me, I collected Yahoo’s hockey blogger Puck Daddy’s, Eklund from HockeyBuzz.com, and the TSN.ca, who puts together a consensus each year after averaging out their reporters’ picks.

Two straight years, Eklund has been the winner. In the 2008-09 season, however, Islanders’ writer Bryan was nipping on his heels, losing by only 1 points (28-27). I ended with the line, Hey, much like his Islanders, there's always next year.

I was awful last year, scoring only 19 points and coming in 6th out of 6th place.

This year, the most popular pick was Pittsburgh to come in 4th, which they did. Everyone thought Boston would win the Northeast (they didn’t) and everyone thought Carolina would make the playoffs (they didn’t). Lesson learned: don’t always base predictions on last year’s efforts.

The scoring is as follows: 1 point for predicting a team to either make or miss the playoffs, and 2 points for correctly guessing the final conference standing of a team.

5th Place - NYHockeyRivalry.com’s Zach
As is becoming tradition, I came in dead last again. My only two correct spots were the Conference winners, Washington and San Jose. As it turns out, the Rangers, Carolina, and Atlanta didn’t make the playoffs. Buffalo, who I thought would end 14th in the East, came in 3rd. In the West, I only guessed 3 playoff teams correctly (SJ, Detroit, Chicago). Apparently, Calgary and Minnesota weren’t as good as I thought they would be.
16 points

2nd Places - Puck Daddy, Eklund, TSN
All 3 outlets each scored the same amount of points.

Puck Daddy had a great Eastern Conference with just one mistake: Carolina in the playoffs and Ottawa out.

Eklund, the two-time reigning champion, make a crucial error in picking his favorite team - the Flyers - to win the Atlantic, when in reality they snuck into the playoffs.

TSN picked the Rangers and Carolina to make the playoffs, leaving out actual playoff teams Ottawa and Buffalo.
23 points

1st Place - NYHockeyRivalry.com’s Bryan
Bryan correctly predicted the Eastern playoff teams except for one mistake: putting the Rangers in instead of Buffalo. He correctly guessed the Penguins coming in 4th, the Flyers in 7th, and the Islanders in 13th. He did have Washington and NJ winning their divisions like they did, but had the order messed up.

In the West, he not only guessed every eventual division winner, he guessed them in order (San Jose, Chicago, Vancouver). So, in total, he got 5 of 6 division winners correct in the NHL. He also correctly guessed Detroit in 5th in the West, making the 7 correct picks a new record!

Nice job, Bryan. Looks like next year could be this year,
27 points

I also have to give credit to ESPN's John Buccigross and Barry Melrose. Buccigross predicted Philadelphia beating Chicago in the Finals, while Melrose actually predicted the eventual result, Chicago beating the Flyers for the Stanley Cup.

Mid-Life Crisis: The Psyche of the New York Islanders

2010-10-07T23:21:00.001-04:00

Earlier today, Zach - who made his triumphant return earlier today - sent me a text informing me that the Islanders turned 38 years old today. He also suggested that perhaps they're going through a mid-life crisis right now and that may explain why they're getting younger. While I'm sure their motives for their youth movement are simply to create the best team possible, as evidenced by the Blackhawks, Capitals and Penguins in recent years, Zach has a pretty good point.

You probably know some people who peaked a little too early in life. You know the kind of person I'm talking about - the prom king, the high school quarterback, the head cheerleader. They had the world at their fingertips in their early years, but now they ring up groceries or drive UPS trucks. If you were to meet one of these people now for the first time, you'd be cordial, but you'd be underwhelmed, maybe even a bit condescending. After all, you don't end up like that without screwing up somewhere.

The New York Islanders fit this mold. Many younger fans can never recall a time when the club was even competitive, let alone dominant. Hockey fans in New York are either born into rooting for the Islanders, or they grow up pitying the Islanders. And yeah, you could say the Islanders have been going through a mid-life crisis for some time. For a very long time, you had the constant parading of former greats - the virtual equivalent of a 30-year-old gas attendant wearing his high school football jersey to work. "Hey, remember what I used to be?" Sadly, we don't.

Today, the Islanders are firmly entrenched in a battle against Father Time. They're the balding guy who purchases a Mustang and buys a vanity license plate in order to feel and look young. They're the mom who wears the same clothes as her teenage daughter. Looking back at what once was, struggling to find modern-day relevancy. You could make the argument that reverting to the classic blue uniforms is the same type of thing - reinventing the team didn't work, so let's simply stick with what once worked.

Thirty-eight years is a long time. Too young to be classic and historic, too old to be new and cutting-edge. What's the answer - the RIGHT answer? Reconcile the past with the present. Create a new image in the same vein as the old one, but updated to meet modern times. Reach out to the loyalists for support, but make new fans at the same time.

That's what the Islanders are doing. And they're doing a great job.

You have to admit that it's not easy to do what the Islanders are trying to do. Like many of us, they've gotten stale and need to recharge, to recreate the Islanders image. You see it in publications all over North America. Nobody expects anything out of the Islanders in 2010-11, and why should they? The Islanders were bottom-five in points and attendance last year. Two of their three best players are out for the foreseeable future. Plus, the team is always fighting the perception of being a joke. But widespread organizational change takes time, and this is no different.

What will become of this Islanders team? Will they emulate the example of the Blackhawks and Penguins, rebuilding through the draft and eventually becoming champions? Or will they be more like the Edmonton Oilers, who have been rebuilding for the past twenty years? It's tough to say. But you get the impression that the Islanders have identified their issues and are trying to address them, just like the mid-life crisis crowd or anyone else stuck in a rut. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is to simply survive, to just ride it out and hope for the best. We can't say if the Islanders will be a playoff team this year, but at least they're trying to get better the right way. And that's a hell of a lot better than clinging to the glory days or, worse, shipping the team off to Hamilton or Kansas City.

Predictions...

2010-10-07T07:15:00.009-04:00

Well, I haven't written anything since March on here, and it's 7:16 on the morning of the NHL's first games. In less than 5 hours, the puck will drop in Helsinki between two great teams - Derek Boogaard's former team (the Minnesota Wild) and Bobby Sanguenetti's current team (the Carolina Hurricanes, and yes, he made the NHL team).

Predictions - the best and worst part of October. Everyone is normally wrong, but they're fun to debate anyway. So, here we go...

Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals
2. New Jersey Devils
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. NY Rangers
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. Philadelphia Flyers
9. Atlanta Thrashers
10. Boston Bruins
11. NY Islanders
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. Florida Panthers
14. Ottawa Senators
15. Montreal Canadiens

Notes: The Rangers missed the playoffs by 1 point yet improved a lot over the offseason. They got a better backup goalie than they had (Martin Biron is in fact better than any combination of Chad Johnson and Matt Zaba and Steve Valiquette) and Alex Frolov is going to add much more offense than Aaron Voros.

Tampa Bay has a great forward line up including Lecavilier, Stamkos, St. Louis, Ryan Malone, and Steve Downie. With Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund on the blue line and competent goaltending in Dan Ellis and Mike Smith, they should take make the playoffs, edging out a much improved ~~Chicago Blackha~~ err, Atlanta Thrashers team.

In the Northeast, I can't see an aging Ottawa team with questionable goaltending making the playoffs again. Yes, Sergei Gonchar is good, but I think he'll fall apart without Crosby and Malkin on the same PP unit. And Toronto might be unstoppable. The best defense in the NHL (Beauchemin, Kaberle, Komisarek, Lebda, Phaneuf, Schenn), solid goaltending (Giguere, Gustavsson), and a much improved offense featuring Colby Armstrong, Kris Versteeg, and a healthy Phil Kessel. The Leafs... will... be... very... good.

And I don't think Florida will - or should - ever make the playoffs again. Send that stupid team to Canada already!

Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. Los Angeles Kings
7. Colorado Avalance
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Nashville Predators
10. Edmonton Oilers
11. Calgary Flames
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Anaheim Ducks
14. Minnesota Wild
15. Dallas Stars

Notes: Vancouver should win the division because they have the best goaltending of the top contenders. I mean, I guess Chicago would (with Marty Turco) if I were writing predictions for 2003-04. With Raffi Torres, Manny Malhotra, and Dan Hamhuis, the Canucks improved under-the-radar, but all 3 are great additions.

I think the East is a lot stronger this year. The top 5 teams in the West are good, but all have their flaws. Is Detroit getting too old (and Mike Modano is not an injection of youth)? Does San Jose, LA, or Chicago have the goaltending?

Does LA have the offense? They'll need better years from Dustin Brown and Ryan Smyth and a breakout year from Wayne Simmonds. Alex Ponikarovsky replaces Frolov, but can he?

Edmonton, while not a playoff team yet, is building something with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Magnus Paajarvi. Tom Renney will be great there.

Anaheim must be content being middle-of-the-road. All they did was sign 3 marginally good defenseman (Paul Mara, who I love; Toni Lydman; and Andy Sutton, whose best years are far behind him). Dallas, the same (whose less bad, Kari Lehtonen or Andrew Raycroft?).

Playoffs
Washinton vs. Pittsburgh in the East
Canucks vs. Sharks in the West

Washington vs. Vancouver in the Finals
Washington winning

I know it's cheesy to pick your Conference Winners to play each other in the Finals, but that's why I picked them both #1 I guess. To be honest, I can completely see Vancouver stumbling in the playoffs, but they do have a very good team, and when Alex Burrows is back from injury in early-November, they'll be even better.

Enjoy the season, ladies & gentleman. Here's hoping the Islanders and Rangers both improve, both over last season and from the beginning of this one to the end.

Hart Trophy: Ilya Kovalchuk, NJ
Conn Smythe: Alex Ovechkin, WAS
Norris Trophy: Drew Doughty, LA
Vezina Trophy: Ryan Miller, Roberto Luongo, or Henrik Lundqvist (oh, hell, Martin Brodeur is probably going to be given it anyway)

Setbacks and Opportunities

2010-09-28T18:05:00.002-04:00

The Islanders haven't even played a pre-season game yet, and they already have injury problems.

Mark Streit: Shoulder surgery, out for 6 months.

Kyle Okposo: Shoulder surgery, out for 2 months.

That's 100-120 man games lost to injury, and the season is still two weeks away. Feel free to insert your own joke about how Rick DiPietro's inevitable injury will cause those numbers to skyrocket.

If you're the Islanders, you might think about ratcheting expectations down a little bit. But you can you do that when your ticket prices are at an all-time high? Like it or not, injuries to your two best players don't make it okay to miss the playoffs again. Instead, the Islanders will need players - both the big names and the unknown ones - to step up.

These injuries to Streit and Okposo are devastating, but they also provide a tremendous opportunity to guys like Calvin de Haan, Nino Niederreiter, Travis Hamonic and countless others, including the newly-acquired Mike Mottau. These players now have the chance to step up and make a significant impact on the big club. It's also an opportunity for players like John Tavares and Josh Bailey to take a more active role in the leadership of this club.

Feel free to wallow a bit - after all, a 2010 without Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo is hardly what you expected. But life goes on, and so do the Islanders' playoff chances - and the expectations that they'll be significantly better than the draft lottery. The lost production and leadership of Streit and Okposo has to come from somewhere, and it'll be very interesting and exciting to see who steps up.

Great Expectations

2010-09-23T00:05:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite things about being an Islanders fan is that I've never really been let down by the team. Sure, the team has done plenty to embarrass me and my fellow fans. But the truth is, I've never expected anything from the Islanders. I was born into Islanders fandom, and someday I'll die an Islanders fan. The team has been pretty terrible for virtually my entire life, and that's fine by me. Quite frankly, I'm just happy that the Islanders are still playing on Long Island at this point.

While I'm a devoted fan, I welcome the fact that I generally know what I'm getting with the Islanders, even if it's not the best of results. It's a hell of a lot better than watching the Mets spend a gazillion dollars each off-season, jack ticket prices up in anticipation of a big season, only to have the season end in heartbreak or, in the past two seasons, apathy. And it's a lot better than watching my beloved Jets, lovably pitiful for much of my life, become the league's most hated team and one that leads the league in arrests and penalties. The Islanders don't expose me to these potential pratfalls. As loyal Islanders fans, we know we're going to watch some good games, we know we're going to see some young players develop... and we also know that, come April, we can go ahead and make other plans.

Or can we?

The Islanders released their single-game ticket prices recently, and... well, so much for my plans to take my daughter to her first Islanders game. A decent seat in the 300s will run you anywhere from $65 to $75, and if you want to go down the to the lower bowl, you're looking at upwards of $95. Those seats at the top of the Coliseum, with the aluminum floor that's fun to bang on, but prevents you from seeing the scoreboard? $35 per ticket. That's a lot of money. In fact, the Islanders' prices are quite similar to what the New Jersey Devils charge for their individual game tickets; in the case of premium games, the Islanders actually charge more.

Therein lies the dilemma. The Devils have a right to charge a hefty price for their tickets. They play in a state-of-the-art palace, and they've been to the playoffs in all but one of the past 20 seasons. Yes, they've won just two playoff series since winning the Cup in 2003, but they've also, you know, been consistently very good, to the tune of 95 or more points every year since 1996-97.

To say the Islanders haven't been as successful would be quite the understatement. This is a team that...

- Has been in the lottery for each of the past three years

- Has won two playoff series in the past 23 years

- Has won three playoff games since 2002

- Has only had one player break the 25-goal plateau in the past three years

- Has never even come close to signing a big-name free agent

I could go on forever, but you get the idea. The point is, the Devils have proven that they're worth paying money to see (not that Devils fans would ever show up at games or anything). The Islanders, on the other hand, continue to sell us on the "future", something we've been hearing for fifteen years now. So you'll have to forgive me and many others for our skepticism. You can't substantially raise ticket prices based on what may happen. At some point, there has to be tangible proof that the team has turned the corner.

This is the quandary the Islanders face in 2010-11. For the past three years, Garth Snow has preached patience to the Islanders fanbase. For three years, fans have complied. But now that ticket prices have reached a level comparable with those of perennial Cup contenders, there's a certain expectation that goes with those prices. The draft lottery is not going to get it done this year, not when fans are paying an average of $75 a ticket. The absolute minimum expectation for the New York Islanders has to be the playoffs.

Are the playoffs within the realm of possibility? Absolutely. The Islanders have spent a long time maturing and preparing to make a move, and this very well could be the year it all comes together. But if it's not, the Islanders will have some explaining to do. The fans this year will expect a winner, not yet another rebuilding year - and at the prices the Islanders are charging, the fans are entitled to a significant return on their investment.

Island of Discontent

2010-07-25T23:33:00.001-04:00

It's been nearly five months since I've written a piece for this blog. You can blame burnout, school, kids or anything else for that, but you make time for the things that are important to you. To be perfectly honest, a huge part of the reason why I've been absent is that I grew very sick of the negativity that's rampant on the Internet, in the blogosphere, and in Islanders Country.

Look, I get it. This team has pretty much sucked for the past 25 years. We've had the Easter Epic, the playoff run in 1993, the resurgence in 2002, and that's about it. People are frustrated, and that's fine. But if you're a fan, you support the team unconditionally. So when the Islanders made some moves this summer, it was interesting to gauge the reaction - and, predictably, it wasn't very positive.

What's happened this summer? Let's go back in time.

- At the draft, the Islanders passed on some consensus top guys to draft Nino Niederreiter. Everyone flipped out about how the Islanders should have drafted Cam Fowler. The same Cam Fowler that eleven other teams passed on. So it's possible that the Islanders knew something that one-third of the league also knew. More importantly, approximately 99.9 percent of Islanders fans had never seen Niederreiter or Fowler play. You'd think Islanders fans, who have plenty of experience with prospects, would take a wait-and-see approach. But I guess not.

- The Islanders entered July 1 with some money to spend, but predictably didn't do anything drastic. That is, unless you consider paying Mark Eaton $2.5 million a year to be a third-pair defenseman to be a drastic measure. In any event, Islanders fans flipped out about how the team can never sign anyone, how the team will never be anything but a laughingstock, and how Snow is a terrible GM. And yet, when the possibility of giving Ilya Kovalchuk a $100 million contract arose, those same fans claimed that they didn't want "another Yashin". You can't have it both ways, people.

- This summer, the Islanders released two people that worked behind the scenes - Ryan Jankowski and Bryan Trottier. Both moves were met with considerable scorn from an Islanders fanbase that, quite frankly, has no idea what either of these two men actually did. It's one thing to get mad when the team parts way with a legendary figure, even if , as Gallof says, Trottier's role was largely ceremonial after Charles Wang's much-maligned "business model" was disbanded. The bigger story was Jankowski's departure, which was treated as though Bill Torrey was assassinated during the Cup years. None of us would even be able to spot Jankowski on the street, let alone identify one kid that he personally scouted and drafted. And yet, Islanders Country was apoplectic when Jankowski was let go. Just because Chris Botta says that Ryan Jankowski was an important person doesn't mean fans should cancel their season tickets if he's fired. Again, just another reason for Islanders fans to whine, even if there's no proof that the decision will affect the Islanders in any way.

That brings us to the news of the day - namely, Billy Jaffe's departure from the Islanders and MSG.

Billy Jaffe came to the Islanders in time for the 2006-07 season, after MSG reassigned Joe Micheletti to Rangers broadcasts. Jaffe's first game was a 6-3 drubbing at the hands of Phoenix, a harbinger of things to come. However, despite calling games for a crummy team, Jaffe's enthusiasm never waned. While he was accused of being a little too rah-rah at first, Jaffe's positivity was a welcome voice to a fanbase that was beaten down by constant criticism from other members of the media. In recent years, Jaffe's corny banter with Howie Rose became a reason to watch games, especially when the team wasn't doing much to get fans to tune in.

Jaffe would go on to become something of a rising star in the hockey media world, regularly making appearances on NHL Live and Versus telecasts. When I had the chance to guest edit the incomparable Puck The Media a while back, I spoke of Jaffe's enormous potential, something he's well on his way to fulfilling. Through it all, he remained loyal to the Islanders, always presenting them in a positive light whenever possible. However, the Islanders and MSG did not return that loyalty. But not because of money. Instead, the Islanders thought he wasn't positive enough.

Are you KIDDING? Have the Islanders ever heard Jaffe speak? I've never, EVER heard him say anything that could be considered even remotely negative. And the Islanders said he wasn't positive enough? Please.

Let me tell you something. If you work in a hopeless environment, when you're involved with a subpar product, a minuscule audience and virtually no chance of things improving, it can be very easy to become unhappy. And yet, Billy Jaffe came to work every day for the Islanders full of optimism. He truly believed that the Islanders would become good again one day, and he wanted to be here for it. Unfortunately, the Islanders didn't see it that way.

Now, Jaffe is hardly the first individual to be forced out by MSG for not singing the company line from the mountaintops. In fact, in 2004, MSG dumped Marv Albert from Knicks broadcasts for being too negative. Never mind that those Knicks were absolutely terrible and that Albert had been calling Knicks and Rangers games for MSG for, oh, about 35 years. This isn't to suggest that Jaffe is in the same league as the legendary Albert. Just that when MSG wants someone out, they make sure to eliminate that person.

October will be here soon enough, and life will go on. It's pretty obvious MSG has a hard-on for Butch Goring, and he will be the next announcer for the Islanders. Goring, while an Islanders legend and a nice enough guy, isn't half the announcer Jaffe was. But you know Goring will do whatever it takes to please Islanders management, and that's the guy the Islanders want. The world doesn't want free thinkers with potential, they want yes-men who can be easily manipulated.

And what does this say to the Islanders faithful? It says that they're not important. Fans have acted irrationally for much of the summer and pretty much all of the past few years, but this is one area where they are right to be upset. Quite frankly, after bottom-five finishes in the past three years, the Islanders should be happy that ANYONE is watching games anymore. Why not appease these loyal fans by keeping Billy Jaffe? Anyone who watches knows how much the team sucks, yet they are watching anyway. No need to kiss the asses of these fans, nor is there any need to patronize them. Furthermore, how can we ever trust anything MSG says to us in the future? We now know that Islanders broadcasts will only contain fluff and praise. The Islanders should know that doesn't work in New York.

Long story short, it's been a crazy summer so far, and everyone's to blame for it. Islanders fans have plenty of reason to be upset about the ouster of Billy Jaffe, but they would do well to lighten up about things they don't truly understand. The Islanders need to learn how to handle criticism and be happy that people even give a crap about them. Here's hoping that by the time the next crisis hits Islanders Country, cooler heads will prevail.

Well...

2010-03-17T00:24:00.001-04:00

I showed up at the Garden today for the Rangers/Canadiens game. So did Henrik Lundqvist. It would've been nice if the rest of Rangers could say the same.

Trade Deadline...

2010-03-02T08:44:00.004-05:00

Ah, the NHL Trade Deadline, the time of year Ranger fans hold their breath, hoping for a big upgrade that will send them over the edge.

Please, Mr. Sather, not this year. Save the players. Save the draft pics. History is not on your side

In 2005-06, the Rangers got Sandis Ozolinsh for Ville Nieminen. Technically, Nieminen was moved for a draft pick, and that pick was then traded to Anaheim for Ozolinsh. Sather saw Ozolinsh as a puck-moving defenseman with playoff experience (Finals 3 times, Stanley Cup once). What actually happened was that he was a disaster and cost the Ranger 2 games in the playoffs that year. He was also a drain on the team the next year until they got rid of him.

In 2006-07, they traded Aaron Ward for Paul Mara. Great move. They also traded away Pascal Dupuis, who eventually landed on the Penguins and won the Cup with them.

In 2007-08, needing help on the blueline (once again), they traded a 4th-round pick for Christian Backman. Backman was atrocious offensively as well as defensively, leading many to question why he even started playing hockey in the first place, let alone why someone would draft him or trade for him. The 4th-round pick would have been better being wasted on a player who would never make the NHL.

So far, nothing horrible. However, I see them doing this year what they did last year.

Last year, they traded a 2nd-round pick to Toronto for Nik Antropov, an impending free agent who played decently for them but in reality didn't add much to the team. The team squeaked into the playoffs where he had a goal and 2 assists in 7 games, they got eliminated, and he signed a big deal in Atlanta in the offseason.

They also acquired Derek Morris for fan-favorite Petr Prucha, workhorse Nigel Dawes, and utter disappointment Dmitri Kalinin. Trading Kalinin was great, he was awful and cost more games than he contributed in. However, giving up Prucha and Dawes, both homegrown talent who played hard every game (or for Prucha, every 4th game, when he would dress), was awful to receive a defenseman who was let go after the season.

To be sure, Morris played good and had a great shot from the point, but the Rangers never had intentions of signing him.

Last year, they gave up a 2nd-round pick and two good roster players for rentals that gave them nothing. A 7th place finish in the Eastern Conference, a 3-1 lead on Washington, and losing the last 3 games of the playoffs were the reward.

This year, the Rangers already did a good move. By somehow traded Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins for Brandon Prust and Olli Jokinen, they freed up cap space and improved on offense and in toughness.

Please, stop there.

If Glen Sather must make a move, and we all know he must, please just make an even swap, like Mara-for-Ward. I'm not reacting to rumors, but a good even swap would be Sheldon Souray for Michal Rozsival. An even trade of money and an upgrade of talent. Of course, it's not this easy and would require a sweetened deal, either a pick or a play. Then don't.

It wouldn't even hurt to be a seller at the deadline.

What's going to happen, the same as last year? Trade picks for a rental like Dennis Seidenberg, who isn't going to put the team over the edge? Not good enough.

I'm not saying the Rangers should miss the playoffs. Hell, I want them to make the playoffs. But they're probably going to fizzle out in the first round if they make it. More realistically, they'll end up in 9th or 10th place, miss the playoffs, and get another mid-level pick.

How many draft picks in the 12-18 range can one team accumulate? Even when they were bad, they weren't that bad that they got Top 5 picks, like Washington and Pittsburgh. They were just bad enough to miss the playoffs and get to draft in the middle of the first round. You can't build a team like that, especially when most of your picks get traded at the deadline.

Today and tomorrow, it would be much better to accumulate draft picks and cap space than mid-level players who won't help this team.

In Defense Of Sidney Crosby

2010-03-01T22:13:00.005-05:00

In all my years of watching hockey, I've never seen as polarizing a figure as Sidney Crosby. To casual sports fans, Crosby is the most recognizable name in the NHL. But to hardcore NHL fans, hating on Crosby is a badge of pride. If you're a hockey fan who dares to actually like Crosby, it's tantamount to being a diehard metalhead who happens to also like Nickelback.

Well, screw that, and screw the haters. Because this writer is an unabashed Crosby fan and, in fact, is thrilled that Crosby was the one to score the golden goal. And I'm sick of people constantly ripping on Crosby for stupid reasons. So, then, let's go through the usual arguments against Crosby and point out their fallacies.

He's Good

Yes, Sidney Crosby is a very talented player. He's the biggest star in the league and the captain of the defending Stanley Cup champions. But I don't think people really appreciate just how good Sidney Crosby is. Based on what he's accomplished so far in his young career, he's the best player to come along since Wayne Gretzky.

Let's go over Crosby's impressive resume...

- Crosby came to a team that finished 30th out of 30 teams before the lockout. Despite playing on a horrible 2005-06 Penguins team that saw Mario Lemieux retire after 26 games, Crosby finished sixth in the league in scoring. His 102 points were 44 more than the 58 points recorded by Sergei Gonchar, who finished second on the team, and Crosby's 110 penalty minutes showed he wasn't afraid to get his nose dirty.

- In 2006-07, Crosby took both the Hart and Art Ross trophies and led the Penguins to a 47-point improvement, which saw Pittsburgh make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

- The 2007-08 season saw Crosby engage in his first career fight, score the winning goal in the first Winter Classic and make a Cup Final appearance.

- In 2008-09, 21-year-old Sidney Crosby became the youngest captain to hoist the Stanley Cup.

- Last night, Crosby scored the goal that gave Canada an Olympic gold medal.

Sidney Crosby turns 23 in August. So far, in his four-plus years as a professional, he has won a Stanley Cup, a Hart Trophy, an Art Ross Trophy, and an Olympic gold medal. That's pretty good. What's crazy is, he's getting better. Crosby's ceiling is absolutely limitless, especially if Ray Shero can keep the Penguins' nucleus together.

He's A Whiner

Fun fact about players who wear the C. Along with alternate captains, they're technically the only players who are allowed to talk to referees. It's Crosby's job to call refs out on missed calls, to let the refs know what's going on behind the play, and to generally represent his team. This is what captains do. Yet, Crosby is pegged as a complainer. So was Gretzky in his day.

What's the difference? Gretzky played in an era where anytime he was getting the business from opponents, he could count on Dave Semenko or Marty McSorley to take someone out. In today's NHL, enforcers don't really exist. It's up to Crosby to defend himself; to Crosby's credit, he has shown a willingness to drop the gloves on occasion, something Gretzky never did. In any event, Crosby can't rely on enforcers to do his dirty work, so he has to work with the refs to draw power plays for his team. Again, right in line with the duties of a captain.

Yes, there is a bit of petulance associated with Crosby's game. Islanders fans may recall a recent game in which Crosby took a shot well after the whistle with the pure intent of drawing the ire of his opponents. But is this the worst thing in the world? At least he's showing emotion - doesn't everyone love Ovechkin for showing emotion? The same people who bash Crosby for jawing at opponents are the same people who praise the ability of players like Chris Pronger to "get under their opponents' skin", even when their methods are deplorable at best.

He Gets Way Too Much Play With The Media

Okay, this is a legitimate gripe. From the moment Gretzky proclaimed Crosby as the player who could one day break his records, the media has been hyping Crosby as the next Gretzky. In fact, a legion of NHL fans - this writer included - thought the NHL would fix the 2005 draft lottery so that the Rangers would get the first overall pick, thereby ensuring Crosby would land in a major media market. Alas, it never happened, but that hasn't stopped NBC and Versus from showcasing Crosby and his Penguins at every opportunity. Understandably, this has resulted in some resentment on the part of diehard hockey fans.

However, there are some flaws in this argument. First, Alexander Ovechkin gets just as much praise from the media as Crosby, if not more so. Yes, there's more of a sense that the media defends Crosby more than they do Ovechkin, but the fact remains that they're the NHL's two biggest stars and dwarf all other players in terms of exposure and recognition from the mainstream. If people are sick of hearing about Crosby, shouldn't they also be sick of hearing about Ovechkin? Theoretically, yes, but it's not the case. It's true that Ovechkin is more naturally charismatic than Crosby and has done more to embrace the spotlight than the relatively bland Crosby. Does that make it okay to love Ovechkin and hate Crosby? I don't think so.

Also, there's this - Crosby has earned all of his accolades by being a tremendous player and, more than that, a winner. The praise heaped upon Crosby is deserved. He literally turned the Penguins from the worst team in the league - and a team that was certain to move out of Pittsburgh - into Stanley Cup champions in just four seasons. Compare the media's treatment of Crosby to that of Brett Favre, and you see how much worse it could be.

He Scored The Game-Winner Against The United States

To hear American fans talk, Crosby personally offended every single American by beating Ryan Miller in overtime. People are talking like hockey made big strides in America over the past two weeks, but it's not really true. For most Americans, the Winter Olympics were something to do between football and baseball seasons, and since hockey is the biggest sport of the Winter Olympics, it was easy to get interested. Now that the Olympics are over, ESPN will go back to pretending hockey doesn't exist and everyone else will follow suit. The gold medal game might have been on the front cover of the New York papers today, but the second Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter occupy the same room in Spring Training, the New York media will forget all about hockey.

The gold medal game was watched by 33 percent of the United States. I'll admit, this is a huge number, especially in today's modern era of hundreds of cable channels. Unfortunately, 33 percent does not compare to the scene in Canada, where 80 percent of the country watched the game. Yesterday's game was the most-watched telecast in the history of Canadian television. While the United States wanted their team to win yesterday, Canada needed to win.

Put it this way. If a US player had scored in overtime yesterday, he would have been remembered by most Americans in a light similar to Michael Phelps or Apolo Anton Ohno - someone to be celebrated today and forgotten tomorrow. Crosby, on the other hand, will be up there with Paul Henderson in the '72 Summit Series and Mario Lemieux in the '87 Canada Cup. In short, Crosby will always be a hero in Canada, much to the consternation of his American detractors. Is it Crosby's fault his country is so fanatical about the game they invented? Absolutely not. So why hold it against him?

In the end, the point is this. Sidney Crosby is, at a very age, putting together one of the most impressive careers in NHL history. He's already secured hero status in both Pittsburgh and Canada. He's set the league on fire at an age where most players are just starting to put it together. Unfortunately, his accomplishments are constantly being undermined by a petulant group of hockey fans who, quite frankly, are too jealous of Crosby to appreciate him.

Personally, I think the Internet has a lot to do with the general attitude towards Crosby. I never thought much of people who say that the blogosphere is a cauldron of negativity, but when it comes to Crosby, I see their point. Here's this great player, perhaps the best of a very exciting generation of NHL stars, and yet everyone would rather point out his flaws than celebrate his ability. I understand that the NHL needs villains, but the hatred of Crosby is completely irrational. Maybe fans hate Crosby because he's the mainstream face of the NHL, while Ovechkin is the preferred face of hardcore, counter-culture NHL fans. Even so, do NBA fans constantly hate on LeBron James? Of course not.

It's odd when you feel as though you have to defend yourself for being a fan of one of hockey's biggest stars. But for myself and other Sidney Crosby fans, that's the boat we find ourselves in. We don't want to feel like we're supporting the likes of Nickelback. We just wish the hockey world would stop being so critical of the game's elite players. If people don't like him, fine, but sometimes it seems like Crosby doesn't even have the respect of hockey fans. For everything he's accomplished so far in his career, that's just wrong.

Mock Draft: 2003...

2010-02-26T13:19:00.009-05:00

Ah, the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, arguably the deepest since 1990, when the top 5 were Owen Nolan, Petr Nedved, Keith Primeau, Mike Ricci, and Jaromir Jagr (also in the 1st round: Darryl Sydor at 7, Derian Hatcher at 8, Brad May at 14, Keith Tkachuk at 19, Martin Brodeur at 20, Bryan Smolinksi at 21).

And of course, we know what the Rangers and Islanders did. Hugh Jessiman at 12th overall, the only player in the ’03 Draft to never play an NHL game. Robert Nilsson at 15th overall, who wasn’t even a great player before he was drafted, and certainly isn’t now in Edmonton.

Let’s take a look back at that draft and see the spots players should have gone in hindsight, and who was actually taken there.

I pretended that Draft Day trades never happened. For instance, Pittsburgh actually traded up to #1 (from #3) because they wanted to draft the same goalie that Carolina wanted to draft. In my world, Florida still picked 1st, and the Penguins went 3rd overall.

Consider this a Mock Draft, 6 and a half years later...

#1, Florida, Dion Phaneuf
(Went 9th to Calgary)
Actual Selection: Marc-Andre Fleury, by Pittsburgh
The Penguins and Hurricanes both wanted Fleury, so Pittsburgh traded with Florida, who was set in the goalie position with Roberto Luongo. They took Fleury, and won their Stanley Cup 6 seasons later, so you can’t fault them, but Phaneuf is the biggest difference-maker in the whole 2003 NHL Draft.

#2, Carolina, Zach Parise
(17, New Jersey)
Actual Selection: Eric Staal
Carolina also won a Stanley Cup during Staal’s incredible rookie year, and he is going to be good for a decade, but Parise is more of a game-breaker, just a notch under Phaneuf in terms of being able to decide a game.

#3, Pittsburgh, Ryan Getzlaf
(19, Anaheim)
Actual Selection: Nathan Horton by Florida
Florida saw huge things in Horton, who had good numbers in the OHL along with a mean streak. Getzlaf’s numbers were slightly less than Horton’s, but he has proven to be a solid NHL player while Horton is constantly rumored to be traded.

#4, Columbus, Eric Staal
(2, Carolina)
Actual Selection: Nikolai Zherdev
You can’t blame Columbus for picking Zherdev. He had - and still has - incredible talent, but no one in North America has been able to tap into it, and he’s now home in Russia.

#5, Buffalo, Marc-Andre Fleury
(1, Pittsburgh)
Actual Selection: Thomas Vanek
Vanek is a very good player who has been wildly inconsistent, but if he can play every year like he did in 2006-07 (43-41-84) he can live up to his 5th overall selection.

#6, San Jose, Thomas Vanek
(5, Buffalo)
Actual Selection: Milan Michalek
It’s hard to see what the Sharks saw in Michalek, a player who scored a total of 9 goals in two seasons before being drafted ahead of Parise and Getzlaf. In a perfect world, they would have gotten Vanek instead.

#7, Nashville, Corey Perry
(28, Anaheim)
Actual Selection: Ryan Suter
Suter is good, for sure. At the time, Nashville needed defensive help, but to be honest, they needed all the help they could’ve gotten. Perry satisfies a lot of needs - great offensive skill and a lot of grit, both of which make him invaluable on the power play.

#8, Atlanta, Shea Weber
(49, Nashville)
Actual Selection: Bradyon Coburn
Coburn is good and has great potential - not that Atlanta would know, seeing as he was traded straight up for aging Alexei Zhitnik in 2007. Fact is though, after Phaneuf, Weber was the best defenseman in this draft. Nashville did great in selecting both him and Suter, though they drafted Suter first.

#9, Calgary, Nikolai Zherdev
(4, Columbus)
Actual Selection: Phaneuf
The Flames stole Phaneuf here. Think Columbus would have liked that pick back? Zherdev, though, is still an immense talent, like I said 5 spots earlier. He has incredible skill, and it’s a shame it never got put to use in the NHL.

#10, Montreal, Mike Richards
(24, Philadelphia)
Actual Selection: Andrei Kostitsyn
Kostitsyn will never warrant being a Top 10 pick, while Richards quickly went from unknown player to captain of the Flyers. As with Nashville and Shea Weber, Richards wasn’t even Philadelphia’s first pick of the Draft.

#11, Philadelphia, Brent Seabrook
(14, Chicago)
Actual Selection: Jeff Carter
Philadelphia had previously received Phoenix’s 1st round pick during the season, and took Carter. Can you imagine how dangerous the Flyers would be on the blueline if they had Seabrook back there? Carter is a good player, no doubt, and he scored 46 goals last year and might hit 40 this year, but Seabrook is still improving while it seems Carter might have already hit his peak.

#12, New York Rangers, Braydon Coburn
(8, Atlanta)
Actual Selection: Hugh Jessiman
A note to future GMs: Don’t pick a player because he’s from nearby and grew up a fan of your team. Hugh Freakin’ Jessiman? This guy is the laughingstock of this draft, while Coburn is quickly becoming a great defenseman. Plus, with Coburn, the Rangers wouldn’t have needed to sign Wade Redden, right?

In actuality, the Rangers over-drafted Jessiman. He was supposed to be a power forward in the John LeClair mold who was predicted to go in the late 1st round. The Rangers drafted him this high because they wanted a local guy, but it just never panned out.

#13, Brent Burns, LA
(20, Minnesota)
Actual Selection: Dustin Brown
I can’t possibly blame LA for drafting Brown, a hard-hitting, American-born RW who is one of my favorite non-Ranger players in the league. And people might tell me that Burns is overrated, but I’m very high on him and I think given the right team (a.k.a., not Minnesota), Burns can light this league up.

#14, Chicago, Jaroslav Halak
(271, Montreal)
Actual Selection: Seabrook
Chicago lucked out by still having Seabrook on board. In fact, they had a very good draft. But who let Halak slip to the 9th round?

#15, New York Islanders, Patrice Bergeron
(45, Boston)
Actual Selection: Robert Nilsson
Nilsson had a half-decent year the year he was drafted, yet stunk the next year, and the next, and the next. His biggest contribution to the Islanders was being traded away as part of the Ryan Smyth deal in ’07. Bergeron’s biggest contribution to Boston: 73 points in ‘05-’06 and 70 the next year before almost breaking his neck the next season. He would look good centering the 2nd line for the Islanders, no?

#16, Boston, Dustin Brown
(13, LA)
Actual Selection: Steve Bernier, San Jose
San Jose traded up to take Bernier, who had lit up the junior leagues. His transition to the NHL hasn’t been smooth though, and he is now on the 3rd line on his 3rd team, nowhere near a first-round pick.

#17, Edmonton, Joe Pavelski
(205, San Jose)
Actual Selection: Zach Parise, New Jersey
The Devils jumped at the opportunity to draft Parise after the Rangers, Islanders, and everyone else skipped by him. Funny thing is, Pavelski actually had better numbers in the season prior to being drafted than Parise did, yet he was in the obscure USHL (Parise played in the NCAA) and fell to #205. Looking back, both Pavelski and Parise were great steals.

#18, Washington, Dustin Byfuglien
(245, Chicago)
Actual Selection: Eric Fehr
Byfuglien was an offensive-defenseman in juniors who transitioned very nicely to the NHL game and now plays both D and RW. Fehr was a low-scoring playing in juniors who actually had 2 great years after he was drafted, 50 and 59 goals. He’s been on the back burner in Washington though, and it’s clear he won’t ever be a Top 6 forward on a team that features Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, and Nick Backstrom.

#19, Anaheim, Nathan Horton
(3, Florida)
Actual Selection: Ryan Getzlaf
A great late pick by Anaheim, getting someone who was Top 5 in this draft. Horton played in Oshawa in the OHL and scored 68 points in his draft year, 3rd on the team (oddly enough, #1 was never drafted and #2 went in the 4th round). Makes you wonder what stood out about Horton, who has turned into a good player but nowhere close to a 3rd overall selection.

#20, Minnesota, David Backes
(62, St. Louis
Actual Selection: Brent Burns
A good selection by Burns, though he is probably not fit for the way the Wild play. The Blues saw something in Backes and traded up to 62 to get him, and he’s worked out well. He’s a talented player who can hit, score, and fight. What more can you want?

#21, San Jose, Tobias Enstrom
(239, Atlanta)
Actual Selection: Mark Stuart, Boston
San Jose traded up with Boston to take Steve Bernier while Boston took Stuart here, who wasn’t extremely talented in the USHL or NCAA, and still isn’t in the NHL. He has played 2 full seasons as a Bruin, scoring a total of 25 points in those games. He’ll never be worthy of a 1st round pick, especially when Sweden’s Enstrom was available, though Enstrom didn’t blossom until a few years later.

#22, New Jersey, Jeff Carter
(11, Philadelphia)
Actual Selection: Marc-Antoine Pouliot
Carter went 11th and has had a few good seasons and can definitely score. The Oilers traded down (New Jersey leapt up to take Parise) and took Pouliot, who had a great couple of years in the QMJHL, but has never done it on a professional level. He lights up the AHL when he is down there, but can’t keep up in the NHL.

#23, Vancouver, Ryan Suter
(7, Nashville)
Actual Selection: Ryan Kesler
Kesler is a hard-working player but he probably will never play top-line minutes or score top-line points. Suter is a very good defenseman for Nashville, but he could have been drafted lower than 7th.

#24, Philadelphia, Loui Eriksson
(33, Dallas)
Actual Selection: Mike Richards
The Flyers stole Richards here. He quickly became a force for them - and their captain. Eriksson fell to the 2nd round, though he had better numbers than Horton, Jessiman, and Nilsson.

#25, Tampa Bay, Bernier
(16, San Jose)
Actual Selection: Anthony Stewart, Florida
Florida traded two 2nd round picks and a 6th to Tampa to take Stewart before anyone else did. After all, he was a hard-hitting RW with good offensive skill who was highly-touted. It just hasn’t worked for him in the NHL, as he has 12 points in 105 games and seems destined for a career in the minors.

#26, Maxim Lapierre, LA
(61, Montreal)
Actual Selection: Brian Boyle
LA had 3 picks in the 1st round here, and Boyle was their 2nd. A Ranger now, he was a great high school player when he was drafted. Lapierre was drafted by his hometown Canadiens and adds grit as a 4th liner with great potential should he ever be moved to the 2nd line. He is a Sean Avery type player, and while Boyle is a decent player who is a good penalty killer, Lapierre is a better choice here.

#27, Kyle Quincey, LA
(132, Detroit)
Actual Selection: Jeff Tambellini
Funny enough, the Kings had Quincey for 1 season, he played great, and was traded in part of the Ryan Smyth deal. He’s a solid defenseman with good upside, while Tambellini, well, Islander fans know. He’s a good player who can’t connect in the NHL but puts up great numbers in the AHL.

#28, Dallas, Brian Elliot
(291, Ottawa)
Actual Selection: Corey Perry, Anaheim
Seeing Perry still on the board, the Ducks jumped up and took him, and he rewarded them handsomely. Elliot was the 2nd to last pick in the draft, and while it has taken him a while to find himself, he has a good future as a starter in the NHL.

#29, Nigel Dawes, Ottawa
(149, Rangers)
Actual Selection: Patrick Eaves
Dawes is a speedy forward with a good shot, who, if given the chance, can be a Top 6 forward. He never got that chance in New York. Eaves was offensive at Boston College, but has found a spot on NHL rosters as a 3rd/4th liner. He’ll chip in 5-10 goals a year but you can never say that he was worth going 29th overall.

#30, St. Louis, Patrick O’Sullivan
(56, Minnesota)
Actual Selection: Shawn Belle
Belle was a curious selection - he was a stay-at-home defenseman who could have been picked later in the draft. He has played 11 career games in the NHL and now is in Montreal’s farm system. O’Sullivan could have been a Top 10 pick but his well-documented family troubles (a very abusive father who he filed a restraining order against) steered teams away from him. The Wild took him 56th overall, a value selection at that point. He had one good year with LA and now is in Edmonton, where he is struggling, but so is the team. Given the right situation, O’Sullivan can still do damage in this league.

NYI Top Post-Lockout Moments #5-1

2010-02-25T00:24:00.006-05:00

The conclusion to the Islanders' portion of the best post-lockout moments. Here's what we've done so far, followed by the top five.

20) Sound Tigers games at Nassau Coliseum

19) Fan response to the Kansas City exhibition game

18) First Islanders-Rangers game after the lockout

17) Rick DiPietro starts All-Star Game

16) Ryan Smyth trade

15) Road wins in Chicago and Detroit

14) Preseason brawl between Islanders and rangers

13) Opening Night 2009

12) Veteran purge of 2009

11) Hiring of Neil Smith and Ted Nolan

10) Hiring of Garth Snow

9) Signing of Mark Streit

8) Hiring of Scott Gordon

7) Al Arbour Night

6) Islanders win draft lottery

5) Meet Me At The Lighthouse

September 28, 2004

While Nassau Coliseum has always had a certain charm in the eyes of Islanders fans, nobody can deny that the Islanders have been in dire need of a new arena for some time. The Coliseum was literally falling apart as the 1990s concluded; a leaky roof and a falling scoreboard signified the need to replace the building that was derisively known as the "Mausoleum".

When Charles Wang purchased the Islanders in 2000-01, he spent significant money to upgrade the Coliseum. The leaky roofs stopped, new scoreboards were unveiled, and the fan exerience was significantly upgraded from "horrible" to "decent". However, as Wang knows, there is only so much polish you can put on a decaying building.

Wang's introduction of the Lighthouse in 2004 blew Islanders fans away. The massive Coliseum parking lot would give way to a ton of urban development. No longer would Islanders fans be stuck leaving the Coliseum with nothing to do after a game. Best of all, the actual Coliseum, the building that has seen countless great moments and could still on occasion be one of the NHL's loudest, wasn't going to be replaced. Instead, heavy renovation over the course of a few summers would bring the Coliseum into the 21st century.

As we all know, it wasn't quite as easy as Wang predicted. Before long, the initial Lighthouse proposal - which included physically lowering Hempstead Turnpike - was scaled down somewhat, and then the entire Lighthouse Project became the subject of intense political debate on Long Island. Today, it's highly unlikely that the Lighthouse will ever be built.

So, then, why is the unveiling of the Lighthouse a significant moment in Islanders history? Simply put, it was the moment when the Islanders refused to stand pat in a second-rate building. Either the Town of Hempstead was going to embrace its team, or the Islanders would go someplace where they would be welcome. The conjecture that has accompanied the Lighthouse is truly unfortunate. But at least Charles Wang has attempted to move this team into the state-of-the-art facility they deserve; it certainly is not his fault that politics have destroyed his vision and, potentially, the future of the Islanders on Long Island.

4) Islanders Buy Out Alexei Yashin

June 6, 2007

The Alexei Yashin era on Long Island began with a great deal of promise. While some were skeptical of the ten-year, $90 million contract Yashin signed in September 2001, nobody said a word when Yashin recorded 32 goals and 75 points (outstanding totals in the Dead Puck Era) and led the Islanders to the playoffs for the first time in four years. Yashin won fans over through his stellar play and star power, and he went even further to endear himself to the Islanders faithful by breaking Tomas Kloucek's nose in a fight at MSG in 2002. Though the Islanders would lose to the Maple Leafs in the 2002 playoffs, Yashin's seven points in seven games silenced the critics who claimed that Yashin was not a playoff performer.

Sadly, the 2001-02 season was the pinnacle of Yashin's tenure with the Islanders. 2002-03 saw Yashin get off to an inexplicably horrible start that saw him booed at the Coliseum routinely. He recovered in time to have a decent second half and playoff, but the Islanders could only muster the eight seed and a loss to Ottawa. The next year, Yashin, who had only missed five non-holdout NHL games since 1997, suffered an arm laceration and missed half the season.

After the lockout, Yashin was named captain of the Islanders and finally received the scoring winger fans wished for in Miroslav Satan. However, Yashin had difficulty adjusting to the new NHL, as his 66 points and 68 penalty minutes would attest. The 2006 offseason saw much speculation about Yashin's future with the Islanders. Reports stated that Yashin would have to make a difference in 2006-07 or risk being bought out. Yashin began 2006-07 on fire, but would soon suffer a knee injury, one from which coach Ted Nolan was in absolutely no rush to bring Yashin back. The combination of the knee injury, rust, and Yashin being thrown into a playoff race just after coming back from the injury meant that Yashin was ineffective down the stretch. He went pointless in five playof games, and the writing was on the wall.

Even after the 24 percent rollback on salaries, Yashin was making far too much money for far too little production. The Islanders had very little difficulty buying him out in the summer of 2007, bringing in Bill Guerin to replace Yashin as captain. Sadly, the lesson about big contracts had not been learned by Charles Wang, as Rick DiPietro had signed at 15-year contract with the club just one year before Yashin's buyout. However, the fallout from Yashin's huge contract has prevented the Islanders from ever giving a free agent a big contract. Yashin's contract has become a textbook example of how putting all a team's eggs in one basket and not accounting for the future - namely, the revised CBA - can destroy a team's future. Eliminating Yashin was the only way the Islanders could ever truly rebuild, and his excision meant a new era was about to begin on Long Island.

3) Mike Milbury Resigns

January 12, 2006

Believe it or not, there was once a time when Islanders fans didn't hate Mike Milbury. Of course, that time was about fifteen years ago, but it still existed. At that point, Milbury had just been named the Islanders' general manager, and he was sitting on a goldmine of talent. Bryan McCabe, Zigmund Palffy and Todd Bertuzzi started 1995-96 with the Islanders, a season in which Milbury was able to turn Wendel Clark and Kirk Muller into Kenny Jonsson. Yeah, Eric Fichaud didn't exactly pan out, but that wasn't Milbury's fault.

You could even argue that Milbury wasn't to blame for the Islanders' late 90s purge. In fact, in the eyes of this writer, Milbury's reign doesn't even begin to compare to that of former Knicks GM Isiah Thomas in terms of incompetence. At least Milbury had a reason to sell off the young talent that came through the Islanders organization. Small consolation, of course. But Milbury had to do what he had to do in order to save his job.

However, the deal that ultimately killed Milbury was the Roberto Luongo trade. Luongo, as you may recall, was drafted by Milbury in 1997; in fact, Milbury made Luongo the highest-picked goalie ever at that point in time. Luongo was a certain star in the team's future; however, Milbury saw it appropriate to trade Luongo (and then-bust Olli Jokinen, who was acquired for Palffy) for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. Milbury then took Rick DiPietro with the first pick, passing up the opportunity to select Marian Gaborik and Dany Heatley. History has not looked kindly on this trade, and with good reason. Luongo has become arguably the game's best goaltender, while DiPietro, for all of his charisma and natural likeability, has only made it through one full season as starter injury-free. For better or worse, Milbury's tenure will always be judged by DiPietro's career, particularly in relation to that of Luongo.

Milbury finally got the Islanders into the playoffs in 2001-02, thanks to his trades for Michael Peca and Alexei Yashin. (It's interesting to wonder what would have happened if Milbury landed his initial target, Jason Allison, instead of Yashin. For all of Yashin's faults, at least he wasn't made of glass like Allison proved to be.) However, once Milbury got his playoff team, he seemed to get trigger-shy, not doing a whole lot to improve his team. If anything, Milbury hurt the Islanders after the '02 playoffs through a series of blunders, such as waiving Jason Wiemer, trading Chris Osgood for uber-bust Justin Papineau and unceremoniously dumping fan favorites Steve Webb and Claude Lapointe. Let's not even discuss his decision to draft Robert Nilsson over Zach Parise.

Milbury attempted to bring the Islanders into the "new NHL" after the lockout by, among other things. trading Peca for Mike York. Milbury was correct in that Peca wouldn't cut it with the new rules, but unfortunately, neither would York. Signings like Brent Sopel and Alexei Zhitnik were hardly effective, and it was decided that the Islanders needed a new start. That start had to come without Mike Milbury.

There's still some debate over whether Milbury actually resigned on his own or if he was fired by Charles Wang. In any event, Milbury was the ultimate sign of the Islanders' failures in the late 1990s. In order for the Islanders to reinvent themselves in the new NHL, they would have to sever ties with the man many credit with making the team a laughingstock. Unfortunately, their handling of their next GM would only enhance that image, but the Islanders did get their fresh start by parting ways with Milbury.

2) Easter Epic, Part II

Continental Airlines Arena - April 8, 2007

As April 2007 began, the Islanders were on the outside looking in. The playoffs seemed a remote possibility at best. After all, they were behind both Montreal and Toronto and Rick DiPietro was hurt, leaving the Islanders with the craptastic Mike Dunham and little-known Wade Dubielewicz. Dunham, not surprisingly, wasn't up to carrying the team on his shoulders, leaving Dubielewicz with a seemingly impossible task.

On April 3, Dubielewicz stole the show in a 3-2 shootout win against the Rangers. Dubielewicz stopped Brendan Shanahan, Michael Nylander and Jaromir Jagr in the shootout; however, the win didn't do all that much for the Islanders in the standings. With three games left, they were four points behind Montreal and three points behind Toronto, who were the Islanders' next opponents two nights later. The Isles were able to prevail in that matchup, steamrolling the Leafs 5-2 in a game that saw Jason Blake score his 40th goal of the season. That set the stage for an unforgettable weekend.

That Saturday, April 7, the Islanders faced the Flyers at the same time as the Canadiens faced the Maple Leafs. If the Islanders lost, they'd be out. If Montreal beat Toronto, the Islanders would be out. If the Islanders and Leafs won, the Islanders would set themselves up for a win-and-in game the next day in New Jersey. Remarkably, that's exactly what happened. In the Isles' game against the then-hapless Flyers, Dubielewicz was once again the game's first star; meanwhile, Toronto beat Montreal in a wild 6-5 affair, knowing that they'd qualify for the playoffs if the Islanders lost to the Devils.

The Islanders played one Easter Epic in 1987. Twenty years later, they were about to play in another.

The Islanders caught a huge break when the Devils elected to start Scott Clemmensen over Martin Brodeur, a decision that would cause much consternation in Toronto. Since the game meant very little to the Devils and so much to the Islanders, many Islanders fans made the trip to New Jersey and made the Isles feel at home. It worked. In front of a pro-Islanders crowd, the Islanders led 2-0 in the third period thanks to a pair of Richard Park goals. However, as is customary for the Islanders, it wouldn't be this easy. John Madden scored with about four minutes left to set up the game's frantic finale.

The Devils pulled Clemmensen to get an extra skater and were unleashing heavy artillery on Dubielewicz. With seconds left, a scramble in front of the net resulted in Madden finding a loose puck. Madden fired the puck over a sprawled out Dubielewicz with just 0.7 seconds left in the game to send it into overtime. Billy Jaffe's screams of "No!!!" as the Devils celebrated perfectly summed up the feelings of Islanders fans. To be so close, only to literally lose it in the final second... this team of scrappers and grinders deserved better.

Ultimately, the game ended the way we all knew a season would eventually end - in a shootout. The segment of the game which was derisively called by some as a "skills competition" would determine whether the Islanders would be playing playoff hockey or golf that week. That the game reached a shootout would only serve to further infuriate Leafs fans, who already thought the Islanders had a huge advantage in not having to face Brodeur.

The first three shots in the shootout were all goals. Miroslav Satan and Viktor Kozlov for the Islanders, Zach Parise for the Devils. After Brian Gionta missed for the Devils, deadline acquisition Ryan Smyth had the opportunity to send his new team into the playoffs with a goal. Of course, Smyth couldn't convert. It was only fitting that it came down to Wade Dubielewicz, the breakout star of the Islanders' past week. If Dubielewicz could stop Sergei Brylin, the Islanders would be in the playoffs. And when Dubielewicz unleashed the poke check that stopped Brylin, it was total euphoria.

As the Islanders celebrated another Easter miracle, it was hard not to think about the events of the prior summer. The hiring of Neil Smith, the firing of Neil Smith, the hiring of Ted Nolan, the hiring of Garth Snow, the much-maligned Rick DiPietro contract, the widespread predictions of a 30th place finish for the Islanders... it all came to a head at that moment. The 2006-07 Islanders were comprised largely of veteran players on one-year contracts, virtually all of them with something to prove. They were a blood-and-guts group, one that would only win by outworking their opponents. For the final week of the season, that's exactly what they did, and it resulted in an unlikely - and unforgettable - playoff berth.

1) Islanders Draft John Tavares

Bell Center/Nassau Coliseum - June 26, 2009

It would be a gross understatement to say that the Islanders have had trouble attracting star talent over the past 20 years. Since Pat LaFontaine was traded in 1991, there hasn't been a true superstar on the Islanders. Pierre Turgeon, the player the Islanders received for LaFontaine, was a great player, but he didn't capture the heart of Long Island the way LaFontaine did. Furthermore, he was only here for a few years, and to be quite honest, he was never the same after the Dale Hunter hit. Zigmund Palffy was another great scorer, but playing on some horrifically awful Islanders teams in the late 1990s, he never reached true superstar status. Alexei Yashin was paid like a superstar, but didn't always produce like one. Add the built-in strikes against the Islanders - crummy, half-filled arena, no money, historically bad team - and it's easy to see why the Islanders have only had three players to even approach LaFontaine's status.

When the Islanders had the opportunity to select from John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, fans naturally gravitated to Tavares. First, and foremost, he was the biggest name of the 2009 class. He was the best scorer, he had the most hype, and he definitely had that "superstar" aura about him. In short, he was the type of player that the Islanders, even if they threw their entire salary cap at him, would never be able to sign. More than any of that, though, Tavares went out of his way to endear himself to Islanders fans. While the Toronto media was trying to convince the world that Tavares would refuse to play for the Islanders, Tavares took the initiative and told Chris Botta that he hoped the Islanders would pick him because he wanted to play for the Islanders. Tavares would repeat this message to anyone who would listen and would display not only a genuine desire to help turn the Islanders around, but also a true appreciation and knowledge of Islanders history. It didn't take long for Islanders fans to go from enamored by Tavares to being absolutely smitten by him.

As the draft approached, Garth Snow refused to give even the slightest inclination as to who he might select with the first overall pick. In doing so, Snow proved he belonged in the general manager role. He also managed to infuriate the Islanders' entire fanbase, virtually all of which was salivating over Tavares. Most fans wouldn't have been too upset if the pick was Hedman or Duchene; after all, both were considered franchise players in their own right. But the guy the fans really wanted was Tavares, as was evidenced by fans wearing his jersey before the Islanders even drafted him.

When June 26 finally rolled around, Islanders fans could be best described as basketcases. The reports in the media that the Islanders were taking Matt Duchene didn't exactly help things. Trivial items such as which nameplates were in stock at the Islanders draft party became headline news in Islander Country. Many were calling this the biggest draft pick in franchise history, and it would be hard to disagree. Nowhere was this sentiment more true than at the Coliseum itself on draft night.

On a Friday night in late June, the Coliseum was packed. There were more people at the Coliseum to watch a crappy feed of TSN on the Jumbotron than there were for most games in the 2008-09 season. The Coliseum floor was abuzz with rumors and anticipation for what was to come. And if there was any doubt as to who the people's choice was, TSN's open to the draft clarified the fans' position. Every mention and camera shot of either Duchene or Hedman was met with loud boos, while all things Tavares were cheered wildly.

As Garth Snow approached the podium in Montreal, all of Long Island held its collective breath. And when he said John Tavares' name, it's hard to tell what the prevalent emotion was at the Coliseum. It was a mixture of exhilaration, relief and excitement all at once. To think that Islanders fans could be so impacted by this decision about a player most fans had never even seen play showed how much people truly cared about the Islanders. For better or worse, they had labeled Tavares as their savior, the one player who could bring credibility to the Islanders... and finally, they had him.

On a night when the Coliseum rocked like it hadn't rocked since the Isles-Leafs series of 2002, there was so much to celebrate. Yes, it was nice to know that the Islanders didn't screw up a perfect situation. But with Tavares and the promise of the Lighthouse at some point in the future, it felt like the Islanders were reborn. As it turns out, the Lighthouse Project has taken a turn for the worse, but Tavares has been as good as advertised. And when you consider that the Islanders never would have signed Matt Moulson if not for Tavares, Snow's decision effectively added about 50 goals to the Islanders' 2009-10 total, with many more to come in the future from both players.

NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #5-1...

2010-02-24T03:05:00.007-05:00

And here we are, my personal Top 5 Post-Lockout Moments for the New York Rangers. To recap, this is how we got here...

20) Rangers score 3 goals in 90 seconds, beat Devils.
19) Comebacks against Ottawa and Montreal.
18) Dom Moore scores from behind the net on Roberto Luongo.
17) Sean Avery's 4 point night against Dallas.
16) Scott Gomez traded; Marian Gaborik signed.
15) Mark Messier Night; Jaromir Jagr scores in overtime.
14) Brian Leetch announces Adam Graves Night.
13) Jagr scores 29 seconds into the '06-'07 season.
12) Henrik Lundqvist robs Marc Savard.
11) Michael Nylander's hat trick in the playoffs.
10) Rangers win their first game after the Lockout.
9) Brendan Shanahan fights Donald Brashear.
8) Marek Malik's shootout goal; Jason Strudwick also scores.
7) Jed Ortmeyer's penalty shot.
6) Brian Leetch's only game at MSG as an opponent.

5) Game 3 vs. Buffalo / Game 4 vs. Buffalo
MSG - April 29, 2007 & May 1, 2007
With the Rangers down 2-0 in a series against the NHL’s best team (53 wins, 113 points), did the Rangers need a miracle to get back into it?

No, they just needed some defense. They were up, if you remember, 2-1 in Game 2, but lost it in the 3rd period.

In Game 3, Jagr gave them a 1-0 lead but Danny Briere tied it late in the 3rd. The Rangers and Sabres then played into double overtime before Jagr passed to Michal Nylander who passed it to Michal Rozsival, who actually shot the puck. He rocketed one off the post and past Ryan Miller to give the Rangers a thrilling win - and another chance.

Earlier in Game 3, Karel Rachunek had a goal waved off for using a “distinct kicking motion” which, replays showed, was complete garbage. He was stopping and the puck hit his skate and went in - a completely legal move seeing as there was no “pendulum motion.”

Which leads to Game 4, one of the best games the Rangers have had since 1994.

Jagr and Brendan Shanahan scored to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead and Ales Kotalik cut it to 2-1 with 11 minutes left in the 3rd.

With 17 seconds left, Danny Briere put the puck past Henrik Lundqvist - or did he? A 5-minute video review followed, and it was ruled “inconclusive evidence” - they couldn’t overturn the ruling on the ice, and it was a no-goal. Was it a make-up call for the blown-call on Rachunek last game? Was the puck in the net? I still don’t know, but the refs said it wasn’t, Toronto couldn’t make up their mind, and the Rangers tied the series at 2.

I still have the newspaper cover hanging on my wall in my room: “Replay Says Rangers, Sabres, Even At 2.”

4) Prucha’s Power Play Goal
Nassau Coliseum - March 8, 2007
Three nights before, on a Monday, Rick DiPietro saved 56 shots but lost in a shootout on a Matt Cullen goal at MSG.

On a Thursday, tensions were on fire in Uniondale. The fans were going crazy. Islander fans were buying Ryan Smyth t-shirts and jerseys in the lobby; Ranger fans countered by chanting Henrik Lundqvist’s name.

By the time the 3rd period rolled around, it was 1-1. Chris Simon, yes, Chris Simon, scored early in the 2nd and Paul Mara tied it on a power play midway through the period.

Of course, that’s when one of the most controversial plays in NHL history happened. Ryan Hollweg, in the midst of a decent season after a very good rookie year, boarded (or did he?) Simon. Simon, not known for his good judgement and virtuous patience, swung his stick at Hollweg, knocking him out and earning himself a 25-game suspension.

On the ensuing 5-minute power play, Petr Prucha scored to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead with just over 5 minutes left.

Then, things started getting interesting.

With 20 seconds left, Marc-Andre Bergeron’s shot was stopped by Lundqvist and Trent Hunter slid the puck in the net (or did he?). The ref called “No Goal” on the ice, so sufficient evidence to overturn it would be needed.

After what seemed like an episode of “Friends,” the ref came back and waved his arms - No Goal. And he said what we would yell in the parking lot, and for weeks to come: Inconclusive Evidence.

The two games together were some of the most tremendous hockey I’ve ever seen. And I’ve never seen the Coliseum rock harder for Ranger fans then when Prucha stuffed that shot in on the power play. I hugged the 8-year old next to me, and I’m pretty sure his father got very mad and I then moved my seat. It was such an emotional goal after such a horrific event.

It was, in fact, the essence of The Rivalry.

It wound up being a huge game for the Rangers. While the Islanders stayed at 76 points, the Rangers gained 2 points and ended the night with 73. However, at season’s end, the Rangers had 2 more points and ran through Atlanta in the playoffs, while the Islanders fell to Buffalo, who eventually beat the Rangers, too.

3) Emergence of Henrik Lundqvist
Atlanta - November 24, 2005
His first win was against New Jersey. We were that we had a capable backup for Kevin Weekes. His second win was against New Jersey. We thought it was great that we found someone who could beat Martin Brodeur.

In the following games, we found out what we all know now - that Henrik Lundqvist is one of the elite goaltenders in the league. He was young, he was unknown, he was flexible, he was quick, and he loved New York. However, during the lockout, the one move the Rangers did was sign Weekes, who never had a winning NHL season but was experienced and had had a great postseason in Carolina (3-2, 1.62 GAA).

Tom Renney, never one for change (See: Wade Redden on the Power Play), alternated the two goalies but claimed Weekes was the starter. In fact, in November, Weekes had 8 starts to Lundqvist’s 4, including a Thanksgiving Day night game in Atlanta.

Weekes hurt his leg in a freak incident where the net fell on him. It turned out to be something Ranger fans were thankful for.

Lundqvist took over, not only in the game, but in the season. He started the next 6 games, going 4-1-1, giving up 12 goals. For the rest of the year, Weekes only started 2 games in a row twice, and one of those sets was right after the Olympic break where Lundqvist won the Gold Medal.

If not for Lundqvist, where would the Rangers have ended that season? Jagr was incredible as well, you can’t deny that, but we’ve seen what can happen to teams with just scoring and no goaltending. In fact, when Lundqvist was injured in the playoffs, the Rangers were swept by the Devils (Jagr was hurt as well).

Weekes never was mad, either. In one interview, he said he couldn’t possibly be mad. He knew how good Lundqvist was, and he knew he would lose his starting job as soon as the rest of the league found out.

Where would the Rangers be any season without Lundqvist? For the past 4 seasons, when the scoring faltered, Lundqvist kept the Rangers in nearly every game. And if I was starting a team today, he would be the first goaltender I pick.

2) Avery vs. Brodeur
New Jersey - February 20, 2007
I remember being at the Monday night game when it was announced that the Rangers acquired Sean Avery for Jason Ward and March-Andre Cliche (who people were mad about trading, but, uh, where is he now?). It was a game against Detroit that the Rangers lost 4-3 to fall to 25-24-4, with the playoffs fading out of reach.

The next day was a Tuesday, and Avery’s debut. I remember watching on TV (it was in New Jersey) and being impressed at the fact that Avery actually had skill, unlike all the bitter fans of other teams were saying. He had a great play to win the puck and pass it to Michael Nylander, who passed to Karel Rachunek, who scored a goal. And he got in Brodeur’s face. Interesting, I thought. The Rangers lost that game in a shootout.

Fast forward two weeks later. The Rangers had gone 4-1-1 with Avery (including the shootout in Jersey). Another Tuesday night, another trip to New Jersey. Another Devils victory.

With 1:16 left in the 2nd period, Avery got by Colin White, gets a shot off, doesn’t stop, and knocks into Brodeur, knocking his helmet off. Brodeur shoves Avery, Avery shoves back, and Brodeur jumps down as if he’d been shot.

What was so big about this was that it has started one of the biggest storylines for the Rangers since the Lockout ended. There have been fights, dives (by Brodeur), refused handshakes, a few incredible goals that led into huge celebrations, a war of words, a great playoff victory by the Rangers, cheap shots by both players, and even an entire set of rules dedicated to goaltender interference based on how Avery screened him during the 2008 playoffs.

1) Clinching the Playoffs
MSG - April 4, 2006
Remember how I earlier said that Lundqvist took a break after the Olympics and Weekes started 2 straight games? Well, the first of them was one that actually made me, a cold-hearted male, shed a few tears.

In a home game against the Flyers, the Rangers needed 1 solitary point to clinch the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The Rangers scored early in the 1st, but Philadelphia scored twice in the 2nd to take a lead. However, Martin Straka scored early in the 3rd to tie it at 2, and it eventually went to overtime, and then a shootout.

It didn’t matter. All they needed was to take it to overtime, and with 7 games left in the 2005-06 season, the New York Rangers clinched the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Those tears washed away years of bad memories - Mark Messier leaving; the disappointment of Eric Lindros; the promise of Pavel Bure only to be seen as the tragedy when he got injured; trading away 1st round draft picks in 2000 and 2002; trading away Brian Leetch; drafting Jamie Lundmark and Pavel Brendl; drafting Hugh Jessiman over Zach Parise and Ryan Getzlaf; the Mike Richter career-ending injury; the Dan Blackburn career-ending injury; years of free agent busts; a last place prediction by most “experts” in the preseason; Marty McSorley; seven seasons without a playoffs; and a Lockout that caused us fans to lose an entire year.

 But then again, maybe that’s what the Lockout brought us. New hope. New players, new blood on the team. If it wasn’t for the Lockout, who knows what this team would look like now?

And, just like that, all of that was washed away with a 21-save performance by starter-turned-backup Kevin Weekes.

It was just icing on the cake that the Rangers won in the shootout. The real battle was won when regulation ended.

NYI Top Post-Lockout Moments #10-6

2010-02-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Back with moments 10 through 6 of the Isles' post-lockout countdown. Isn't it funny how Zach's Rangers list is full of games, whereas the Islanders list is all stuff that happened off the ice? This is what happens when your team has won one playoff game in the past six years.

10) Snow Job

July 18, 2006

That the hiring of Garth Snow even qualifies for this list is a testament to the job Snow has done as Islanders' GM. For a very long time, July 18, 2006 was a very dark day in Islanders history.

I can still remember the day like it was yesterday. I remember seeing the headline on TSN... my head hitting my desk shortly after... thinking it was an April Fool's joke in the middle of July... none of my friends believing me when I told them... Mike and the Mad Dog tearing Charles Wang apart during an interview... being teased incessantly by pretty much everyone. It wasn't fun. I even wrote this blog on my MySpace page from back in the day.

Thankfully, things have improved since then. The way the Islanders handled the move still doesn't make sense four years later, but time has proved that Snow was the right hire. At a time when general managers were still trying to figure out the "new NHL", the Islanders brought in someone who actually played under the revised rules. They hired someone who was completely reared on the new CBA and therefore had no preconceived notions about what he was "supposed" to do.

The results have been pretty spectacular. Snow managed to get into the playoffs in his first year, but saw that he couldn't rely on giving veterans one-year contracts forever. His ability to blow up the Islanders and rebuild them in his likeness shows that he has the support of Charles Wang and will be here for the foreseeable future. Of all the moves Snow has made, the only move that would be classified as bad is the Rick DiPietro contract, and that was Wang's call. So, while the move initially drew ire from the Islanders faithful, it's hard to argue that the move didn't pay dividends.

9) Islanders Sign Mark Streit

July 1, 2008

As the Islanders entered the start of free agency in 2008, nobody was quite sure what they'd do. They had made mention of their desire to rebuild and go with young players, but they didn't actually have any young assets outside of Kyle Okposo to build around. They had plenty of cap room to make any number of signings, but we all knew better than that. Most Islanders fans assumed that Snow wouldn't do anything on July 1; I joked on this site that Snow didn't even bother to show up for work that day.

Turns out he did.

As is customary, the big names flew off the board in exchange for big-money contracts. One of the biggest names, Brian Campbell, took seven years and $56 million to sign with Chicago. Wade Redden, as we all know, received $39 million over six years from the Rangers. At the time of these two deals, Mark Streit was still available. He was the one guy I thought the Islanders should throw big money at and, much to my surprise, they did.

Five years and $20 million later, Streit was a New York Islander. Zach, our Rangers writer, was furious that the Rangers had dumped so much money into an aging Redden while the Islanders got Streit - who had only played three NHL seasons - for far less. When asked why he signed with the Islanders, Streit replied that he wanted to be a true #1 defenseman, something that was never going to happen in Montreal. Streit did not disappoint in his first season on the Island, netting 56 points and earning some legitimate Norris Trophy consideration. His numbers have dipped a bit this year, but Streit remains one of the team's leaders and a potential future captain of the Islanders.

8) Islanders Hire Scott Gordon

August 12, 2008

After the shock firing/resignation of Ted Nolan, the future of the Islanders in terms of their next coach was unclear. It was a very important hire - the Islanders would be rebuilding and needed someone who would stay over the long haul. The big-name veterans like Joel Quenneville and John Tortorella weren't interested and passed on the Islanders' overtures, which came as no surprise to any real Islanders fan. As is the Islanders' custom, they went the road less traveled and brought in an unknown coach.

Scott Gordon, much like Peter Laviolette seven years earlier, came to the Islanders from the AHL's Providence Bruins. Like Laviolette, Gordon had turned the fortunes of the Bruins completely, taking a losing team and turning them into one of the league's best. Gordon had youth on his side, not to mention a reputation for mentoring young players, and his "overspeed" philosophy won over fans right away.

More than anything else, though, the Gordon hire was further proof that the Islanders were serious about rebuilding. Garth Snow easily could have brought in a big-name retread coach, but that would have been the safe maneuver. By bringing in Gordon, the Islanders effectively told their fanbase that the team wouldn't be good for a while, but they could get used to this core group because it'd be there for years to come. Fans have criticized Gordon's system, particularly when it has helped contribute to blown third-period leads, but when they're firing at all cylinders, the Islanders are one of the NHL's most exciting teams. This is one call Garth Snow knocked out of the park.

7) Al Arbour Night

Nassau Coliseum - November 3, 2007

I'll be the first to admit that I was a bit skeptical when Al Arbour Night was first announced. Did Ted Nolan really want to round off Al Arbour's career total, or did Islanders brass coerce Nolan into stepping aside for one night? Was this just another gimmick to bring Islanders alumni back and get a cheap sellout? Given the history of the Islanders, I was right to have my doubts. But on this night, they didn't really matter.

Prior to November 3, 2007, Al Arbour hadn't coached a NHL game since 1994. However, whatever he had lost in terms of X's and O's was more than compensated for by the desire of the Islanders to win the game for Arbour, the only coach of the Islanders that has won a playoff series. In many ways, the game itself was typical of the Islanders at that point in time insofar as the Islanders came from behind to win, Miroslav Satan scored the tying and game-winning goals, and Wade Dubielewicz came up huge in relief of the injured Rick DiPietro.

As good as the game was, it was almost secondary to the postgame celebration, which saw many Islanders legends paying their respects to their former coach. And it wasn't just the usual guys, either. The Islanders brought back some real fan favorites, including Benoit Hogue, Pat LaFontaine, and Steve Webb. I have to say, I was bawling while watching a replay of the ceremony. (Full disclosure - I was pretty hammered.) It was a great night and a great sendoff for Arbour, who doesn't get nearly enough credit for his work with the Islanders.

There's only one thing that bothered me about Al Arbour Night. The original Arbour banner read "739", referring to his number of career wins. When they replaced it with a new banner that night, it wasn't a "740" banner. Instead, it simply read "1500". As in, the Islanders had such little faith in Arbour's ability to produce a victory that they only had a banner made to commemorate his number of games, not his number of wins. The Islanders said they'd get a new banner made; nearly two and a half years later, "1500", not "740", hangs from the Coliseum rafters.

6) Islanders Win 2009 Draft Lottery

April 14, 2009

As the Islanders sucked their way through the 2008-09 season, we all hoped it'd be for a reason. In fact, the only way the 2008-09 season would have been successful would have been if they landed the first overall draft pick. After all, while there was a chance Tampa Bay or Colorado would have passed on John Tavares, there were no guarantees.

The Islanders clinched the league's worst record in late March, a distinction that brought with it a 48 percent chance that the Islanders would win the draft lottery. As the date of the draft lottery neared, Islanders fans feared the worst. Everyone figured that they'd get screwed out of the chance to draft a generational talent like John Tavares or Victor Hedman. Why should the Islanders get the chance to be successful, right? Besides, since the lockout, the team with the worst record had lost the draft lottery more often than not.

Thankfully, this was not one of those times. The Islanders won the draft lottery, and Islander Country breathed the world's largest sigh of relief. For the Islanders faithful, as sad as it is to admit, it was almost like winning the Stanley Cup. Finally, the focus was going to be on our team, even if only for the week between the Stanley Cup Final and the NHL Draft, and we were going to make the most of this extra attention.

Unfortunately, Garth Snow felt the same way. When asked who he was leaning towards on the draft lottery show, he admitted nothing, something that would become a trend over the next two months. While we were ecstatic about winning the draft lottery, little did we know that these two months would become some of the most stressful times Islanders fans have had in recent memory.

NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #10-6...

2010-02-22T00:51:00.006-05:00

First off, how about that USA-Canada game last night! It was great seeing Chris Drury score a clutch goal again. If there's a God in Heaven, it will be a USA-Sweden Gold Medal Game.

And now, on with the countdown...

10) Rangers Win First Game After the Lockout
Philadelphia - October 5, 2005
I remember how excited I was the first time I was in MSG for a while. It was a Dane Cook comedy show in September of 2005, and even though it wasn’t technically at the Garden (it was at the Theatre at the Garden), it still smelled like hockey in those hallways. (I have since stopped listening to Dane Cook.)

Imagine how excited I was for the first Rangers game since Bobby Holik scored an overtime winner in Washington in April 2004 (Jamie McLennan was the winning goalie; yes, he was a Ranger, for 4 games).

And can you even fathom how great it felt when the Rangers took a lead on a goal by Jason Strudwick?! Who? It didn’t even matter!

Of course, then the rails came off, and the Flyers scored 3 unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead (A fellow named Jamie Lundmark - remember him? - scored to make it 3-2 before the 2nd intermission). I remember getting incredibly angry and screaming about how this was the “same old Rangers” and how Jaromir Jagr was “just another washed up player.”

Okay, I never said that about Jagr (I did say the first part, though), and it’s a good thing I didn’t, because he took over in the 3rd, scoring two power play goals to go with his assist on the Strudwick goal. Marcel Hossa sealed the deal for the Rangers 33 seconds after Jagr’s 2nd goal.

I was on Cloud Nine after this game. Hossa scored, Strudwick scored, Ryan Hollweg had an assist. All of these people came out of nowhere, and I knew, just knew, that Hossa and Hollweg would be offensive dynamos for the rest of the year.

Sure, they weren’t, but Hollweg played good for his rookie year, Jed Ortmeyer worked his heart off, Dominic Moore had a great rookie campaign while playing in every game, Henrik Lundqvist was a phenomenal discovery, Jaromir Jagr broke the Rangers points and goals record, and Martin Straka was great. It was a dream season for the Rangers.

 And it all started here, on a chilly October night in Philadelphia.

9) Shanahan Fights Brashear
MSG - December 30, 2006
The Rangers had lost 7 in a row, starting with a 9-2 beating in Toronto and a 6-1 loss at home to the Devils and culminating in being shutout twice in a row against the Islanders and Ottawa. They went from 18-10-4 to 18-17-4 and were in a pretty bad jam. When they could score goals, they let in too many. When Henrik Lundqvist was hot, the offense couldn’t put one in.

Leave it to Brendan Shanahan to be the sparkplug. In his first season with the Rangers, he took exception to Donald Brashear making runs at Jagr all night long. He challenged him to a fight at center ice, dropped his gloves, and put some fists on his big bald head.

Maybe he didn’t win the fight - because Brashear pulled his jersey over his head and brought him down - but Shanahan, “a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” as Joe Micheletti said, revved up his team and the crowd, and the Rangers won 4-1, the first win of 4 straight.

What did Brashear do in response to getting called out by a player with actual skill? Skated by Aaron Ward and sucker-punched him in the mouth and the helmet.

What did the Rangers do in response? Waited for Brashear to injure unsung hero Blair Betts, then signed him to a huge contract, realized he was awful, and sent him to the minors.

8) Shootout Against Washington
MSG - November 26, 2005
What do Michael Nylander, Ville Nieminen, Jason Strudwick, and Marek Malik have in common? Besides short careers with the Rangers, they all scored goals in a 15-round shootout.

The Rangers shot last, meaning that all three times the Capitals scored, the Rangers happened to score also, which is a pretty crazy feat in itself. Olaf Kolzig was particularly good on this night, both in the game and the tiebreaker, as he always played great against the Rangers.

My personal favorite goal from this was Strudwick’s wicked wrister. The Rangers had to think their chances were slim when Bryan Muir put one past Lundqvist, and then Tom Renney puts Strudwick out. He skated down with speed and ripped one right by Kolzig, who wasn’t expecting such a hard shot. I always loved Jason Strudwick and seeing him save the day was incredible. He started pounding the glass and then throwing his arms up to rile the crowd.

Of course, when Malik put the puck in, his reaction was the extreme opposite of Strudwick’s. He acted like a 50-goal scorer instead of a 6’6” defenseman who scored 8 goals in 3 years as a Ranger (6 regular season, 1 shootout, 1 playoff).

You know what happened. Matt Bradley missed his shot for Washington. Malik - goalless the whole year so far - took the puck at center ice, goes left, cuts right, puts the stick and puck between his legs, waits for Kolzig to drop, and put it home - from between his legs.

I can watch this goal over and over and never get sick of it. I still don’t entirely know how Malik did this. Marek Malik!

Said John Davidson, “I’ve seen it all.”

7) Jed Ortmeyer's Penalty Shot
MSG - January 13, 2007
Jed Ortmeyer was lucky to be alive - much less still playing in the NHL - after suffering a pulmonary embolism in the summer of 2006. In fact, he missed 40 games to start the season, and in his 5th game (a 6-4 loss to Ottawa on January 11) he notched 2 assists and got a standing ovation on both of them.

The next game, his 6th game back, was a game against Boston. The Rangers were up 2-1 late in the 3rd period when Tomas Pock took a high-sticking penalty. Ortmeyer, one of the best penalty-killers on a great penalty-killing team, broke free and had a short-handed breakaway until he was dragged down by Patrice Bergeron.

The ref pointed to center ice and Ortmeyer skated to the bench. Jaromir Jagr wondered if they could decline the penalty shot and play 4-on-4. Ryan Hollweg (who had 0 points so far in the season) told him to shoot high on Tim Thomas. Ortmeyer said in the post-game interviews that Hollweg probably saw that on SportsCenter.

With the Garden on their feet, Ortmeyer went straight down the ice, faked a shot by kicking his left leg out, waited for Thomas to go down, went to the right and put the puck into the net.

If anyone ever deserved a highlight-reel goal like that, it was Jed Ortmeyer, who played his heart and soul out every single game.

6) Leetch Returns to MSG
MSG - March 20, 2006
Brian Leetch's last game at Madison Square Garden was March 2, 2004, in a loss to Atlanta. Since then, he was traded to Toronto and signed by Boston.

The Boston Bruins' first visit to the Garden was 4 months earlier, on November 20, 2005, but Leetch didn't play because of a strained knee that kept him out for a while.

The inevitable day finally came in late March, and the Garden greeted him with a video celebrating his time as a Ranger - a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Award, a 102 point season, 1,129 games in blue, 82 playoff games, franchise records for goals, assists, and points by a defenseman, and a goal in Game 7.

Leetch was "in a fog," according to him the entire night. At random points in the game, fans would chant "Bri-an Leetch, Bri-an Leetch" (including me). He was visibly affected by the reaction to him in what was his only game at MSG not in a Rangers jersey (besides the 1994 All-Star Game...).

Besides Leetch's return, it was a great game, with the Rangers jumping out to a 3-0 2nd period lead that caused Boston to use their timeout. The fans even cheered the fact that Boston was forced to use its timeout early. The Bruins wound up scoring 2 goals, but the Rangers won 5-2.

The only bad part of the night was realizing that Leetch would never again be part of a good Rangers team. As it was, the Rangers improved to 39-19-10 that night while the Bruins fell to 4 games under .500.

(The last 26 seconds of the game.)

On Hiatus!...

2010-02-20T01:57:00.003-05:00

We will be taking the weekend off from our Top Post-Lockout Moments List. To be honest, we didn't want anyone to have to choose between us and the Canada/USA hockey game on Sunday night.

On Monday, it's Rangers 10-6. Tuesday, Islanders 10-6. Wednesday, Rangers 5-1 and Thursday, Islanders 5-1.

I'll give you a hint...

NYI Top Post-Lockout Moments #15-11

2010-02-19T11:00:00.002-05:00

More of the top post-lockout moments in Islanders history. Monday, we'll have #10-#6 of the Rangers' moments.

15) Road Warriors

Chicago/Detroit - March 15/March 27, 2009

The 2008-09 season was largely forgettable for the Islanders. They had a decent start, but injuries - and the fact that they weren't very good - had the Islanders in their customary spot of last place by Christmas. The injury bug that ravaged the Islanders was absolutely insane, with the Islanders resorting to playing as many as a dozen Bridgeport Sound Tigers on the big club, then sending them down to play in Bridgeport.

It was under these conditions that the Islanders pulled off their two biggest wins of the season. The first came during a Sunday matinee in Chicago, a game in which goalie Peter Mannino earned his first NHL win. Two weeks later, the Isles played the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings on a Friday night, and to say Islanders fans weren't expecting much would be an understatement. However, these Islanders were up to the task, in particularly Joey MacDonald, who stole the show with 42 saves. In fact, it was MacDonald's save on Tomas Holmstrom that was named by NHL fans as the best save of the season.

These two games meant very little in the standings to either team, but they did a world of good for Islanders fans. Those who stayed loyal to the last-place Islanders were treated to two tremendous efforts against the eventual Western Conference finalists. They also got a glimpse of the team's future, as well as a reminder that the New York Islanders do not quit against any team.

14) Fight Night At Nassau Coliseum

Nassau Coliseum - September 24, 2007

Preseason games are often filled with fights. Islanders-Rangers games are often filled with fights. Put the two together, and there is serious potential for disarray.

There were a number of fights on this night, but there are two that stand out. The first involved Chris Simon and Ryan Hollweg. This game actually occurred during Simon's suspension for mauling Hollweg during a March 2007 game, but since it was a preseason game, Simon was able to play. Given the history these two players had with one another, it was no surprise that they went at it on this night.

The fight nobody expected to see, though, was between the goalies. As Rick DiPietro became involved in a scrum in front of the Islanders' net, Rangers goalie Al Montoya came down to defend his teammates. The tussle between DiPietro and Montoya wasn't all that special, but that they squared off at all was a pretty awesome moment. It was a great cap to yet another brutal moment in the Islanders-Rangers rivalry.

13) Opening Night

Nassau Coliseum - October 3, 2009

For months prior to the start of the 2009-10 season, Islanders fans saw October 3 as something more than Opening Night. Instead, it was Charles Wang's well-publicized date of "certainty". Wang stated numerous times that, if the Lighthouse Project had not been approved, the Islanders would listen to offers from potential suitors of the Islanders in other cities. As the date neared, the political games intensified, leaving fans worried about their team's future.

As it turned out, there was no deal by Wang's "certainty" deadline. However, that didn't stop the fans from filling the Coliseum, forgetting all the political nonsense, and simply enjoying the great game of hockey. They got to see a great game, highlighted by the NHL debut of John Tavares. Tavares didn't disappoint, recording an assist and a goal on the Islanders' first two goals. Tavares also made an appearance in the shootout later that night. While the Islanders couldn't knock off the defending Cup champs, they gave Islanders fans a tremendous memory - as well as a reminder that while it's easy to get swept up in the politics of the Lighthouse, hockey is what makes Islander Country a special place.

12) The Purge of 2009

February 20/March 4, 2009

As the Islanders made their bid for the first overall draft pick towards the end of the 2008-09 season, most people suspected that the Islanders would sell off at least some of their significant surplus of players at the end of their contracts. The Islanders did end up trading three veteran players around the deadline, but it wasn't merely to save payroll.

On February 20, the Islanders shipped Chris Campoli and Mike Comrie to Ottawa in exchange for Dean McAmmond and a first-round pick. Campoli wasn't going to be a free agent, but had something in common with Comrie - neither were happy with Scott Gordon's system. Nor was Guerin, who was pulled from the Islanders lineup on February 28 in anticipation of a trade, which did not materialize until just before the deadline on March 4. Guerin's haul was less than anticipated, but he did end up yielding a third-round pick when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup.

The message in these trades were clear. Veterans who didn't want to mentor the young guys and play within Scott Gordon's system were expendable and would be moved out in favor of younger players. The trades were proof that the Islanders were committed to rebuilding with Gordon and that fans could finally embrace a coach without worrying about him getting fired anytime soon.

11) Islanders Hire Ted Nolan And Neil Smith

June 8, 2006

After the Islanders fired Steve Stirling in January 2006, fans were waiting to see who would be named the next Islanders coach. Interim coach Brad Shaw did a decent job to close out 2005-06, but most people were looking for the Isles to name a coach from outside the organization. Fans were also waiting for the team to name Mike Milbury's successor as general manager. On June 8, 2006, they would be pleasantly surprised to find that both the coach and general manager vacancies were filled.

For the general manager position, the Islanders brought in Neil Smith. While some Islanders fans weren't thrilled about the prospect of a former Rangers GM running their team, Smith also had a background with the Islanders, serving as a scout on their 80s Cup teams. In addition, it was hard to ignore Smith's work in bringing the Rangers the 1994 Stanley Cup. For coach, the Islanders hired Ted Nolan, the former Sabres coach who hadn't coached in the NHL since being fired by the Sabres and subsuquently blackballed from the league as a whole.

The additions of these two respected leaders with proven track records of success helped give the Islanders a sense of credibility they hadn't had for years. The additions of Pat LaFontaine and Bryan Trottier as executives only helped to enhance the good vibes of the day. Then, unfortunately, Charles Wang announced his "management model" whereby everyone would have an equal say and all would report directly to Wang. Smith was unable to exist within this "model" and was fired just 40 days later, with LaFontaine resigning his post on the same day.

Ultimately, Wang's "model" was quietly dropped two years later, but by then, the damage was done. Smith was out and Garth Snow was in; a decision, as we will see later in the countdown, that was not exactly warmly embraced at first. However, Smith's tenure did have some long-lasting impact, as his first draft pick as Islanders GM was Kyle Okposo. As for Nolan, he brought the Islanders to the playoffs in his first season, but was fired after the next season, his "GM-killer" reputation still intact.

NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #15-11

2010-02-18T02:00:00.002-05:00

Part 3 of an 8-part series. Up tomorrow: Top Islanders' Moments #15-11.

15) Messier Night / Jagr Scores in OT
MSG - January 12, 2006
Can you imagine how angry the fans would have been after spending $500 on one ticket to Mark Messier Night only to see a loss? Granted, the ceremony itself was great - albeit very long. But during the last retirement ceremony (Mike Richter’s), the Rangers blew a 3-2 lead and lost 4-3 to Minnesota.

Steve Rucchin started the scoring, but then Edmonton scored 3 straight to take a 3-1 lead. The Rangers jumped ahead 4-3 on an early 3rd period goal by Petr Prucha, but Mike Peca’s shorthanded goal was his second of the night scored his 2nd goal of the night and tied it at 4 (his first goal tied it at 1 and it was a power play goal with Martin Straka off the ice for an illegal stick penalty!).

Maybe predictably for a fast-paced, back and forth game, overtime didn’t last very long. Just fourteen seconds in, Jaromir Jagr whipped one past former Ranger Jussi Markkanen, capping off a great night for Rangers fans.

How fitting of an ending for a 75-minute ceremony than an extra session of hockey?

Oh, but my overall favorite moment? Christopher Reeve’s widow (now deceased herself) Dana singing Carole King’s “Now and Forever.”

14) Leetch Announcing Adam Graves’ Night
MSG - January 24, 2008
For how good the game was during Mark Messier Night, Brian Leetch Night’s game was a rolling disaster.

Sure, the Rangers won in dramatic fashion, but it was more a matter of desperation than anything. They needed the points badly (they were merely 2 games over .500 at the time) and they had played a lackluster, downright boring game so far. Michal Rozsival potted one with 11 minutes left in the 3rd period to finally give the Rangers something to cheer about since the ceremony ended.

(Brendan Shanahan wound up scoring the only shootout goal to give the Rangers 2 points, but the game, overall, was still very boring.)

The ceremony, of course, was excellent, and definitely shorter than Messier’s marathon. The highlight was definitely when Leetch took the time out of his own night to announce that Adam Graves Night would be held the following season.

They played great together on the ice, and it was a great touch for Leetch to do this. He was never completely comfortable with the spotlight on him, and even on his special night, he shone the light on someone else. That’s a good teammate.

13) Jagr Scores :29 Into Season
MSG - October 5, 2006
Five months ago, Jaromir Jagr couldn’t even lift his shoulder after hurting it throwing a weak, awkward punch at then-Devil Scott Gomez. He had surgery to repair it, but there were doubts surrounding the team coming into the start of the 2006-07 season. The three main questions concerning the team were about Jagr’s shoulder, how Henrik Lundqvist would be after his problems in the ’06 playoffs after the Olympics (he played awful, if you remember, after coming back from Italy grinding his teeth while he slept and with migraines), and if Brendan Shanahan was a good signing.

Well, 29 seconds into the season, newly-introducted Captain Jagr stormed up the ice, cut across center, and fired one past notorious Ranger-killer Olaf Kolzig on the first shot of the season. The crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!” to Jagr, as he should have been crowned it the season before, but Joe Thornton won it when he overtook him in the points race at the end of the season.

Shanahan wound up scoring 2 goals in his Ranger debut, goals 599 and 600, Lundqvist stood tall, and for a night, all was perfect in Rangerland.

Who knew that the deciding factor of the season wouldn’t be Jagr’s shoulder, Shanahan’s ability, or Lundqvist’s migraines, but a last-minute icing in May in Buffalo.

12) Lundqvist Robs Savard
Boston - October 20, 2007
The Rangers and Boston have played some very close games since the Lockout, but none of them could top the 1-0 shootout won by Boston in October of 2007. Lundqvist had 19 saves, Manny Fernandez had 26, and the game was won in a shootout by Phil Kessel after the first 5 shooters didn’t score.

It almost didn’t get to that shootout, however, if not for an excellent save by Lundqvist on Marc Savard.

If you remember, this was also the game where Marty Straka blocked TWO Zdeno Chara slappers from the point and broke the same finger in two separate spots on both shots. If we had this website during this game, I would have called Straka a Warrior.

On the same power play, a rebound came to Savard and he absolutely rocketed a shot to an open net, except Lundqvist whipped out his left arm and caught the puck. A shocked Savard fell to the ice (partly due to the force he took the shot with) and looked to the heavens.

Between Straka being immortal and Lundqvist making one of the Saves of the Decade, the winner of the game didn’t even matter.

11) Nylander’s Playoff Hat Trick
MSG - April 17, 2007
The last time the Rangers had won a playoff game at MSG, well, I don’t know, but I assume it was in 1997, a full 10 years before they beat the Thrashers 7-0.

The previous year, against New Jersey, they got outscored 7-2 in their two home playoff games, and even though they got a standing ovation after being eliminated, it stung.

This was the complete opposite.

Kari Lehtonen was reinstated as starting goaltender after being replaced by Johan Hedberg for Game 2. The Rangers made quick work of him, though he was never pulled in the game. Michael Nylander scored his first goal 32 seconds into the game and his second 9 minutes later. His 3rd goal was the team’s 7th, completing what he started.

Ryan Callahan also scored twice on this night, 11 minutes apart in the 2nd period, and even Marek Malik scored on a great shot from the left circle. Shanahan scored the other goal for the Rangers, and Jagr had 4 assists.

It was a great night to be a fan from start to finish, and the sweep of Atlanta the next night made for a flawless first round victory.

NYI Top Post-Lockout Moments #20-16

2010-02-17T13:38:00.006-05:00

When you're a fan of a team that has won one playoff game since the lockout ended five years ago, there usually aren't a lot of positives. However, much to my surprise, there are a fair amount of good things that have happened to our Islanders since the lockout. Not many good things on the ice, mind you, but still, it hasn't been all doom and gloom in Islanders Country. Here are the first five of my top 20 post-lockout moments.

20) Sound Tigers Invade Nassau Coliseum

Nassau Coliseum - February 18, 2005

We start off this list with a moment that occurred as the lockout was taking place. As the lockout dragged on, many Islanders fans were resigned to their fate - no hockey at the Coliseum for all of 2004-05. However, when it was decided that the Bridgeport Sound Tigers would play an AHL game at the home of their NHL affiliates, fans pounced on the opportunity to see hockey - any hockey - at the Coliseum. For an AHL game on a Friday night, the Coliseum was sold out.

Things only got better after the game, though. It was only then that fans received word that Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were headed to New York City to make one last attempt at restoring labor peace. High off the vibes that the Coliseum provided, Islanders fans were certain that they'd be seeing a lot more hockey at the Coliseum that winter. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. However, the Sound Tigers did host one more game at the Coliseum that year, a game that drew about 12,000 people. One of them was yours truly, who was only too thrilled to sit in the third row of the Coliseum for just $25.

19) The Fans Respond To Kansas City

Nassau Coliseum - January 15-19, 2009

When the Islanders announced that they were going to play an exhibition game in Kansas City, many fans immediately feared the worst. After all, how could they not? They had seen the Lighthouse Project transform from the team's saving grace into a political issue covered in red tape. Seeing the writing on the wall, Islanders fans responded with some of the best attendance figures the team has seen since 2001-02.

For three games between January 15 (the date the game was announced) and January 19, the Islanders drew 15,000 or more, with two of those games being sellouts. Granted, it doesn't sound like much, and yes, those games did include a Devils game and a holiday matinee, but the 2008-09 Islanders were a truly horrible team. In fact, they lost all three games and scored only one goal in each game. But the fans kept coming out to make sure everyone knew people cared about hockey on Long Island, even if they don't always show it - as evidenced by the 11,000 who saw the Islanders' next home game on January 21.

18) Islanders Showcase The "New NHL"

Nassau Coliseum - October 19, 2005

Heading into the 2005-06 season, we all knew the landscape of the NHL would be dramatically different. Speed and scoring would be up, and fighting could perhaps become obsolete. The early games of the post-lockout NHL were exciting and received rave reviews. But an early-season clash between the Rangers and the Islanders was immediately hailed as a prime example of what the "new NHL" could be.

The Islanders were one of many teams to overhaul their rosters in an effort to thrive under the new rules. It didn't work over the course of the 2005-06 season, but on this night, they were perfect. They played the Rangers tough in a hard-hitting game that did not feature a single fight, an action-packed game that went to overtime tied 2-2 thanks to the efforts of Rick DiPietro and a then-unknown Henrik Lundqvist. The game went to a shootout - the first-ever shootout for both teams - and thanks largely to the broken stick of Jaromir Jagr, the Islanders won, their first victory over the Rangers since the 2002-03 season.

17) Rick DiPietro, All-Star

Philips Arena - January 27, 2008

When the Islanders traded Roberto Luongo on Draft Day 2000 and selected Rick DiPietro, the Islanders made a statement that they believed more in DiPietro's future than that of Luongo. As we have all seen over the years, that was not exactly the wisest choice. Nevertheless, the Islanders faithful waited patiently for DiPietro to emerge into a star goaltender. That finally happened during the first half of the 2007-08 season, and DiPietro's progress was rewarded with the first All-Star nomination of his career - a nomination, Islanders fans like to note, that came at the expense of Henrik Lundqvist.

The notion of DiPietro as an All-Star only got better when Martin Brodeur bowed out of the game, leaving the starting job to DiPietro. DP took advantage of this opportunity to not only showcase his goaltending skills, but also his personality. He was frequently miked up by Versus during the Skills Competition and the game itself, and while he displayed his charisma very well, he also nearly stole the show on the ice as well. DiPietro let up just one goal all weekend long - while Versus was talking his ear off, of course - and nearly won himself MVP honors in the process. For an Islanders fanbase that had very little to cheer about, DiPietro's performance in the 2008 All-Star Game was considered a huge win for Islanders Country.

16) Islanders Acquire Ryan Smyth

February 27, 2007

Even though the Islanders were in the East's top eight in late February 2007, Islanders fans still weren't overly confident in their new GM, Garth Snow. The team had performed well thanks to some impressive performances from veterans on one-year contracts, but the credit for those signings went to Neil Smith. Snow, on the other hand, was facing his first trade deadline and, as a buyer, many were worried that Snow would find himself receiving ridiculous trade offers and getting fleeced on deals.

That all changed when the news of the Ryan Smyth trade broke. In a move made just before the deadline, Snow acquired Smyth for 2003 1st rounder Robert Nilsson, 2005 1st rounder Ryan O'Marra and the Isles' 2007 1st round pick. Islanders fans were stunned - after all, the Islanders had been devoid of superstar talent for years, yet they had just picked up the big prize of Deadline Day.

The bounty for Smyth, an unrestricted free agent at season's end, seemed like a lot at the time. I recall being certain that Smyth would bolt after the season and that the trade wouldn't actually help the Islanders get past the first round of the playoffs. I even went as far as to text Zach, telling him that the Islanders had just traded their entire future for two home playoff games. As it turns out, they did only play two playoff games that year. But Nilsson has yet to crack ten goals in a season on the NHL level, while O'Marra has only played three games in the NHL. It's also worth noting that the Oilers have not made the playoffs since dealing Smyth, while the Islanders got in that year thanks largely to Smyth's contributions.

NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #20-16

2010-02-16T12:21:00.004-05:00

This is my personal favorite moments from Ranger games starting in the 2005-06 season. It only includes NHL moments (for example, it doesn’t have Henrik Lundqvist winning the Gold Medal in the ’06 Olympics) and it doesn’t include bad memories (for example, Game 5 vs. Buffalo, or Jaromir Jagr and Lundqvist coming back hurt from the Olympics, or Jagr throwing a punch at Scott Gomez).

20) Three Goals in Ninety Seconds
Madison Square Garden - November 14, 2006
As a rule of thumb, I never like to go to Ranger-Devil games at MSG. I don't know if it's the Devils' fans or the fact that I've seen some real stinkers, but they just don't appeal to me. So, on this day, I sold my friend my tickets to an early season game between the Hudson River Rivals.

This seemed like a great decision after 2 lifeless periods, and that's when everything got great. Jaromir Jagr scored just over two minutes into the 3rd period, and then, 26 seconds later, Jagr's puck went high and somehow floated over Martin Brodeur's head and into the net. A minute and 4 seconds later, Brendan Shanahan wristed one in the net to make it a 3-2 game, in a game the Rangers trailed 2-0 90 seconds earlier.

The icing on the cake? Marcel Hossa's two assists.

On the way home from work that night, I was listening to talk radio, and a called said it was "the single greatest regular season game I have ever witnessed in person." I texted my friend, and all he replied was, "I concur."

19) Strong Comebacks Against Canadian Teams
MSG - January 11, 2007
Kevin Weekes gave up 4 goals in 32 minutes and Lundqvist gave up an early 3rd period goal as Ottawa built a 5-0 lead on the Rangers. Half of the Garden left at this point, but the Rangers mounted a big comeback. Petr Prucha, Jay Ward, and Marcel Hossa scored within 3 minutes of each other and Blair Betts scored 4 minutes after that to bring the Rangers to within a goal. Jed Ortmeyer’s two assists were his first points since coming back from a pulmonary embolism, and he got a standing ovation both times his name was announced.

The Rangers kept pressing, and might have tied the game if not for a bad call by Mike Hasenfratz. The Senators flipped the puck over the glass in their own end, which should have been a penalty, but the referees didn’t call it, even though replays on the big screen proved that it went out while still in the zone. Brendan Shanahan refused to leave the zone, arguing that it should be a penalty, nearly getting a penalty of his own. The Rangers were then forced to pull Lundqvist, ending in a Dany Heatley empty-netter which sealed a 6-4 win for the Senators.

This was also Weekes’ last game in a Ranger uniform, as he hurt his leg in practice the next day and Steve Valiquette replaced him.

Montreal - February 3, 2008
The only game on Super Bowl Sunday (when the Giants beat the Patriots), the Canadiens jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a Sergei Kostitsyn penalty shot, but then the Rangers roared back. They scored 3 goals in 7 minutes in the second to tie it at 3, then Chris Drury and Martin Straka scored in the 3rd to complete a great comeback in front of a stunned La Centre Bell crowd. It was the 3rd straight win for the middling Rangers, who would soon go on a 10-0-3 run to make the playoffs.

18) Dom Moore Scores Against Roberto Luongo
Sunrise, Florida - November 9, 2005
The Rangers were losing to the Panthers 3-2 with three seconds left in the 3rd period. Dominic Moore was behind the net and saw an opening between Roberto Luongo’s pad and the post, so he aimed for it, hoping it would bank off of his leg and into the net - and it did. In the postgame interviews, he said that he knew time was winding down and had no other choices, so he whipped it towards the net and hoped for what eventually happened.

Petr Prucha wound up scoring the only shootout goal for the Rangers, and they won, 4-3.

17) Sean Avery Night
MSG - January 6, 2010
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing makes me happier than when Sean Avery scores. This year, there haven’t been too many of those moments - in fact, until this game, he had only scored 4 goals and they came in 2 games.

He was like a man-possessed on this Wednesday night in New York City, playing his former teammates. He scored to tie the game at 1-1, then had the primary assist on the next 3 goals as the Rangers jumped to a 4-2 lead and eventually won 5-2 on an empty netter.

He was hitting, shooting, getting under the skin of the team, and even undressing a defenseman with spin-o-ramas.

In short, this was Sean Avery’s night, and it was the way he should play every game.

16) Gomez Traded for Gaborik
June 30 - July 1, 2007
If I had asked any Ranger fan if they would have traded Scott Gomez straight-up for Marian Gaborik, do you think they would have said, “No, I’m happy with Gomez.” Well, in essence, that’s what the Rangers did. They traded nearly identical contracts (5 years, $7M+) and came up on the winning end of the deal.

Of course, it wasn’t an actual trade, but on the eve of the start of free agency, the Rangers traded Scott Gomez to Montreal for Chris Higgins and prospect Ryan McDonagh. With the cap-space now free, the Rangers didn’t trade for Dany Heatley and instead signed Gaborik to a five-year deal.

Another reason this trade was great was that Montreal was interested in Gaborik, but with Gomez’s contract now on their hands, they couldn’t even make a run at him.

It was risky for the Rangers: What if Gaborik signed elsewhere, who would the Rangers go for? What if they signed him and he got hurt?

But so far, it has worked out. He’s young, he’s fast, he’s immensely talented, and he isn’t afraid to stick up for himself. And he’s a great player to build around.

No Olympic Break Here...

2010-02-12T23:56:00.004-05:00

While the NHL takes a relaxing vacation to the Bahamas, or Las Vegas, or Tahiti, or wherever it is that millionaire Europeans and Canadians take their families when they have two weeks off, The Rivalry stays here.

And no, we won't be covering the Olympics in great detail. If you want that, go somewhere else. To be honest, I'm only interested in how Henrik Lundqvist, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, and Chris Drury do. And while I want Lundqvist to win the gold again (if the Americans don't), it pains me to know he's going to play in so many extra games when other goalies get to rest.

Instead, we will welcome back Bryan. Remember him? He writes for this website about the Islanders, and he's also the only one who ever updates our Twitter, since I hate that site. He hasn't written since January 19 by my count, and the Islanders have gone 2-8 since. Coincidence? Purely, but it is suspect timing by my counterpart.

Our main purpose though, the part that I wanted to write in the first paragraph but I'm a little long-winded, is that we have an 8-part series planned for you.

We each came up with our Top 20 Post-Lockout Moments for the Rangers and Islanders. Obviously, I'll be doing the Rangers' list and Bryan, the Islanders' moments.

I don't know about Bryan, but I'm only putting positives. Game 5 vs. Buffalo, for instance, will not be brought up, though it probably was the biggest post-lockout moment for the Rangers.

Here's the schedule...

Tuesday, February 16 - Rangers #20 - 16
Wednesday, February 17 - Islanders #20 - 16
Thursday, February 18 - Rangers #15 - 11
Friday, February 19 - Islanders # 15 - 11
Saturday, February 20 - Rangers # 10 - 6
Sunday, February 21 - Islanders # 10 - 6
Monday, February 22 - Rangers # 5 - 1
Tuesday, February 23 - Islanders # 5 - 1

Hope you enjoy it.

Brashear Asks for Trade...

2010-02-12T04:55:00.004-05:00

Excuse me, because it's 4:55 a.m. and I just got home from work/bar and I am just reading up on the hockey news of the day, but did Donald Brashear ask for a trade?

To who? Hartford? Charlotte? Oh, no, wait, the Charlotte Checkers won't be the Rangers ECHL affiliate next year.

Looks like Hartford it is. I hear the Rangers will trade Brashear and his $1.4M contract this season and the next for $1.4M in cap space.

Bringing up the question, why was he signed in the first place?

And why was Colton Orr let go?

Now, I know it's probably tough to be an NHL General Manager, and I'm not saying I'm qualified. Hell, I'm just a lowly restaurant manager.

But I watch the games. I have known for years that Brashear has offered nothing to any team he's been on - Philadelphia, Washington, now the Rangers - and that Orr has graduated into one of the best fighters in the league.

Odd choices, Mr. Sather. Odd choices.

I'm Not Scared of Kovalchuk...

2010-02-06T10:31:00.003-05:00

No, I'm not scared of having Ilya Kovalchuk on the Devils for the rest of the season, for a few reasons.

1) The Devils aren't the Rangers' competition this year. If he was traded to a team close to the Rangers in the conference standings, then yes, I wouldn't like it much.

2) Sean Avery is a Ranger.

Scouts?...

2010-02-02T02:55:00.004-05:00

Being an NHL scout has to be one of the easier jobs in the world. I admit, a minor league hockey scout probably has a tough job - traveling to obscure cities in Oklahoma, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Texas; low pay; lots of hours; writing reports on people that no one knows.

But a pro scout? Isn't that why there are TVs? That's why the NHL has highlights of every game on its website. We are all basically pro scouts. We watch TV, we see replays, we decide if a player is good or bad.

So what exactly is it that the scouts for the Calgary Flames do?

I can understand the executives in Calgary wanting to trade Dion Phaneuf. He was a disease in the locker room, and even with him in the lineup they had only 1 win in the past 9 games. It was time for a change for him, so they traded him for a bunch of players. Matt Stajan is pretty good, Nik Hagman is skilled, Jamal Mayers is tough, and Ian White is a decently high-scoring D-man (though he's no Phaneuf).

Still, they lost out big time on that trade. A top-6 forward, to bottom-6 forwards, and a 2nd- or 3rd-pair defenseman does not make up for losing a huge talent like Phaneuf (like him or not, and I don't, he's good) and a great penalty killer in Freddy Sjostrom.

So how does Calgary follow up? By trading for Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins. Really? Olli Jokinen and Chris Higgins are both going to be unrestricted free agents after this season, so it wasn't a salary dump (Higgins' + Kotalik's salary = Jokinen's). Wouldn't you rather have Jokinen then Higgins? I would, because I watch the games, though I don't get paid.

And how could they have possibly wanted Kotalik? Don't get me wrong, I liked Kotalik as a Ranger and think he could've been good here, but he's sat out 8 of 9 games. The one game he played? Against Carolina where the Rangers lost 5-1 and he was a rusty screwdriver out there.

How could a paid individual go, "That guy who hasn't played for 7 games, played horrible in his 1 game, then got benched again. We want him. What, he has a no-trade clause to Calgary? That's fine. We want to pay him for the next 2 years also." This has buy-out written all over it.

(I can see a team wanting Higgins. He's a tough guy who has scored in the past but was awful in NY. Maybe they see him as a reclamation project who they can dump in the offseason if it fails.)

The only way it makes sense for Calgary is if it's the first of a few moves (well, second of a few moves, I guess) to land a big fish.

It reminds me of when the Canadiens took Scott Gomez off of our hands, as I'm sure it reminds you as well. Remember how they then couldn't afford to make a run at Marian Gaborik?

Thank you, Canadian teams.

Hey, is Vancouver looking to trade the Sedin twins for Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival?

Good Players...

2010-02-01T00:32:00.004-05:00

You know who was good? Olli Jokinen from 2005 through 2007.

You know who isn't that good anymore? Olli Jokinen.

Of course, if the rumors are true, and Olli Jokinen is about to be a Ranger (along with Brandon Prust for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik), then he becomes the 3rd highest-scoring Ranger, behind Marian Gaborik and Vaclav Prospal.

And yes, he is a 1st-line center who can play with Prospal at left wing and Gaborik at right wing.

But the big thing is that Kotalik is making $3M for not only this year but the next 2 seasons as well. Jokinen's cap hit is $5.25M, and he is an unrestricted free agent this summer. So the Rangers effectively clear $3M off the books for the next two seasons.

(Higgins is making $2.25M this year, but that's unrelated because he'd be a UFA after this season, and the Rangers probably weren't inviting him back for another campaign. The only thing that his salary has to do with this is that it's an even exchange, just over $5M for just over $5M. Prust is making $500,000 only.)

Maybe Jokinen isn't as good as his two seasons when he averaged over a point per game, but to add more offense this year while clearing $3M for the next two years is a good move.

Keep in mind that this doesn't address the real problems of the Rangers cap issues - that would involve moving any combination of Wade Redden, Chris Drury, and Michal Rozsival. But the moves are going to have to be made before the Olympic break because there is only 1 game before the March 3 trade deadline.

Not to Be Unfair to Cam Ward...

2010-01-28T00:11:00.005-05:00

Not to be unfair to Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, but any goalie tonight would've stopped 37 of 38 shots against the Rangers tonight.

I think the Shot Clock Man has a bad angle of the ice. At one point, a puck was passed parallel to the goal line. He took his stick, reached out, and pushed it towards the blue line. I took a glance at the shot clock and it went from "11" to "12".

Brandon Dubinsky rifled a shot - absolutely blasted this puck - that was caught by Ward. The only hitch? It was going high if Ward didn't touch it. He actually had to move out of net to catch it. Shot clock increase.

I'm not saying most of those 38 shots never actually were shots. In fact, most of them were. However, how many really tested Ward? Three? Four? The Rangers had a couple of good chances, but at least 29 of those shots were crappy, low-angle, easily-saved shots.

The Rangers do that; they have been for years. They make goalies look amazing. Remember when Rick DiPietro made over 50 saves one day in March '07 and everyone said how incredible he was? Guess what? Most of those shots were right to his chest - they would've hit the Gordon's Fisherman right in the head.

Tonight, the Rangers must've seen the logo on the Ward's jersey as a bulls-eye. Because they kept aiming for it.

Did You Expect a Different Result?...

2010-01-26T01:15:00.002-05:00

Did you really expect something different than what happened tonight?

Did you expect Donald Brashear to do more than Erik Christensen or Ales Kotalik would? Look at this stat-line: 5 shifts, 5 minutes 35 seconds, 2 hits, minus-1.

With (essentially) a 6-minute power play and Michal Rozsival running the point, what did you expect? A shot to hit the net? A goal?

Get real. With Kotalik watching from above and Mike Del Zotto playing the opposite side (so he can't get a real shot off), there was nobody to blast the puck from the point. And with no Rangers wanting to stand in the crease, even if they did, there was nobody to bang home a rebound.

Kotalik sits during the "winning streak" against Montreal and Tampa Bay, so he sits again in Philadelphia. Okay, I see that. If it's working, run with it. They lose, but he sits again in Montreal. Interesting, but I see what John Tortorella is doing. But now they've been shut out 2 straight games and their cannon-shot is still not dressed, while gutless players like Brashear and Chris Higgins get to go in.

At one point during the extended power plays in the 3rd period, all four Penguin penalty-killers and their goalie were facing the same direction - towards the corner so Marc-Andre Fleury had to turn his neck left to face the puck. Rozsival, for some unknown reason, was on the left point (maybe Wade Redden was changing his tampon, I don't know, I'm not the bench boss).

Now, if this was a team playing the Rangers - say, Montreal, Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh - that point man would have skated down so that he was facing the penalty-killers' backs. He would have received a pass and banged it home before Henrik Lundqvist had adequate time to slide back to the other post.

However, this is Mikey Rozsival we're talking about. What did he do? Waited for a pass. Just to pass again. Just to have the puck fumbled out of the zone, thus killing any chance of a good play.

Apparently, the PK-men on Pittsburgh weren't the only ones not paying attention on that play.

I'm not saying that Kotalik himself would've saved this game. But if he was out there shooting and someone wanted to get dirty in the crease - hey, Sean Avery can't play every shift, can he? - then maybe a garbage goal would've gone in and all of you would be singing the praises of this team for coming back from a 1-0 deficit and finally winning at home.

But no one wants to shoot. No one wants to get dirty. No one wants to hit.

And I guess no one wants to play in May, either.

The Difference in 2 Players; Montreal Update Coming Soon...

2010-01-25T09:36:00.003-05:00

I will update later today about the Rangers game in Montreal. For the record, it's the 1st time I've seen them lose in an opposing building (not including the Nassau Coliseum). I saw them win in Nashville, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Montreal before the 6-0 disaster I witnessed first-hand Saturday night.

* * *

Do you know the differences in Dan Carcillo and Donald Brashear? Carcillo has 6 goals and 6 assists this year; Brashear had no goals and 1 assist. Carcillo dresses for games while Brashear stays nice and clean in a suit and tie. Carcillo wins fights (his record this year is 7-3-2, including beating Marian Gaborik and losing to Sean Avery last Thursday) while Brashear skates away from confrontation. In fact, the last fight Brashear won was against Jared Boll of Columbus three days before Thanksgiving. Brashear's record this year stands at 3-4-2.

As for Brashear's claims that he wouldn't fight Carcillo - "I don't even fight a guy like Carcillo. I don't think he's in my league." - and then his claims that he isn't a guy who only goes out and fights staged fights... well, what? Do you fight everyone or will you only fight heavyweights?

"If I would have played" Gaborik would not have been fought by Carcillo, Brashear said. Oh yeah? If you're out there fighting people like Matt Carkner, Eric Boulton, Eric Godard, and Shawn Thornton, is that really a deterrent for people like Carcillo? Will he not get under Gaborik's skin just because there is a chance that Brashear might lose a fight to Aaron Asham or Ian Laperriere?

Did Brashear's presence in the first half of the season stop any team from running over Henrik Lundqvist? Were they afraid he was going to go after Ilya Kovalchuk or Johan Hedberg, or did they know that, no matter what, he would fight Boulton and leave everyone else alone?

Like what Carcillo did or not, he got the Flyers an extra 2 points that night. He got the best player on the team to thrown down his gloves and fight him. He threw an entire team off their game, because they then stopped trying to score and started looking for revenge. The only person nearly capable of getting under a team's skin like that on the Rangers' roster is Avery. Not Brashear.

Guess what, Donald. Carcillo might not be in your league for long - because he'll still be in the NHL for the next decade.

What a Night; Emails...

2010-01-20T02:29:00.004-05:00

A week ago, I never thought there'd be a day when Aaron Voros and Christopher Higgins both score in Rangers uniforms.

Well, here it is. That Voros goal was very nice, but the thing that was excellent was the Brian Boyle pass - through traffic, an excellent pass for a primary assist.

Not much I can add here that you won't find elsewhere, but it's huge when 8 different Rangers can find the net - and none of them have the initials MG.

I've been saying all along that the Rangers need offense besides Marian Gaborik, and that the Rangers need to hit the other team and stand up for themselves.

Tonight, they did that. If the players that don't score often - Callahan, Dubinsky, Drury, Lisin, Anisimov, Avery, Higgins ... ... ... - can find ways to score, this team can be be a playoff team. If they go back to only having Gaborik and Vinny Prospal scoring, it will be a long offseason.

* * *

Two emails in my inbox today from a site I used to write on. And I stopped, because it was ridiculous.

1) Should the Rangers trade for Vinny Lecavalier?

2) Should the Rangers buy-out Ales Kotalik?

No, they should not trade for Lecavalier. He is a decent player this year and was alright last year. What about in 8 years from now when he's 38, has millions of dollars in the bank, a Stanley Cup ring already, and couldn't care less about playing?

And buying out Kotalik? Scratch a man 3 straight games and this crap gets written. Do people really not have any other ideas in their heads?

There are at least 5 guys ahead of Kotalik in the Buy-Out Department, not the least of whom would be Vinny Lecavalier if they traded for him. Plus, if they buy out his contract, who would shoot the puck for the next 2 and a half seasons? Michal "Miss the Net" Rozsival? Wade "Pass First, Defense Later" Redden?

C'mon. Have something original to write... or work for the Jay Leno Show.

Do Moral Victories Exist?

2010-01-19T22:40:00.006-05:00

You knew the Islanders had to lose sometime. And you probably knew that the Islanders sweeping three of the East's top four would probably be too good to be true. Yet, you're disappointed that the Islanders lost tonight.

That's a good thing.

I keep waiting for the Islanders to fall off the pace and out of the playoff picture. It hasn't happened yet. At this point, I'm not so sure it's ever going to happen. These Islanders looked like they belonged in this game, and they looked like they had a great chance to win. It's a shame it didn't work out.

Some thoughts on tonight's game...

- Over the past two years, the Islanders have written the book on blowing three-goal leads. Tonight, they flipped that book around, coming back from three goals down on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Even though the end result wasn't there, the comeback was a great sign.

- If Garth Snow does nothing else next year, he has to get a big winger to play with John Tavares. He's not big enough to do it all by himself, which is to be expected at 19 years old. Even so, it's hard to watch him getting knocked around so frequently.

- Sidney Crosby didn't do a whole lot to silence his "whiner" rep after Richard Park's goal to tie the game. I get that it's the captain's job to let the ref know when he's missing calls, but yapping with Park and Doug Weight doesn't really accomplish a whole lot.

- The Sutton hit... just an unfortunate incident. Clearly, Sutton felt bad; he stayed on top of Pascal Dupuis until the whistle blew to make sure nobody else hit him. The refs got the call right, but it's unfathomable that the ref behind the play made the call before the ref standing right next to the play. Even more unfathomable than that, though, was the discussion on MSG Plus that followed the play, in which the announcers - particularly Butch Goring - suggested that the hit was Dupuis' fault for being in a bad position. We here at The Rivalry regularly sing the praises of the MSG Plus crew often, but this was uncalled for.

- The Isles got destroyed on faceoffs tonight. Not good when you're facing a team with as many playmakers as the Penguins.

- Not to jump on the "The refs give Pittsburgh preferential treatment" bandwagon, but there were a few calls that probably didn't need to be made. The two that stick out in my mind were the call on Kyle Okposo that set up the game-winning power play goal by Evgeni Malkin and the delay of game call on Dwayne Roloson. But that's life. Good teams always get the calls.

- Kind of a dick move by Crosby, taking a shot on Roloson as time expired and the Penguins protecting a two-goal lead. The Isles and Penguins meet again in three weeks. Here's hoping the Islanders haven't forgotten by then.

All in all, an excellent effort for the Islanders, who probably deserved more than they got tonight. That said, giving the likes of Crosby and Malkin seven opportunities on the power play is usually a recipe for defeat, something which was the case in tonight's game. Despite the loss, the Islanders should feel great about their play of late. The days of the sad-sack Islanders are rapidly coming to a close and are being replaced by this young, energetic team that can hang with anyone.

Jed Ortmeyer...

2010-01-19T04:12:00.004-05:00

A job well done to one of the few men who still get cheered at Madison Square Garden even though they are an opponent.

Jed Ortmeyer today had a goal and two assists in San Jose's 9-1 win over Calgary. Don't forget, he also scored the go-ahead goal in San Jose's 7-3 win over the Rangers in mid-October. The Rangers were winning 2-0, the Sharks made it 2-2, and Ortmeyer scored to make it 3-2.

A good guy who deserves nothing but the best.

And I leave you with a video from the penalty shot he scored against Boston in his first game back in 2007 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. He was awarded a penalty shot, got advice from none other than Ryan Hollweg, and scored against Tim Thomas.

Home & Home With Montreal...

2010-01-18T12:54:00.003-05:00

Next Saturday, I will be venturing into Montreal to see the second game of the Home & Home with the Canadiens. Okay, it's a home-and-home with 2 other games in between, but still, it stands to be more intriguing than a home game against Tampa Bay and a game in Philadelphia.

So, which jersey should I wear?

Should I go with the autographed Dan Girardi jersey?
The autographed Sean Avery?
Superstar Marian Gaborik?
New addition to my collection Vinny Prospal?

I normally like to wear Sean Avery jerseys when I'm in other buildings.

I did it in Nashville last year about a month after the Rangers got him back on re-entry waivers, and a few fans yelled "Sloppy Seconds!" at me. To recap, I am not Sean Avery, I just wear the jersey. And the Rangers won that game.

I wore it in New Jersey amid death threats from the upper level (directed at me, my friends, and Scott Gomez, playing his first game in Jersey since signing with the Rangers). Those were quieted when the Rangers won the game.

I wore it in Philadelphia, where some kid tried to body check my friend. "How could you wear a Sean Avery jersey in Philly?" one cigarette-smoking man asked me. Well, the Rangers won that game.

And I wore it in Montreal on Super Bowl Sunday when the Giants beat the Patriots. As I was on the escalator, there was a man in a Mike Komisarek Habs jersey in front of me. We had an awkward silence, then discussed what it would be like to really date Elisha Cuthbert. The Rangers went down 3-0, then won that game 5-3.

Should I keep the tradition alive, or change things up?

Three Metro Teams in Action, 5 Points Given Out...

2010-01-13T00:28:00.004-05:00

Can't be any disappointed hockey fans out in the NY-NJ area tonight, from the 17,000 Ranger fans at MSG, to the 1,000 Devil fans at MSG, to the 4,000 Islander fans who routinely sell out the lower bowl on the Nassau Coliseum, to the 17,000 fans that the New Jersey Devils have accumulated since Aaron Broten first led them on the ice in 1982.

Yes, Bryan, the Rangers-Devils game was excellent, except for one thing - it underscored how bad the Rangers are at mustering offense. Henrik Lundqvist was great in stopping 45 shots - downright incredible on a few.

And I won't bash Marty Brodeur as I normally would. Any time you stop 51 shots, you played great. Of course, the Rangers made it very easy for about 40 of those shots. He did make a few excellent saves, and while he didn't do much on Marian Gaborik's overtime-near-score, that save on Michal Rozsival with time running out in the extra period was good.

Shots from the boards, shots with no traffic in front, shots to Brodeur's glove. C'mon! Do you really think a wrister from the left circle is going past Brodeur's glove? You can tell me all you want about how many shots they had, and I will tell you until I'm blue in the face that it doesn't matter if they're 90% crappy shots.

And I guess that old hockey adage "If you shoot enough, one is bound to go in" was proven wrong tonight.

Remember March of 2007 when Rick DiPietro made, what, 56 saves in a shootout loss to the Rangers? The Rangers made him look like Jesus Christ that night - albeit he was clean-shaven, and Christ would wear #33 not #39. But they had so many awful, easy-to-save shots that it looked like nothing would get by him, and rarely anything did except for a goal in regulation and a Matt Cullen goal in the shootout.

Anyway, fast-paced, end-to-end action with good defense play that wasn't boring. It was a very good game to watch and would've been sweeter with a Rangers' win, but now the Rangers web site can say they are 9-1-3 in the last 13 games.

And I can't even get mad at the shootout result. It would've been nce to have had a Ranger score, but they couldn't, and Patrick Elias' wrister that beat Lundqvist was awesome.

* * *

Telling stat of the night brought to us by Versus and Jack Daniels Old No. 7: Marian Gaborik was 2-for-17 in shootouts going into tonight. Now, he is 2-for-18, around 11%. By comparison, Erik Christensen, Zach Parise, and Ales Kotalik are near (or over) 50%.

Why does John Tortorella keep putting Gaborik in? I know he's a superstar, I know he'd the "stud" on the team, and I know he scored in the shootout in Atlanta, but he isn't a breakaway artist.

Jaromir Jagr wasn't. Gaborik isn't either. Stick to Kotalik, Christensen, Vinny Prospal, Artem Anisimov, and maybe even Ryan Callahan. But keep Gaborik out of it until at least the 6th round.

Enver Lisin would've been nice to have seen pull some moves out of his bag. But alas, Donald Brashear needed to have his customary 8 shifts and 5:53 of ice time.

Hey, didn't Lisin score in Atlanta?

A Great Night For New York Hockey

2010-01-13T00:14:00.005-05:00

Just got home from the Coliseum a little while ago... WOW. Of all the things I thought I'd see tonight, a 6-0 Islanders win would have been at the very bottom. A perfect performance from the Islanders tonight, and that is no exaggeration. Maybe the bright future of the New York Islanders isn't as far away as we all thought.

As for the Blueshirts, they lost in the shootout to the Devils. However, by all accounts, this was one of the best games in the entire league this season. Unfortunately, a quick search of the iO Channel Guide does not indicate a replay of this game airing anytime soon, which means that those of us who didn't see this game missed out on something special. Hopefully, Zach will be by later on or tomorrow to post his thoughts.

In closing, thanks to the Islanders and the Rangers for giving us great performances tonight. Here's hoping the season's second half is full of many more nights like this one.

Who the Rangers Should Sign...

2010-01-09T23:58:00.006-05:00

It appears Donald Brashear reads this here website. A few nights ago, after the overtime loss in Atlanta, I wrote that the entire team needs to start hitting more; I then singled him out for being a complete waste of money and being a shell of what he used to be. Teams aren't afraid to take runs at Marian Gaborik, Henrik Lundqvist, or the rest of the team, because Brashear isn't going to make them pay with a fit of violence like he used to.

Maybe it's being injured (I don't care, if you're too hurt to play, don't play); maybe it's being scared of the league suspending him (really?); maybe it's him just not having "it" anymore (most probably). Regardless, he hadn't been in a fight since Thanksgiving-time, and he hadn't stuck up for anyone in weeks.

In today's matinee tilt against Boston, he changed his tune. He was hitting people after the whistle, trying to get involved, and even had a fight.

Of course, he was ineffective. He lost the fight - pretty badly. In fact, it was embarrassing. Donald Brashear circa 2003 would pummel Donald Brashear 2010 into a bloody pulp, then sucker-punch Aaron Ward en route to the locker room. He wouldn't even care about the 2-game suspension that follows.

Hell, you know Brashear is useless when Ranger fans would rather see Aaron Voros in the lineup. Atleast Voros cares and sticks up for teammates.

So, you ask, who should the Rangers sign?

That's right, there he is. Ronnie from MTV's Jersey Shore.

Let's look at the facts...

1) He's from New York. He was born and raised in the Bronx. The team needs homegrown talent, not mercenaries born in Indiana and raised in Quebec. You know he'd do NY proud.

2) He comes to the defense of teammates. Who could forget when Snooki got punched in the fact by that guy at the bar and he went looking for blood? If that gentleman wasn't arrested, Ronnie would've delivered his own brand of vigilante justice.

3) He'd be a cheap Salary Cap hit. With virtually no ice hockey experience, he'd be signed for the league minimum and he'd be on a two-way contract. If it didn't work out, they could send him to Hartford and not fear him being picked up by a different team.

4) He's cocky. He has a swagger. He's overly confident. The last time the Rangers had an enforcer like that, well, it was last year with Colton Orr. Orr went into every fight knowing he was going to win. Ronnie has the same mentality. Maybe he'll even have the same sadistic win every time he knocks out Todd Fedoruk.

5) He'd be a great deterrent. And, uh, he's pretty strong. Look at those muscles! And did you see the size of the protein powder he brought with him for his month at the Jersey shore? No one in their right mind would run over Lundqvist in the crease with Ronnie sitting on the bench waiting to knock someone's skull in.

6) He whooped that guy on the Boardwalk. He delivered about 5 or 6 solid shots to that guy's head. And you know every time they play the Devils he would get up for that game.

If anyone has Glen Sather's number, let him know.

The Greatest Text Message I've Ever Received

2010-01-08T16:53:00.002-05:00

October 5, 2006 was a pretty big night in my life. It was a hectic time - my wife and I had just been married for five months and were getting ready to move into a new apartment - but that night stands out. My mom came through with a quality birthday present (a brand new X-Box 360) and my brother came over to our box-filled place to watch Game 2 of the Mets-Dodgers NLDS, which the Mets won. At that moment, all was well.

However, unbeknownst to me, all was *NOT* well. Because Fox airs their baseball games ridiculously late even on weeknights, I was forced to miss the start of the Islanders' first game of the season. Since it was in Phoenix, I was able to join the game in progress. When I turned the game on, my jaw dropped. 5-1 Coyotes in the second. Phoenix would go on to win 6-3. Saddest of all, in the first game of his 15-year contract, Rick DiPietro was pulled after two periods.

I thought that was the end of it until the next day, when I received a text from Zach, the esteemed Rangers writer of this great site. His paraphrased text:

"6 goals per game… for 82 games… for 15 years… equals 7380 goals… that's DP!"

Zach's number-crunching made me cringe, but made me laugh even more. Unfortunately, Zach made one erroneous assumption - that DiPietro would even come close to playing in every game of his contract.

Welcome back, DP.

Warren Zevon; A Call to Arms...

2010-01-08T01:45:00.007-05:00

Warren Zevon was an incredible singer-songwriter who died of cancer in 2003. For anyone who has never listened to him, I highly recommend listening to his album The Wind, which was released a month before his death. "Keep Me in Your Heart" is an absolutely amazing goodbye to the world.

Anyway, he had a hockey song once upon a time, off of his 2001 album My Ride's Here, a song the Rangers should take to heart...

There were Swedes to the left of him / Russians to the right / A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight / Brains over brawn, that might work for you / But what's a Canadian farm boy to do / What else can a farm boy from Canada to do / But what's a Canadian farm boy to do / What else can a farm boy from Canada to do / "Hit somebody!" was what the crowd roared

Man! Every game, I just want to yell "Hit somebody!"

Eric Boulton and Christoph Schubert had their way with the Rangers' roster tonight - hitting from behind, knocking them to the ice, leaping off the ice for checks. And what did the Rangers do? Nothing.

Mike Del Zotto and Eric Staal hit hard tonight, sure, but it wasn't a deterrent.

Donald Brashear makes $1.4M and hasn't been in a fight since November. Not that fights are the only measure of a man, but it's not exactly like people are scared of him. This isn't like 2006 when people aren't taking runs at Alex Ovechkin because they know that they - or their team's superstar - will have to face Brashear's wrath. He is a joke who skates away from confrontation.

To be honest, I don't care if he's playing hurt or not. If he is playing hurt, he should still contribute. If he's too hurt to play, take a seat, and someone will play in your absence. You can yap to the opponent all you want when you're on the bench, but if you don't follow it up with physical, punishing play, it's all for waste.

(Last year, Colton Orr was that deterrent for the team. And if everyone can now remember what Brashear did to Blair Betts in Game 6 when Orr was a healthy scratch...)

When Sean Avery plays his game, he is highly effective, but he's not a huge hitter. He will throw his body around, but he's smaller than most guys he hits.

They need to start hitting and taking control of the game. Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Brashear, Chris Higgins, Matt Gilroy, please wake up and start knocking people around.

* * *

One other thing they need to start hitting? The net!

I'm convinced that Brandon Dubinsky and Staal have an aversion to hitting the net. Combined, they must've shot high and/or wide 10 times in the back-to-back games against Dallas and Atlanta. Maybe they think Chris Drury is always there to deflect it on goal.

If Higgins ever made an All-Star team, he would go 0-for-everything in the shooting accuracy competition.

Ryan Callahan has 10 goals this year. If he knew how to hit the net, he'd have 20.

It's getting to the point where the power play is ridiculous because they shoot every puck wide. Two-on-ones, breakaways, doesn't matter. The puck rarely gets to the net.

* * *

And no, I'm not just saying all this because they lost. I would've said the same thing even if they won.

However, if they were able to smash people or hit the net, perhaps they wouldn't have lost tonight.

The Return of the Franchise

2010-01-06T20:57:00.005-05:00

To say that Rick DiPietro was the most important New York Islander in the 2000s would be an extreme understatement. Outside of possibly Charles Wang, nobody has been as central a figure to the Islanders - and their current state - as DiPietro. Here's a look at the influence Rick DiPietro has had on the Islanders organization over the past decade.

- 2000: Islanders GM Mike Milbury trades Roberto Luongo, clearing the path for the Islanders to draft Rick DiPietro. Luongo goes on to become a star, as do Marian Gaborik and Dany Heatley, both of whom the Islanders passed on in favor of DiPietro. In exchange for Luongo, the Isles acquire Mark Parrish, who would become the team's most consistent forward for the first half of the decade and a key part of the 2001-02 team.

- 2001-02: DiPietro leads the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to the Calder Cup Final. While the Sound Tigers don't win the championship, future Islanders Trent Hunter, Eric Godard and Raffi Torres gain valuable big-game experience.

- 2003: DiPietro is called up to the NHL for good. This forces the Islanders to trade starting goalie Chris Osgood to St. Louis for prospect Justin Papineau. Papineau goes on to become a typical Islanders prospect - a "can't miss" guy who misses horribly.

- 2004: DiPietro takes over the starting load for the Islanders, who are eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Tampa Bay. DiPietro earns his first playoff win, which is a shutout. DiPietro later appears in one game for the U.S. team in the World Cup of Hockey.

- 2006: DiPietro is named to the U.S. Olympic team. After the team loses its first game, DiPietro is named starter, a position he holds for all but game until the U.S. is eliminated from the tournament.

- 2006: Having gone on record stating he would like to finish his career on Long Island, DiPietro signs a 15-year deal with the Islanders. The deal ensures that DiPietro's prime years will be spent with the Islanders at well below market value, while his later years will cost the Islanders well above market value. Word is that new general manager Garth Snow and DiPietro's agent are barred from the negotiations so that Charles Wang can negotiate with DiPietro one-on-one.

- 2007: DiPietro suffers a concussion while charging for a puck well before it reaches the goal crease. The hot play of Wade Dubielewicz allows the Islanders to make a miracle run to the playoffs, where DiPietro returns and goes 1-3 in four games.

- 2007-08: DiPietro has the best three-month stretch of his career, resulting in a selection to the 2008 All-Star Game. Due to an injury to Martin Brodeur, DiPietro starts the game. He lets in one goal over the entirety of All-Star Weekend and is considered for MVP honors. He also "f***s up" his hip during the Skills Competition.

- 2008: As DiPietro leaves the team to mourn the loss of his grandmother, the Islanders win the first game of a home-and-home against the Rangers, thanks in large part to the efforts of Wade Dubielewicz. DiPietro returns for the second game, but coach Ted Nolan starts Dubielewicz instead of DiPietro. The Islanders lose the game as well as the next five, knocking the Islanders out of playoff contention and, if you believe what you hear, costing Nolan his job.

- 2008-09: DiPietro has knee surgery over the summer. Both the Islanders and DiPietro claim a clean bill of health has been given. However, DiPietro only plays five games all season, forcing the Islanders to juggle the craptastic duo of Joey MacDonald and Yann Danis for the duration of the season, which for all intents and purposes is over by Christmas.

- 2009: Concern about DiPietro's short-term and long-term health force the Islanders to sign both Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron. Many fans are convinced that DiPietro will never return to the NHL. Rumors persist that Biron's contract includes a clause stating that Biron is to be traded if/when DiPietro returns.

- 2009-10: Roloson's play keeps the Islanders within breathing distance of the playoffs as 2009 ends. DiPietro plays rehab games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and is called up to the Islanders roster in January. DiPietro joins the team on a West Coast trip, where he is to play his first game in over twelve months.

So yeah... it's been a busy decade.

As Rick DiPietro returns to his place as Islanders goalie - not to mention the face of the franchise - it will be interesting to see how people will react. Many fans have completely turned on DiPietro, to the extent that they don't even want him back.

In the eyes of this writer, this attitude towards DiPietro is juvenile at best and reprehensible at worst. In all of struggles Rick DiPietro has gone through over the past four years, the person who is least to blame is Rick DiPietro. He has worked harder than any of us would have just to get back to the Islanders, and for what? To play in front of a half-full arena of people who hate him? Please.

When Rick DiPietro signed his 15-year contract, there wasn't a John Tavares to get people excited about the team. The Islanders were coming off a non-playoff year in which the only two players who even qualified as decent were Miroslav Satan and Alexei Yashin. The signing came after the Islanders were also exposed as the laughingstock of the NHL after the hiring and subsequent firing of Neil Smith. Furthermore, the year after DiPietro signed his contract, Islanders fans watched Jason Blake, Ryan Smyth, Tom Poti and Viktor Kozlov sign with other teams on the first day of free agency. Instead of following the money like most players, DiPietro pledged loyalty to an Islanders team that, quite honestly, had no hope whatsoever for the future.

What is the reward for Rick DiPietro's loyalty? An angry fanbase who doesn't want him back? I would certainly hope not. I understand that many Islanders fans are skeptical that DiPietro can stay healthy over the long haul. But DiPietro is as much an Islander as anyone who has ever worn the uniform, and we should be proud that he would fight so hard just to wear the Islanders crest again. Remember, this is a team that nobody wanted to be associated with us... and yet, Rick DiPietro chose us at a time when he could have commanded more money on the open market. It's time we, as Islanders fans, repay DiPietro for his commitment to the Islanders and Long Island in general.

It works out well that DiPietro will make his debut on the road. This will give Islanders fans a chance to see DiPietro in action from a distance and evaluate his performance in an unemotional setting. However, when Rick DiPietro makes his return to Coliseum ice, anything less than a standing ovation would be a disappointment.

Notes From the Garden...

2010-01-04T23:46:00.004-05:00

:: My lead off today was going to be "Chris Higgins couldn't score at a bar near Arizona State University" until about 90 seconds remained in the Rangers/Bruins game tonight.

Still, I guess even the fat mathlete can find the drunk sorority girl every now and then.

:: To the people who said the following regarding my Steve Rucchin jersey...
- "Isn't Prospal number 20?"
- "It must be his own last name."
... is this your first season watching the Rangers? Do you know know who the best - and only competent - second-line center on the Rangers since the lockout is? By the way, both Jason Krog and Freddy Sjostrom wore #20 between The Rucch and our favorite player named Vaclav.

I understand it's an obscure jersey, but when you go to a lot of games, it's nice to dig deep into the closet once in a while.

But to the guy in the Scott Gomez jersey... please... retire it.

:: Best jerseys of the night...
- Marco Sturm #19 German Olympic jersey
- Marc Savard # 33 Rangers jersey

:: Fun game tonight, and it was a relief from the 1-0 Bruin/Ranger games we're used to, but it definitely got a little hazy in the 3rd period. My head still hurts from when I involuntarily hit it after Blake Wheeler scored to tie it 2-2.

:: Paging Sean Avery: Eventually, you're going to have to score. You have still only scored in 2 games this year. I appreciate that in both games you scored 2 goals, but a 5th goal in forthcoming, no?

:: I know it's a little premature, but I'd like to keep Erik Christensen with Brandon Dubinsky and Marian Gaborik when Prospal returns. Christensen has found his niche - playing with superstars like Gaborik, Sidney Crosby, and Ilya Kovalchuk - and it's relieving to see him fitting in. When Prospal returns, have him center Ales Kotalik and Ryan Callahan. Have Avery play with Chris Drury and Artem Anisimov, and then have a 4th line that doesn't do anything. I'm never one to speculate on line combinations, but that sounds good, no?

Souring On The Shootout

2010-01-02T22:38:00.004-05:00

The shootout has not been kind to the Islanders in 2009-10. The earlier shootouts were plagued by the spotty goaltending of Dwayne Roloson; while Roloson has significantly improved his play, the Islanders still entered this week with a record of 1-4 in the shootout.

This week, the Islanders played three games. Each of them went to the shootout. The Islanders won on Tuesday night against Columbus, lost on Thursday in Ottawa, then beat Atlanta tonight. In two of those games, the Islanders used the same three shooters - Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen and Rob Schremp. No surprise there, especially since each of them were 50% or better in the shootout heading into tonight's action. (On Thursday, John Tavares replaced Tambellini in the shootout, but only because Tambellini was scratched.) In fact, you could make the argument that the main contributions of Tambellini and Schremp are their skills in the shootout. But that's an argument for another day.

My issue is this. Not only have the Islanders used virtually the same shootout lineup for three consecutive games, but all three guys - Tambellini, Schremp and Nielsen - have used the same exact moves each time they've appeared in the shootout. Tambellini used his wrister from the hash marks, Nielsen did his backhand move, and Schremp did an odd combination of like 40 moves that made it look like he was having a seizure as he skated down the ice. You'd think opposing coaches would take note of these things and go over them in meetings. Apparently, this isn't the case.

Now, I might be in the minority here, but I've always liked the shootout. Anything added to the game that appeases the fans is a great thing, and that's exactly what the shootout was intended to do - to ensure that paying customers see a winner and a loser. The Columbus game on Tuesday was the first time I got to see a shootout live, and I loved it. However, I'm starting to see where the "skills competition" aspect comes into play. If players are just going to recycle the same moves over and over again, nobody benefits. Shooters risk doing their moves one time too many and being figured out, while the fans - the reason for the shootout in the first place - get cheated because they're not seeing anything new.

Don't get me wrong. I'd much rather see the shootout in its current form than watch a game end in a tie. But maybe there's a better way to go about this. I have no idea what that better way would be. I just wish the shootout was the exciting, creative event it's supposed to be instead of the same old moves night in and night out.

Thanks to the incomparable NHL Shootouts for the shootout data.

US Olympic Team...

2010-01-02T09:53:00.003-05:00

The US Olympic team should re-name themselves Team Ryan: Ryan Suter, Ryan Miller, Ryan Callahan, Ryan Kessler, Ryan Malone, and Bobby Ryan.

* * *

Why the big deal over Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, and Keith Tkachuk not making the 2010 US Olympic team? The US wants to win, right?

Weight had no goals in 11 games before being injured... again. His first game back was the night before the Olympic selections were announced. Guerin is actually scoring around the same pace he was in 2002 when the team won the Silver Medal, but he's 39 and the chances that he'll have anything left for 8 games in 11 days is very slim. Tkachuk hasn't been a force on any team since before the lockout, and he would just be taking space for a young power forward - say, Ryan Callahan (or Ryan Malone).

Scott Gomez was an interesting name left off. He just turned 30 last week and he played well in the 2006 Olympics in Italy, but those of us who watched him the past 2 years (and anyone following him in Montreal this year) know that he just isn't as good in another system as he was with the Devils.

I would also venture to guess that it came down to Gomez and Chris Drury fighting for a spot, and with John Tortorella as an assistant coach, Drury got the nod.

I like Callahan and Drury being on the team. I'm very excited for Callahan and I think the experience can only help him. As for Drury, he won't play 20 minutes a night for them so he won't come back burnt out. Plus, being there could inspire him to play better - he said so himself after being selected to the team.

As for Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik? Awful.

Remember how good the Rangers were playing in 2005-06 before the Olympic break? They were 20 games over .500, then ended the season 9-11-4 after the break. Lundqvist came back grinding his teeth and with migraines and was utterly awful in the playoffs against New Jersey (he'll admit it). Jaromir Jagr came back hurt from a Jarrko Ruutu check; on top of that, a nagging hip injury was made worse by the lack of off-days in the compressed Olympic schedule.

Without Jagr and Lundqvist, that team was just a bunch of role players who played great together and had a dream season.

Without Gaborik and Lundqvist, this team is a bunch of young players who haven't really meshed yet (and a few overpriced veterans who are just waiting for their careers to end).

What happens if Lundqvist gets hurt? The season is officially over. What if Gaborik gets hurt? So far, he hasn't injured anything that was hurt in previous seasons, but you shouldn't press the matter. An injury to him in Vancouver could have negative effects on him - and this team - for the next 4 years.

Plus, Hank could use the rest for 3 weeks before the stretch-drive.

Four reasons I am very against NHL players playing in the Olympics...

1) It should be an amateur competition.
2) You're stopping an exciting NHL season for 3 weeks and expecting people to pick off where it left off 21 days later.
3) The chance for injury is too great. (Ask the Ottawa Senators how the rest of their season was when Dominik Hasek was injured in the Czech Republic's first game in '06.)
4) It can be a career-maker for a young kid. Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg in the 1992 Olympics in the shootout was an instant classic. I'd much rather have that than see Chris Pronger snuff out Evgeni Malkin in the bronze medal game because they're division rivals.

They're Already Starting With This Crap

2010-01-01T22:26:00.004-05:00

As soon as the Winter Classic ended, you knew everyone was going to start gushing about what a wonderful event it was - even if there was a whistle approximately once every six seconds during the first two periods. This one, hot off the presses, is entitled "NHL Sets Higher Bar with Latest Classic".

For Marco Sturm, it was his son wanting to stay on the ice at the family skate the day before the Winter Classic.

Doesn't every kid want to stay on the ice when the session is over? I mean, I'm 28 years old, and when the sessions at Cantiague Park end, I start to cry and beg the attendant for five more minutes on the ice.

Maybe it was James Taylor's lyrical version of the national anthem.

Isn't EVERY version of the national anthem performed by a singer considered "lyrical"?

It is not a stretch to suggest that for every Boston Bruins player, every Philadelphia Flyers player, every coach and manager, and the 38,112 who jammed into the Fenway Park stands, there will be a separate memory of the Winter Classic that they will tuck away forever.

OK, first of all, this is a one-sentence paragraph. Second of all, this isn't even possible. Third of all, people are going to have exactly two memories of this game - it was cool to see a rink at Fenway, and the Bruins won in overtime. In that order.

First, would this audacious plan work? The Buffalo experience on Jan. 1 2008, answered in the affirmative.

Fun fact - if the Winter Classic didn't debut in Buffalo, it would NEVER be held there. Somehow, I doubt the allure of Ralph Wilson Stadium could attract non-hockey fans.

Corporate sponsors are clamoring to get on board and NHL teams are now bidding to host the event.

Keep this sentence in the back of your mind.

"It is a cornerstone of the strategy we began over three years ago to build scale and connect with our fans in ways we haven't done before, using all of the platforms available to us," commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday.

Except, of course, ESPN. This game was listed ninth in ESPN.com's top stories just an hour after the game was over, behind non-stop college football coverage. That'd probably change if ABC was airing the game. Not saying it's fair, but that's the way it'd be.

Success is said to breed success, but at the same time, the bar has been set extremely high and the risk of backsliding, of having an event that doesn't measure up and therefore becomes subject to criticism or disappointment, goes up.

The bar was never NOT high. Last year's game set the bar as high as it was going to go. This year's game just happened to have a better finish. Now, every Winter Classic will have to be held at an iconic stadium and feature two major-market, media-friendly teams.

The NHL has for the first time opened up a bid process to come up with a host for the 2011 game.

Hey, this sounds familiar! I think I read this somewhere before.

The process will force teams to think outside the box in suggesting venues and activities that will "wow" the league.

I'd imagine the bids of teams like Nashville and Columbus will be pieces of paper stating simply, "We know we have no chance of ever getting a Winter Classic. However, we're submitting this so we can tell our fans we're in the market for a Winter Classic someday."

The New York Rangers, for instance, are the only U.S.-based Original Six team that has yet to play in a Winter Classic, and it is important they are involved given their heritage and importance to the league.

Wrong. A GOOD Rangers team is important to the league. The current Rangers team doesn't do anything for the casual fan outside of New York. It'd be like putting the Knicks on a Christmas Day game... oh wait, nevermind.

Yankee Stadium may not be a possibility, though, with word college football will be using the facility over the holidays; so, the league must consider ways for the Rangers to host a game somewhere else or invite them to play in the contest as a visiting team.

Let's also not forget that the new Yankee Stadium has been open for exactly one year. A game there isn't what it would have been a year or two ago. I'd rather see a Winter Classic at the decaying carcass of Giants Stadium than at new Yankee Stadium.

One memory many fans will cherish from Friday's Winter Classic was watching former Bruins great Bobby Orr skate onto the ice as the team's honorary captain. Former Philadelphia captain and GM Bob Clarke was the Flyers' honorary captain, and to see the two Hall of Famers skate to center ice together for the ceremonial puck drop was a nice moment.

It was also a "nice moment" when Clarke pulled the ultimate dick move, "winning" the ceremonial faceoff despite being the road team. What a prick.

Are we saying that places like Tampa, Atlanta, Carolina or Phoenix should never have an Outdoor Classic?

What's an Outdoor Classic?

Wrigley and Fenway were no-brainers, but now it becomes more difficult to find those iconic venues.

This is actually a good point. I guess there's a first time for everything.

The game also has to celebrate its biggest stars, and that's why we don't have any problem with Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby being involved in a second game, or Detroit hosting a Winter Classic in the near future even if the Red Wings have already been in one.

We are guessing it is a formality that wherever the game is held next year, the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin will be involved in some way. It is mystifying that three events have passed without the Caps being involved.

You can bet that Ovechkin and Crosby will each play in three Winter Classics before they retire. God forbid NBC and the NHL promote the other teams in the league.

In the end, the challenge of maintaining the Classic's magical spark isn't about being fair, it's about making the right choices.

Awesome. So teams like the Islanders will always be stuck playing second fiddle to the "big" teams and attractive venues. And the "right choices" will always be what yields the biggest TV ratings, not what hockey fans want to see. Get ready for Rangers-Capitals next year, which will be followed by some regurgitation of past Winter Classic matchups. Thank goodness NBC is here to expose the unheralded talent in the NHL.

Crushed...

2009-12-31T01:29:00.003-05:00

Yes, the Rangers got crushed today.

It was a 6-0 loss; first time they were shutout this season; Sean Avery was the only one who really showed up; a division rival got 2 points on home ice; Chad Johnson let up his first goal on his first shot ever.

But it's funny how quickly people turn on the team. They go 4-0 and all of a sudden Marian Gaborik is the greatest player in the world, Henrik Lundqvist is the best goalie in the NHL, and this team is on the right track.

Then, they get shutout at home, and we need to fire John Tortorella, trade Brandon Dubinsky, and go with a youth movement.

Aren't teams allowed to win and lose games?

Yes, no one played particularly well. Chad Johnson - he who wasn't scheduled to start and was thrown in during an intermission - played decent. Avery played very well tonight. Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan played well, but as always, couldn't find the back of the net.

This is a team where 34% of the Salary Cap is occupied by 3 players who shouldn't be making a total of $3.4M. What did you expect?

A team with Michal Rozsival, Wade Redden, and Chris Drury will NEVER win a Stanley Cup, unless they are all making under $1M per year and the rest of the roster is filled with named like Kovalchuk, Gaborik, Lundqvist, Boyle, Heatley, and Niedermeyer.

This Rangers team isn't built for a Cup run. Yes, they have a few parts (Gaborik, Hank, Ryan Callahan, and 3 of 6 defensemen), but they'll get shutout 6-0 from time to time. Sometimes, they'll score 7 goals. Some games, they'll put up a fight in a 2-1 loss.

Get used to it.

But don't expect too much.

And don't complain when they don't show up for a game. After all, what did you expect out of Redden when he was signed? Passion? Commitment? Offensive skill?

Ruining A Classic

2009-12-30T00:16:00.007-05:00

The 2008 NHL Winter Classic was one of those events we'll always remember. The novelty of an outdoor game, the snow falling, the almost-too-perfect ending with Sidney Crosby scoring in the shootout. The 2009 NHL Winter Classic was no less entertaining, with a resurgent Blackhawks team and the defending champion Red Wings taking over Wrigley Field. The 2009 game showed that the Winter Classic was a sustainable commodity, something that could get the casual sports fan to take an interest in the NHL. Most true hockey fans, though, had the same thought - as great as the Winter Classic is now, if there's a way for the NHL to screw it up, they will certainly do so.

Fast forward to this year. The debate over who would play in the 2010 Winter Classic was red-hot, which is usually a great sign. Hockey fans had high expectations for the third installment of this event, and with good reason. So when the NHL announced that the Boston Bruins would be playing the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park, many were a bit underwhelmed. Sure, Fenway Park is an iconic venue, but Bruins vs. Flyers?

Many have pointed to the Flyers' sorry start to this season - 38 points in 38 games, 13th in the East - as proof that the NHL screwed this one up. My thought is that the NHL didn't screw anything up. Instead, NBC stepped in and got who they wanted - as in, who they thought would pop the best rating. The far more appealing Bruins-Canadiens matchup was shelved, and instead we get Bruins-Flyers, a matchup of two teams who have no rivalry whatsoever and combined to win exactly one playoff series last year.

A Bruins-Canadiens Winter Classic would have done so much to promote the event as a true hockey event. The Montreal Canadiens have one of the richest traditions in all of sports, maybe even more rich than that of the almighty Yankees. Casual fans might not be able to name one player on the Canadiens roster, but they know the team and understand something about the their history. They could come to understand the Canadiens-Bruins rivalry (assuming the NHL and NBC promoted it) and get into this matchup, giving the Canadiens the same respect they'd give to any well-known NHL team. Lastly, and most importantly, including the Canadiens in the Winter Classic would have been a huge bone thrown in the direction of the Canadian teams, who got the ball rolling when it comes to outdoor games and deserves to be part of this event going forward.

Of course, that's when NBC stepped in. I can picture the conversation...

GARY BETTMAN: For the 2010 Winter Classic, I'd like to have the Bruins host the Montreal Canadiens at Fenway Park.

NBC EXECUTIVE: The who?

GARY BETTMAN: The Montreal Canadiens.

NBC EXECUTIVE: What are they, an expansion team?

GARY BETTMAN: No, sir. They've been around for a hundred years. They've won 24 Stanley Cups. They may well be the most famous...

NBC EXECUTIVE: Hold it right there. I don't know what you're talking about with all this Montreal nonsense, but I'm not interested. This is NBC, damn it. We only show games that include the Penguins, Capitals, Rangers, Bruins and Flyers. Hey, Bruins and Flyers, that'd be a great matchup, no?

GARY BETTMAN: Not really.

NBC EXECUTIVE: Well, that's how it's going to be. If you think about it, it doesn't really matter who the Bruins play. ESPN will see that a Boston team is involved and promote the hell out of it, so neither of us will have to do anything.

GARY BETTMAN: Good point. Besides, we don't really care about our Canadian audience anyway.

NBC EXECUTIVE: Then it's settled. It'll be Bruins-Flyers at Fenway, and I'll tell you what. We'll put you in our NFL studio show for Wild Card weekend. We already have 30 analysts on that show, what's one more?

(Both Bettman and the executive laugh uproariously, then roll around in a pile of money.)

OK, so maybe it didn't go exactly like that. But it may as well have. In the mean time, the NHL is already doing everything it can to weaken its "flagship event". (Editor's note: Anytime your "flagship event" isn't your championship game/series, you're in trouble.) Bettman has talked about creating an outdoor game solely for Canada, largely because he knows there's no way in hell NBC is letting a Canadian team anywhere near the Winter Classic. With more than one outdoor game in any given year, the NHL seriously risks ruining the uniqueness of the Winter Classic. It might be running against crappy college football games, but the viewing audience still needs something new and fresh to watch.

Sadly, NBC doesn't do "new and fresh". NBC does "whatever will get us the highest TV ratings possible". So, while the 2010 Winter Classic might be about the Bruins and Flyers on paper, it's a bit different to diehard hockey fans. Years from now, we may look back at the 2010 Winter Classic as the year the Winter Classic changed from a hockey event to a TV event - the year the NHL gave its huge showcase event to NBC in the name of ratings and advertising dollars. You know what the worst part is? The only thing that's surprising is that it took this long.

My Favorite Islanders Games Of The Decade

2009-12-28T23:39:00.002-05:00

I'm going to the Islanders game tomorrow night. Not only is it my first game of the year, but it's the last home game the Islanders will play in this decade. It hasn't been the best decade in terms of wins and on-ice success, but I've had a ball attending games over the past ten years. Here are the games I've attended that stand out in my mind. It's crazy... the first of these games took place during my freshman year of college. Ten years later, I'm out of school, I've gotten a "real job", I've gotten married and have fathered two kids. And through it all, the Islanders have been solidly mediocre. (Zing!)

Without further adieu, here's the list, broken down by season.

1999-00

- 2.12.00 - Islanders 5, Penguins 1. This was the unquestioned highlight of yet another craptastic year by the Islanders. It drew an unusually large crowd because the game was the host of a protest against SMG, but I didn't really care about that back then. Instead, I cared because it was a game and it was part of my Valentine's Day date with my then-girlfriend Leslie. This was before I realized that you're not supposed to take a girl to a hockey game for Valentine's Day. Either way, it worked; she now has season tickets and her own Islanders blog. Anyway, this game came at a point in time where I was starting to get very interested in hockey again after a few years where the losing drove me away a little bit. That they blew out the dominant Penguins was huge and quite unexpected.

2000-01

- 1.2.01 - Canadiens 3, Islanders 0. There are three things I remember about this game. First, we went with some sort of church youth group and got really good seats. Second, the people we went with thought Zdeno Chara was hilarious and awful and mocked him constantly. Of course, he was hilarious and awful back then. Third, and most importantly, Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore sealed this one by shooting a puck into the empty net that was on our side of the ice. At the time, I was pretty distraught. Then, I realized that only like five goalies have ever scored goals, and I came to realize the significance of the achievement.

Honorable Mention: 11.24.00, Rangers 4, Islanders 3 (first Isles-Rangers game)

2001-02

- 10.13.01 - Red Wings 5, Islanders 4. The score sheet will show that the Islanders blew a lead with under ten seconds left, then lost the game in overtime. But this was the night when the culture at Nassau Coliseum really began to change. Charles Wang came out for the home opener ceremonies and referred to the "first-place Islanders" to a huge ovation. It was also the home debut for both Alexei Yashin and Chris Osgood (Michael Peca was injured). Yes, the Islanders lost the game, but it was a huge sign of things to come.

- 10.20.01 - Islanders 2, Sharks 2. I was named after Bryan Trottier, so when tickets went on sale for the retirement of #19, I was all over it. Not only was Trottier my namesake, but #19 was my number in soccer and hockey. I asked my dad to go, but he turned me down, so I took my (then-girlfriend, but future) wife. The Wednesday before this game, my dad died suddenly, and the funeral was scheduled for the morning of this game, which had a 1 PM start time. I wasn't sure what was the norm for this situation, so I went straight from the funeral to the game. Within two or three hours of each other, I saw my dad laid to rest and then saw the name and number he gave me raised to the Coliseum rafters. It was only years later that I saw the symbolism in all this, and even now I don't totally know what it's supposed to represent, but it's quite eerie.

- 4.28.02 - Islanders 5, Maple Leafs 3. It's impossible to convey the emotion of this game, and this series in general, to someone who didn't experience it. But I'll put it this way. Zach, your Rangers blogger who HATES the Islanders, was at this game... and CHEERED for the Islanders. That's how intense it got. It was the game after Gary Roberts and Darcy Tucker injured Kenny Jonsson and Michael Peca respectively, so the crowd was at a fever pitch. And everyone remembers the fights at the end of the game, but that wasn't even the loudest moment of the night. Before the game, they played a highlight package to "Going the Distance" from the Rocky soundtrack. After the montage, the screen went black and displayed the following... "Let's win this one... for Michael and Kenny." The place went ballistic. I was at Shea Stadium for Endy Chavez's catch in the 2006 playoffs, and the raucous scene after that catch didn't even compare to the Coliseum at that moment. Sure, it's a bit sad that the sporting highlight of my lifetime so far was a non-deciding game of a first-round series the Islanders didn't even win. But there was something so special about that series. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.

Honorable Mention: 10.28.02 - Islanders 3, Stars 2 (Peca scores on a breakaway in OT to win the game)

2002-03

No games

2003-04

Honorable Mention: 4.12.04 - Lightning 3, Islanders 0 (First Coliseum tailgate)

2004-05

No games :-(

2005-06

- 2.2.06 - Rangers 5, Islanders 2. This was the first game I attended after the lockout; it was also the first game I attended with Zach. More importantly than these events, though, it was the night I had my first ever pretzel twist. Clearly, it would not be the last. The other thing I remember about this night was being harassed and cursed at for wearing an Islanders jersey, even though the Islanders were the home team.

2006-07

Honorable Mention: 3.8.07 - Rangers 2, Islanders 1 (Simon-Hollweg incident, controversial no-goal call in final minute)

2007-08

- 10.6.07 - Islanders 3, Rangers 2. This game was our first experience with parking lot hockey. Unfortunately, we didn't know enough to bring tennis ball instead of the hard plastic Mylec balls, so we dented a few cars. Sorry. Adding to the pre-game fun was Zach showing up with at least twenty 24-ounce beers for pre-game festivities. The game itself was great, as I attended the game with three Rangers fans and I was able to talk trash to them all night long. Lastly, after the game ended, we went back to our friend Lou's house and played some midnight hockey. Despite being extremely hammered, I managed to score five goals, then threw up immediately after the fifth goal. Good times.

- 11.6.07 - Islanders 3, Rangers 2. The third period of this game was probably the best period of hockey I've ever seen live. The Isles were down 2-1 in the third, but tied it up and later scored to win the game. I still recall Miroslav Satan playing the point late in the third and just having a great feeling about what was coming next. Sure enough, it played out exactly the way my mind had scripted it. I yelled "NOW!", and at that exact second, Satan pinched in from the point, got a pass in the slot and fired it past Henrik Lundqvist for the game-winning goal. This game was on Versus and I was furious that my DVR ran out of space before the amazing third period. I would have saved it forever.

- 12.13.07 - Islanders 3, Coyotes 2. I'd gone to games before with Zach, but this was the first (and, so far, only) time we've gone to a game by ourselves. As cheesy as it sounds, it was a great night of in-depth hockey talk between two people who are a little too into the game - as it turned out, we started this blog two months later. The Coliseum was empty that night due to a bad ice storm, so we had our run of the place and moved all over the arena. We both wore our Gretzky jerseys in the hopes of meeting The Great One after the game. The Coyotes bus didn't stop for us, but he did give us a smile and a wave. That's more than I can say for Jon Sim, who got out of his car to sign autographs... only nobody actually wanted him to sign anything. Ouch.

- 3.21.08 - Islanders 3, Devils 1. This was my first time seeing the Islanders on the road. Rooting for your team at a road game is a totally unique experience. It was a blast. It helped that there were tons of Islanders fans there that night, even though the Isles were nowhere near playoff contention. The trip was also a tremendous eye-opening opportunity to see what a state-of-the-art arena could be like. I couldn't believe how gorgeous the Prudential Center was, and I couldn't help but think about how great the Lighthouse would look. In the end, it was Kyle Okposo's first career goal - the game winner on that night - that would be my best memory of this evening.

2008-09

- 11.26.08 - Penguins 5, Islanders 3. The Islanders blew this game in true 2008-09 fashion by choking away a three-goal lead, just like I knew they would. But this game is memorable because I got to watch it from the lofty perch of the Blog Box. As a result, not only did I get free admission and free parking, but I also got to rub noses with guys like Stan Fischler and Chris Botta. Best of all, I got to enter the Islanders locker room. For a kid who always dreamed of playing for the Islanders, this was beyond cool. I'm not sure if it could get any better than that.

Islanders Win!

2009-12-26T21:38:00.003-05:00

When the Rangers scored with 47 seconds left in the third period to tie tonight's game at 2, I assumed that was it for the Islanders. The Rangers would go on to win in overtime; if they didn't do that, they'd win in the shootout. I had my mental consolation speech prepared. It went something like this: "It's a damn shame they didn't win tonight. Kyle Okposo was a beast. Even if he never scores again, he should make the U.S. Olympic team, because he still makes things happen. Oh, and I f*&@ing hate the Rangers."

Then, almost out of nowhere, Kyle Okposo, he who was a beast tonight, fired off a wrist shot that deflected off Marc Staal's skate, then the post, and then found the back of the net. Islanders win in overtime.

MSG Plus gave us a bunch of stats that I thought said a lot about these two teams. First, Brandon Dubinsky's second goal gave the Rangers their first point in a game where they trailed after two periods. That's plenty of fodder for the "The Rangers have no heart" chorus. Second, the Islanders earned their 37th point a full 13 games before they hit the 37-point mark last year. Third, the one we all know a little too well, this was Okposo's first goal in nineteen games. Lastly, and perhaps most pathetically, the Islanders have consecutive wins for the first time in almost two months.

Yes, the Islanders gave up a crucial point to the Rangers, a team they may be battling for a playoff spot later this season. But this was a big win for the Islanders. They took it to their biggest rivals tonight and got two points. They got a bit of a raw deal with the schedule - their game against the Flyers tomorrow starts just 22 hours from the drop of the puck tonight - but the Flyers are terrible and the Islanders are riding a great wave of momentum. Truly, there's no reason why they can't beat Philadelphia tomorrow night; there's even less reason why they can't beat Columbus on Tuesday night. That'd be four in a row. It probably wouldn't get the Isles into the top eight before the end of the year, but it certainly would send them into 2010 on a positive note.

Huge win tonight. And one last note on Okposo - now that he's broken his goal drought, look for him to heat up in the very immediate future.

Programming Note: I've been a bit absent of late, which I apologize for. Such is life with two kids and two jobs. Hopefully, it won't happen again. Thanks to Zach for picking up the slack.

Vinny Prospal Night; Accountability?...

2009-12-24T01:13:00.003-05:00

The average ice time for a forward in a 60-minute hockey game is 15 minutes.

The average ice time for a defenseman in a 60-minute hockey game is 20 minutes.

Explain to me how, in an "Era of Accountability" (my phrase), Michal Rozsival skates 3 more minutes than the average defender (23:18 against Florida).

The original intention of the writing was to praise Enver Lisin, yet wonder about how he skated 2 minutes less than average tonight (13:05).

To be honest, Lisin skating 13 minutes is 4 or 5 minutes more than he normally skates (and he only skated 4 minutes last Monday in the shootout loss to Atlanta). And on a night where Vinny Prospal, Sean Avery, Marian Gaborik, and even Chris Drury were playing good, I guess there wasn't a ton of ice time to go around. So I'm happy with 13 minutes for Lisin.

But Rozsival rocking 23 minutes? He had over 9 in the first period! The reason Lisin didn't play much was allegedly because he was atrocious defensively.

So is Rozsival! Or was the Panthers' lone goal too early in the game for everyone to remember how awful he looked on that first goal. He played pretty poor the remaining 22 minutes he was on the ice as well, including his 1:59 on the power play. (To be fair to him, his penalty killing isn't atrocious, but he refuses to look at anyone except the puck carrier, and it almost bit him in the behind twice tonight on the same Florida power play).

* * *

My pregame prediction of a hat trick by Prospal was officially killed when Gaborik scored a shorthanded goal. I figured up 3-1, Tomas Vokoun would head to the bench, Gaborik would have an open empty net, pass to Prospal, and he'd have his 3rd of the evening.

* * *

Ales Kotalik looked so disappointed after missing that breakaway on Vokoun in the 2nd period. He's trying hard and he wants to score, it just isn't happening today. It was good seeing him on the point on the power play, though, tonight.

* * *

I'm not all negative, you know. Lisin had a really good game. He looked like Wayne Gretzky on that first goal where he out-hustled the opponent, kept with the puck, and passed it perfectly to Chris Drury, who pounded it home. Drury got credit for the goal and Avery got the biggest applause when it was announced, but Lisin did the legwork on that one.

Drury was huge on the 4th goal though; the pass from his knees to Gaborik was money. How Gaborik put that home is still a mystery to me, but that's okay.

I'm just happy they scored today. The Garden was rocking for the first time in two months tonight.

* * *

About those "Asshole" chants you heard towards the end of the 3rd period.

Two guys in Islander jerseys, one with a jacket, one without, were leaving the Garden. Instead of going out the gate closest to them, they - v e r y s l o w l y - walked halfway around the Garden and went out a different exit. Every section they passed yelled at them.

It was priceless.

And very ballsy by those guys. Some people were getting pissed. I found it hilarious.

Dwayne Roloson...

2009-12-22T02:08:00.004-05:00

Let me start by saying I'm a Rangers fan. My Grandpa Allan was a season ticket holder in the 60s and 70s; my dad was a huge fan; one of my happiest moments ever was when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994; I cried when Mark Messier skated his last game in 2004 against the Sabres; I chanted "We Want the Cup" when the Rangers clinched the playoffs in 2008; and I've been to every Home Opener since 2006.

That said, those 2 saves by Dwayne Roloson tonight might go down as the best combination of saves this decade.

I can only think of a few better saves off the top of my head: Marty Turco in the playoffs a few years ago; Henrik Lundqvist on Marc Savard in Boston; and someone getting a piece with the shaft of his stick (can't remember - Craig Anderson?).

But two in succession like that? That's Patrick Roy-Mike Richter territory. That was unbelievable. Of course, if the 2nd one was counted a goal, we wouldn't even be talking about it right now, but as it stands, incredible hockey by Dwayne Roloson.

Start Johnson; Sit Redden...

2009-12-19T19:17:00.003-05:00

Finally, John Tortorella did what Tom Renney should have done starting November of 2008 - bench Wade Redden.

I used to say that Redden was a $2M player getting paid $6.5M/year. Recently, he had been playing like a call-up from Hartford. The only thing is, the call-ups from Hartford were playing better.

When everyone under age 26 on the roster plays better than a mid-3os veteran, there is a problem. And that problem, regardless of salary, should sit in the stands and watch a few (dozen) games.

When they put him back in the lineup Monday against Carolina, if he doesn't respond to the benching with smarter and more physical play (and if he stops playing "hot potato" with the puck like it's going to hurt him if he skates with it) there is only one more thing you can do: put him on waivers.

It will hurt paying him $6.5M to be in the minors, but to be honest, I couldn't care less. Our ticket prices are high regardless. Sure, we'll see that stupid Chase ad on the plexiglass every game, but we see that now with him on the team. What we pay to watch the Rangers is only going to go up every year, regardless of if he is on the team or in the minors. Might as well have him down there.

Other teams couldn't do that, because they don't have an endless supply of money like Jim Dolan and Cablevision have. So if they're paying a player over $6M to play in the AHL, ticket prices skyrocket. Ours will anyway. See what I mean?

What WOULD affect me is if he is taken on re-entry waivers and the Rangers have to pay half of his salary for the next 4 full seasons. That WOULD directly affect me because then they can't use his Cap space to pay for a player who hits, or shoots, or passes well, or scores, or clears the crease.

* * *

Coming off of back-to-back wins, there is no better time than now to bench Henrik Lundqvist. Let Chad Johnson get his first 2 games in against weak teams. Carolina and Florida are no definite wins, for sure, but the ideals thing would be to let him beat Carolina on Monday, then against Florida on Wednesday. This gives him great experience, some confidence, and his first MSG start.

Plus, it would give Lundqvist a full week off before he plays the Islanders on Saturday at MSG.

Redden Scratched Tonight

2009-12-17T12:51:00.004-05:00

Christmas - and Zach's birthday, for that matter - isn't until next week. But this news will surely make Zach feel like it's Christmas morning. Rangers coach John Tortorella is putting Wade Redden, the $39 million man, in what might be his natural position - in the press box as a healthy scratch.

Is it the right move? Hard to say. But you cannot possibly argue that it's the wrong one. The Rangers allowed Islanders fans to take over the Coliseum last night. Usually, it's the other way around; tonight, it may very well be the other way around. But it's clear that the Rangers need to shake things up, and this is one way to achieve that goal. Besides, maybe they'll actually play better without an ineffective Redden taking up valuable ice time.

No matter what you think of the Rangers or this move, it's clear that this has been a long time coming. Hell, it probably should have occurred twelve months ago. You'd think the Rangers would dump a guy like Redden before dumping Tortorella, but Glen Sather isn't exactly forthright about admitting his mistakes. The Rangers have a golden opportunity to right the ship in a game against their hated rivals, just 24 hours after being embarrassed on home ice by those same Islanders. If they can't get up for this one, maybe it's time to replace Redden AND Tortorella.

Why the Rangers Lost...

2009-12-10T11:01:00.002-05:00

Why the Rangers lost last night in Chicago was actually an event 20 years in the making.

You see, on a cold December morning in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada, while the rest of the young hockey team was learning how to throw body checks, a 12-year old Wade Redden was having his first period.

His parents, who had woken up at 5 in the morning to drive him to play with his team, instead had to drive him to the gynecologists office to look at why their preteen son was such a pussy.

Fast forward to 1995, and 18-year old Wade had become the first woman ever drafted into the NHL. His family cried, and the Islanders were questioned, but stood their ground. (Six months later, when they realized he could never throw a body check, he was traded to Ottawa for Bryan Berard and Martin Straka.)

It is now 2009, and with a snowy Chicago as the backdrop, Marian Hossa was standing in the crease between Henrik Lundqvist and Mr and Mrs. Redden's daughter, Wade. A slew of Chicago players were pounding at the puck and Lundqvist, and the younger Redden daughter was content standing behind Hossa. His one defense mechanism - pushing Hossa once with his stick.

Well, her decision to go to the gynecologist to learn how to use tampons instead of learning how to throw checks and clear the crease sunk the Rangers again. Hossa, unfettered in an area of the ice he never should have been allowed to enter anyway, kept Redden away from doing anything to stop him or Jonathan Toews from putting the puck past Lundqvist.

Game tied with 6 minutes left.

That's one minute for every million dollars Madame Redden is being paid this year to not hit, not clear the crease, not play defense.

Time for a Change...

2009-12-09T09:43:00.004-05:00

I'm not normally the guy who sees a losing streak and says "Fire the coach! Trade Lundqvist! Gaborik was a fluke in October and November! Fire the coach!"

However, I can see that this isn't a "losing streak" - this is a team saddled by bad contracts and players who aren't playing.

Marian Gaborik isn't Superman. Sure, he's an incredible talent and arguably the best player in the league this year, but he can't do it all alone. There will be games he can't score. And then what?

Henrik Lundqvist is an excellent goalie, but there will be times he lets up a bad goal. And with this team, he can't afford to, because every game is tight. In a 1-1 game such as the game against Detroit, the bad goal crushed them because nobody could score.

The Rangers should have backup scoring. Ryan Callahan (5 goals) should be able to score. Chris Drury (2 goals) is embarrassing. At one point you have to stop being paid to be a defensive forward and actually put the puck in the net. Chris Higgins (3 goals) is cheap and shoots a lot, but he needs to be counted on the score. Brandon Dubinsky was a holdout. Normally, players who hold out score more than once every 6 games (3 goals in 18 games). The list goes on and on and on... Enver Lisin (3 goals), Aaron Voros (0 goals, 1 assist in 19 games after his huge October last year), Donald "More Offense and Money Than Colton Orr" Brashear (0 goals, 1 assist, 19 games), Michal Rozsival (1 goal), our $6.5M man Wade Redden (1 goal), former 1st round pick Brian Boyle (3 goals), Sean Avery (4 goals). Yes, Avery has been getting better and better each game, but he has also only scored in 2 games this year, both times potting home two goals.

What am I getting at here? I'm not solely blaming John Tortorella - though he does need to take some of the blame and stop placing it all on the players - and in no way am I saying Tortorella needs to be fired.

I'm saying... look above. Look who rewarded a lot of these players. How can someone reasonably give Wade Redden $39M over 6 years, or Michal Rozsival $20M over 4 years. Chris Drury getting $7.5M per year was ridiculous, but he just happened to be one of the best players during that free agency period (Scott Gomez and Daniel Briere were the other 2).

It's time for GM Glen Sather to take the leave. He hasn't done much in his tenure. Yes, he drafted Petr Prucha and Henrik Lundqvist... in late rounds. He took Mike del Zotto, Marc Staal, Alexei Cherepanov, and Artem Anisimov as well. But he also drafted Hugh Jessiman, Al Montoya, Bruce Graham, Darin Oliver, and Lauri Korpikoski in years he could have taken Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Wojtek Wolski, Mike Green, Dave Bolland, and David Booth.

If James Dolan watches hockey and keeps track of the Rangers - and, to be honest, there's a chance he has no clue what's going on with this team - he needs to make a change. And that change is at the very top.

An Odd Weekend...

2009-12-05T14:34:00.006-05:00

Four years ago, you could have said the Rangers would get 2 points in this weekend's back-to-back games, one in Buffalo and then home against Detroit. They could've beaten the Sabres but would have been mauled by the Red Wings.

Three years ago, you could've written this weekend off as a total loss. The Sabres were flying on the wings of Danny Briere and Chris "More Than 2 Goals in 22 Games" Drury, and the Red Wings again would have mauled them.

This year, it could be interesting.

The Sabres are flying high at 16-7-2 and are on a 4-game winning streak. They are also 9-3-2 at home, while the Rangers are 6-7-1 on the road. However, the Rangers are well-rested and have arguably the best player in the league playing for them. If Marian Gaborik scores another 2 goals tonight and Henrik Lundqvist shows up with a good performance, they can steal 2 big points from a conference rival.

The Red Wings, however, are just 3 games over .500 and are breaking even on the road. Old incarnations of the Wings have mauled the Rangers every game. There was a cold January game in 2006 where Brendan Shanahan buried them for 2 goals (the Rangers lost 4-3, but there was a late 3rd period goal to make it seem closer); there was a game when Shanahan was a Ranger where the Rangers were winning 3-1 and then stopped playing and lost 4-3 (that was the night Sean Avery was traded to the Rangers); and then there was last year, where Aaron Voros scored 2 goals and the Rangers still lost, in overtime (Aaron Voros... two goals? What?).

Though the Red Wings are struggling, so are the Rangers, and the Rangers do have to travel back from Buffalo in order to play this game. Detroit has a game in New Jersey tonight; traveling from Jersey to New York, however time-consuming the traffic may be, is not as bad as a flight home from Buffalo.

This weekend is really a crapshoot. If I was guessing, I would say they win in Buffalo and get mauled by Detroit. However, knowing my betting record, they're going to beat Detroit but lose tonight to Buffalo.

Hey, maybe back being in Buffalo will wake Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik up.

* * *

In answer to reader Eric the Lev, who inquired if I thought John Tortorella would get fired like John Stevens - no, I don't. It's way too soon to tell if he will last. The team is suffering injuries and are still treading water. However, I think the tide will have to sway in his favor soon to save some more jobs.

In my opinion, the GM should be gone. One coach (Tom Renney) didn't work. Another one is having problems. Time to point the finger at the man who signed Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, and Chris Drury to a total of $19M per season, isn't it?

I also don't know why Stevens was fired from Philadelphia. The team is doing decent and most of the team is performing well. They don't have good goaltending yet are staying competitive in games.

I think he was fired because of pre-season expectations. Everyone predicted the Flyers to be great and go deep into the playoffs, yet they have a weak blueline (including overrated Chris Pronger) and poor goaltending (although Ray Emery and Brian Boucher have been playing better than I thought, they still aren't a top-notch tag team). So they fire the coach, bring in Peter Laviolette, and hope for the best. Bad move.

Veterans Day

2009-12-05T14:11:00.005-05:00

If you saw last night's Canadiens-Bruins game, odds are good that you're still in awe. I know I am. Imagine being in the crowd during the pre-game ceremonies and watching the greats in Canadiens history taking warm-ups. Imagine seeing three generations of hockey legends taking the ice together. Canadiens fans must have felt such pride seeing the likes of Guy Lafleur taking shots on Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden. It's a far cry from the contrived practice of current players wearing the jersey of a retired player during warm-ups, no?

It's no surprise that the Canadiens were the ones to bring this memorable moment to us; they have never been anything less than spectacular when it comes to honoring their storied tradition. The Islanders? Well... not so much. It's been a pretty all-or-nothing deal with the Islanders over the years, and for a team that probably would have folded or moved many years ago if not for their tradition, that's not acceptable.

Since Bryan Trottier's #19 was retired in 2001, the Islanders have not raised a number to the rafters. Yes, they had Al Arbour Night in 2007 to commemorate the coach's 1500th game with the team, but they never bothered to update his banner to reflect his 740 wins. Instead, we see 1500 under Arbour's name - a sad reminder that the Islanders organization had very little faith that Arbour would actually win his 1500th game.

Perhaps the most obvious example of the Islanders' mismanagement of their alumni can be found in the Islanders Hall of Fame, which was established in 2006. The Islanders made a big deal out of their Hall of Fame, drawing a large crowd to that night's game, and named Bob Bourne as the Hall of Fame's first member. Since then? Nothing. At the time, I saw the Islanders Hall of Fame as a blatant way to play on Islanders fans' affection for the glory years, and apparently I was right. Not that Bourne doesn't deserve the honor - he clearly does - but it seemed like a very convenient way to draw a sellout crowd. The prior year, the Islanders held a 25th anniversary celebration for their first Stanley Cup win; the year after, they had the Core of the Four ceremony. And history shows that the only significance the Islanders Hall of Fame has is that it fulfilled the Islanders' unwritten requirement to bring the alumni back for one night to appease the fans.

When the Rangers announced plans to retire Adam Graves' number, I criticized the team for acting like Rangers history began in 1994. The Islanders, quite frankly, have behaved in much the same way. The way it looks to me, if you weren't part of the Cup winning teams, you're pretty much irrelevant to the organization. There's no legitimate reason why Pat LaFontaine's #16 isn't hanging from the rafters right now. There's no reason why guys like John Tonelli, Ed Westfall, Pierre Turgeon and Ziggy Palffy aren't in the Islanders Hall of Fame. (Note: Turgeon was on the ice last night with the other Canadiens legends, despite not even playing in half as many games for the Habs as he did with the Islanders.) It's insulting to these players, as well as the teammates who helped make them great, that their contributions aren't recognized by the Islanders organization. Especially guys like Palffy and LaFontaine, who essentially sold tickets by themselves while they were part of some horrible Islanders teams.

I understand that some of the alumni feels like the Islanders have exploited them over the years. They absolutely have every right to feel that way, because they were. But the Islanders have a tremendous opportunity to honor some players who haven't had their asses constantly kissed by the Islanders. This is especially important to younger fans who were reared on the 1993 Islanders. While it might sound blasphemous, to us, Turgeon and his teammates were just as important as the legends who now reside in the Hall of Fame. It never hurts to throw a bone to your younger generation of fans, as these are the fans who are deciding now how much they want to incorporate the Islanders in their now-grownup lives - as in, whether or not they're willing to invest serious money in season tickets.

Lastly, and most obviously - the Islanders would do well to honor their former players now. Because with all the uncertainty about where the team's future resides, if the Islanders don't honor these guys today, there might not be a tomorrow.

Back from California...

2009-12-03T09:02:00.005-05:00

Have no fear, folks, I have returned from sabbatical in San Diego and will be writing about our favorite .500 team, the New York Rangers, tonight when I return from work.

What have I missed?

My 13-10 team quickly hit the skids with 3 bad losses. Marian Gaborik, however, is playing MVP-caliber hockey. Can you be an MVP on a team that misses the playoffs? Someone should call Anze Kopitar and tell him the award might be his if this pace continues.

Erik Christensen is now the Rangers 37th third-line or fourth-line player. His claim to fame is once being traded in a package for Marian Hossa. No points in 9 games this year - he should fit right in.

I actually don't mind the Christensen move because he plays center and he should give a few other 3rd/4th liners a run for their money. Hey, maybe the change of scenery will do him good.

Steve Valiquette was put on waivers since I last wrote here. It's sad to see, but the team couldn't rely on him this year. Last year, he'd play against certain teams, have shutouts, and everyone loved him. This year, he lets up a lot of weak goals and the team gets embarrassed 8-3 in a game that was close with 39 minutes and 59 seconds played.

I blame his poor performance this year on the fact that the Rangers have not yet played Philadelphia.

Is Chad Johnson the answer? Most likely not, though it doesn't really matter. They can rest Henrik Lundqvist all they want, but he's still playing the Olympics, and it still will take a huge toll on him like it did in Italy in 2006.

Anyway, more tonight.

Beauty And The Moulson

2009-12-01T22:34:00.006-05:00

It was only a matter of time before the Matt Moulson puff piece was written. This actually came out about a week and a half ago, but it was so horrendous I had to share it. No, there are no Molson Canadian beer puns in this one... but fear not, as some awful wordplay still awaits you! By the way, sorry if the font jumps around in size a bit - you can blame ESPN.com's cracked web staff for that.

ST. LOUIS --
Ooh, look at me! I get to write an article from the road, and YOU don't!

At the risk of offending Linda Hamilton and the entire Moulson family and that furry guy in the old television series (Ron Perlman)

Anyone have any idea what this means? Me either. But I'm sure it'd make sense if I were like 30 years older.

and maybe even John Tavares, there is more than a little beauty-and-beast action with the New York Islanders' dynamic duo of top rookie Tavares and out-of-nowhere winger Matt Moulson.

Beauty-and-beast? Dynamic duo? Asinine alliteration? The books I read my 19-month-old daughter feature more clever wordplay.

But put it this way: Moulson, the hitherto anonymous 26-year-old winger who quickly has become the cheese to Tavares' macaroni through the first quarter of this surprising season for the Islanders, was drafted in the ninth round of the 2003 draft, 263rd overall.

There are 43 words in this sentence. I'll sum them up in four - Matt Moulson was unheralded.

They don't even have a ninth round anymore. GMs figured it was better to pack up early and go golfing or head to a bar than stick around and draft players in the ninth round.

Or, the eighth and ninth rounds of the draft were lopped off after the lockout because GMs had like a week to prepare for the draft once the lockout ended. Or the owners didn't to be stuck paying two extra draft picks. Either way, I'm sure it had nothing to do with golfing or drinking. By the way, Mark Streit was a 9th round selection of Montreal in 2004, meaning the Islanders probably have more 9th round draft picks on their active roster than any other team in history.

Does Moulson, who has 18 points, including five multipoint efforts, through the Islanders' first 23 games, get tired of being treated like the hockey guy who fell to Earth?

He laughed.

"It doesn't really bother me," he told ESPN.com. "I'm here now in the NHL. I guess I have an interesting story to tell. It's always interesting for people to find out things like that and maybe a good story for some younger kids."

See, this is why we don't go the route of some of our Blog Box colleagues and actually talk to the players. They do a good job with it. We can't. Why? Because hockey players are BORING. Sorry to say it, but it's true. What was Moulson supposed to say here? "I'm tired of being treated like the hockey guy who fell to Earth"? Furthermore, what does that even mean? Did Moulson arrive in a UFO? My head hurts now.

Indeed, an apprehensive Moulson was in regular touch with agent Wade Arnott as the July free-agency period approached and his contract with the Los Angeles Kings expired. "I was bugging him every day, 'Where do you think I'm going to end up?'" Moulson said.

I'm sure Wade Arnott was like, "Who's this Moulson guy who keeps calling me every day?".

Tavares was among the first people Moulson called when his deal was completed during that first week of free agency.

"I was right on the phone to Johnny, and it was a pretty good moment," Moulson said. "I still didn't know what was going to come of it, but I was excited."

I distinctly recall reading about the Moulson signing and loudly exclaiming the following words - "Who the hell is Matt Moulson?". So did every single Islanders fan out there - even the ones who *knew* he'd work out from the moment he signed the contract.

"Matt was a guy that I knew from my days in Providence when he was playing in Manchester. I thought he had the ability to score. But I went back and I watched some of the goals in the NHL, which were goal scorer-type goals, and as it turned out through exhibition, he was our leading goal scorer," Gordon told ESPN.com.

Yes, because scoring goals in exhibition games guarantees success in the regular season. You know who led the league in points during the pre-season? Former Islander Mike Comrie, he of the eight points in 16 regular season games. But I'm sure he'll rebound in plenty of time to win the Hart and Art Ross Trophies, even if he's got mono right now.

"The thing that's good about Matt is if he's not scoring from the tops of the circle, he's scoring from the front of the net. That ability to score from two different places, you're talking about two different types of players. Some guys don't like to go into traffic. But the fact he was willing to do that, I thought it would be a good complement for John."

Truer words have never been spoken. And by "truer words", I mean "cliches that apply to virtually every forward in the NHL".

And?

"We didn't have a lot of options," Gordon added.

That's more like it.

"Actually, when people kept cutting down my skating, cutting down my skating, Mike O'Connell, when he was with L.A., he told me to look at a player named Andrew Brunette," Moulson said, crediting the former Bruins GM who is now with the Kings' player-development staff.

"I used to tape all his games and watch them and watch what he did," Moulson said. "[Brunette] may not be the fastest guy out there, but he's great at protecting the puck and making plays around the net and getting to the net. He was up and down in the AHL as well starting his career, and he's made a pretty good player of himself and pretty good name for himself in this league. He's someone I followed closely."
Okay, this is actually something useful. This is something I didn't know and is nice to hear. It makes infinitely more sense to emulate a guy like Brunette than a superstar. But nobody does it, because you never see the grinders on SportsCenter. Oh, wait, you never see the superstars of the NHL on SportsCenter, either.

This week Moulson met his guide, who of course had no idea he'd had any impact whatsoever on his career.

"He gave me a stick last night," Moulson said happily.

You mean Brunette stuck him, as in speared him?
ZOMG! ROFLMAO!

"No, no, he signed a stick and gave it to me last night. I got it this morning," Moulson said.
Oh. See, hockey players ARE boring.

"I got it this morning, and I had a grin from ear to ear. I told him he was one of my favorite players."
I'm sure Andrew Brunette has never been referred to as "one of my favorite players" by anybody outside of the Brunette family and Matt Moulson.

"I told him when he made the team out of camp, 'Treat every day like it's your last, because you don't know,'" Gordon said. "'You battled high odds to make the team, but that doesn't mean tomorrow won't be a different day. You have to prove everybody right that we made the right decision every single day.'"

That's right, Scott Gordon. Matt Moulson's singular focus over his first 27 games has been to prove to everybody that Garth Snow is a genius. As opposed to, you know, proving that he's actually a pretty good player. Moulson, that is, not Snow. We all know Snow could never make it in the post-lockout NHL.

"It seems funny from where I started from until now. I get two goals against Boston [Monday night], and I'm upset because I wanted a third one. I'm not disappointed but wanting more after that. Coming from where I came from, I never thought I'd be wanting more after a two-goal game in the NHL."
If I had a two-goal game in the NHL, I'd be wanting more. But it'd probably involve sexual favors, as opposed to a third goal.

Beautiful.
The first few times I read this, I thought to myself, "That's an odd way to end this piece." Eventually, I realized it was a play on the copious beauty-and-the-beast analogies found in the article, many of which I edited out for the benefit of your sanity. I still have no proof of any beast-like tendencies in Matt Moulson, or Andrew Brunette, for that matter. So, you know, hooray for Matt Moulson and all that.

Reinventing The Islanders

2009-11-30T22:57:00.005-05:00

Last weekend, I attended my ten-year high school reunion. I haven't spent much time over the past decade thinking about high school, but I was happy to attend. Though Facebook took away a good chunk of the surprise and small talk, it was great to see some people I hadn't seen since graduation day.

What I didn't expect was to be left with a bunch of blanks to fill in. Ten years ago, we all parted ways on relatively even ground. Today, we are all in different areas of life. How did we get to where we are? It's fascinating, really; all of the small choices we've made in our lives have added up and, for the first time, we're able to gauge our progress against our peers. To use a high school analogy, it's like getting a first quarter report card - an early indication of where we stand.

Because these things intrigue me way more than they should, I was far more interested in what people didn't say. For example, Bob lives in the city, where he works as a real estate broker. How did he end up there? Why did he choose to move to the city, and why has he chosen to stay there? Has he had any serious relationships? This person is the exact same person as he was ten years ago, but his experiences have changed him permanently. He's the same, but different.

Personally, I was a pretty big dork in high school, and I didn't have a ton of friends. Today, I'm still a dork without many friends. In high school, I appeared disheveled because I didn't care how I looked. At my reunion, I may have appeared disheveled because I was too busy attending to my two children and working two jobs to even have a chance to change my clothes, let alone shower or do anything else. Once again, same, but different. I wasn't particularly proud of the fact that I had no money and couldn't afford the open bar that night, but I was one of the few in attendance with children. So I reluctantly became The Guy With Kids - I've always detested The Guy With Kids - but I suppose it's a step above The Guy Who Doesn't Talk To Anybody, The Guy Who Can't Keep A Job, The Guy Who Has Drug Problems, or any other labels that may be out there.

I saw this reunion as a chance to reconnect with some old buddies and even make new friends. An old friend of mine once said that meeting people from high school was great because it's like meeting a complete stranger, but you have an automatic "in" with that person. And even though most of the old cliques remained intact, I was able to have a great time with many people, some expected, some totally unexpected. Things may have gotten a little sloppy at the end, but I felt I played my cards pretty well. My life is far from perfect, but I'm not the timid loser I was in high school. Maybe I screwed up some of the last ten years of my life, but I have a plan for the next ten, and my behavior reflected that. It was a nice moral victory, one that hopefully leads to some lasting friendships with some old classmates.

As I thought about the relative success of my reunion, I began to compare it to hockey. Surprising, I know. In my senior year of high school, the 1998-99 NHL season, the league was in the throes of the Dead Puck Era. Only one team (Toronto) averaged more than six total goals per game. Today, thirteen teams average more than six total goals. In fact, Detroit's 5.76 total goals per game ranks 20th in 2009-10, but would have placed second ten years ago. It's a different game... and yet, it isn't. The Red Wings have struggled this year, but have been on top of the league for the past decade. The Devils have been up there for ten years as well. The Sharks barely qualified for the playoffs in 1998-99, but they've been great for much of the 2000s. The Rangers are still chasing after big-name free agents, yet are still looking to get past the second round of the playoffs. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) And yes, the Islanders are still in last place in the Atlantic Division.

Islanders fans will talk until your ears bleed about how the Islanders are having a great year and how they're .500. Too bad they're sitting at 11th in the East, and too bad their 10-10-7 record would be 10-17 in any other sport. This isn't to demean the Islanders, it's just to illustrate the facts. For all of the progress the Islanders have made in 2009-10, they're still perceived as a second-rate franchise - and rightfully so. Over the past decade, the Islanders have had exactly one good season. They've won a total of six playoff games. Yes, they've made the playoffs four times in the past nine seasons, but three of those appearances came in the sacrificial role of the eighth seed. In short, there hasn't been much to cheer about. And yet, there's hope.

In 1998-99, the Islanders finished with 58 points. Their leading scorer was Robert Reichel. Players like Barry Richter and David Harlock saw significant ice time. Of the 41 players who wore an Islanders sweater in 1998-99, just eight of them had a plus rating; none of these players dressed in more than twelve games. How bad were the 1998-99 Islanders? In NHL 99, the Islanders' top rated player was Mats Lindgren. Not only was this team horrendous, but there was no plan for the future - aside, of course, from saving money. 1998-99 was Zigmund Palffy's final year on the Island; the same was true of Tommy Salo, Bryan Berard and Bryan Smolinski. The Islanders had acquired a nice group of talented prospects, but these players were being sold off rapidly.

Since 1998-99, the Islanders have transformed themselves on more than one occasion. After years of dumping the league's best prospects for pennies on the dollar, the Islanders finally figured things out in 2001-02, taking the Maple Leafs to the brink in perhaps the best first-round series of the decade. The Isles stuck with that core for a few years, albeit with much less success, until the lockout necessitated changes. When the initial post-lockout group didn't work, Garth Snow retooled the Islanders by bringing in spurned veterans on one-year contracts. While this method got the Islanders into the playoffs in 2006-07, it wouldn't work over the long haul, so Snow and the Islanders committed to a true rebuild. That's the Islanders team we see today.

Since Ted Nolan took over the coaching reins in 2006, the team has had the reputation of an extremely hard-working team, if not an overly talented one. Now that Scott Gordon is here, that hasn't changed. Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins has cited the Islanders as the team he hates to play the most, and for good reason. The Islanders give opposing teams routine fits, and now that the team is being rebuilt the correct way, they can continue to build around this identity - their identity. How many other NHL teams actually stand for something?

It's taken a while, but the Islanders are finally on the right track. Just the same as we might seem like we're doing the same old things ten years later in life, it's also possible that we're much further along than people realize. That's where the Islanders are right now. To the uninitiated observer, they're the same sad-sack team they've always been. Those of us who follow the team, though, know better. We know anyone who spends time with this team will be impressed and will be motivated to follow them regularly, just as I tried to use my reunion to show my old classmates that I'd made some progress over the past ten years. At the end of the day, it might not mean more wins for the Islanders or more money in my pocket, but success of any kind - even if it can't be quantified - is surely welcome.

Happy Thanksgiving...

2009-11-26T08:44:00.004-05:00

Though it is cold and rainy, it is indeed Thanksgiving. I started to search for a pretty cool Hockey Thanksgiving image to put on here, but as soon as I saw pictures of those creepy fat birds that everyone else in America eats today, I decided not to.

Yes, I'm scared of turkeys.

Anyway, on a day that I'm thankful the Rangers gaining 4 points in 2 games for the first time since they beat LA and Toronto in back-to-backs in mid-October, I wish you the best today. (Sure, these 4 points came against 2 teams that haven't won a combined playoff game since a 1997 series against Wayne Gretzky and the Rangers, but it's still a good feeling.)

As for me, I'll be in sunny San Diego starting tomorrow, and while you would think hockey would be the last thing on my mind, I'll be glued to my cell phone for text message updates for the 3 games I'll miss.

That Tampa Bay game is another big points, and if they can get 3 points against the Penguins, then that's 9 out of 10 and a big step in the right direction. Of course, there's a solid chance that Steven Stamkos will score 2 goals tomorrow, Marian Gaborik will score 1, and nobody else will score anything and they'll lose 2-1. And taking 2 from Pittsburgh is more realistic (they can definitely win the home game on Monday, I believe).

I leave this website in the hands of Bryan, whom I'll be seeing for some Thanksgiving hockey in less than an hour. I know Bryan was all set to write something last night, but then his daughter threw up because she ate too much. Since she ate dinner in my restaurant, I take full responsibility.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.