Battle Of Hudson

They seemed to be in control. At least that’s how it looked. Playing in one of the toughest arenas, the Islanders blew a two-goal lead- dropping a tough one to Winnipeg 5-4 in overtime.

Trailing 2-1 entering the third, the Islanders scored three consecutive goals to take a 4-2 lead. John Tavares got it started 22 seconds in when he beat former teammate Al Montoya on a rush. He took a Kyle Okposo feed and broke in and ripped one top shelf for his first to tie it.

Less than five minutes later, another great read by Tavares led to sidekick Matt Moulson scoring his third. Travis Hamonic passed for Tavares, who skated to the blueline and fired for Moulson, who redirected the puck past Montoya for a 3-2 lead. Moulson is basically the Islander version of Adam Graves. A gritty overachiever who’s always parked in front. He and Tavares have become a dynamic duo on Long Island.

A bit later, the Islanders took advantage on the power play. With Chris Thorburn in the box for a trip, Tavares helped set up captain Mark Streit for a power play goal. He worked the puck to Frans Nielsen who centered for Streit, who blasted a one-timer through a Moulson screen to make it 4-2 with 10:07 left.

Everything looked great for them until David Ullstrom took a penalty. Ullstrom, who scored earlier- took a hooking minor handing the Jets an opportunity to get back in the game. At that point, one of the loudest buildings was pretty quiet. However, all it took was a rocket from Dustin Byfuglien to change that. The ex-Hawk stepped into a Blake Wheeler feed and ripped his first off the post and in.

Trailing by one, it didn’t take long for the Jets to tie it. Urged on by the crowd, they pressed for the equalizer. Finally, Alex Burmistrov snapped a wrist shot that went off Evgeni Nabokov’s glove tying it 1:05 later. He must’ve surprised him because it was definitely stoppable. At that point, you wondered if the Islanders would even get a point. They were at least able to get to overtime.

The four-on-four was classic fire wagon hockey. Both teams went for it. An Islander over skated the puck in the Winnipeg end, leading to the winner. Ron Hainsey quickly transitioned to Olli Jokinen, who came in two-on-one with Evander Kane. Jokinen took a shot from the left circle that Nabokov got a piece of. The rebound bounced to Kane, whose first try didn’t go in. But his second attempt just crossed the goal line for the deciding marker at 1:59 of OT.

Video review confirmed the call on the ice, allowing the goal to stand. It was a crushing loss for the Islanders. But one they can learn from.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Evander Kane, WPG (OT winner, assist-emerging power forward)
2nd Star-Matt Moulson, NYI (goal, assist-the energizer)
1st Star-John Tavares, NYI (1st of season, 2 assists-dominant)

Updating yesterday’s story, the Rangers have decided not to sign free agent center Jason Arnott. ESPN’s Katie Strang broke the news earlier.

The 38-year old former Stanley Cup winner met with team doctors, who examined him. He was expected to sign a one-year deal worth a pro-rated $1.6 million. Instead, the team wasn’t comfortable.

Well, that stinks. I am disappointed about this because it’s obvious that this team lacks center depth. Benn Ferriero had one decent game. But it doesn’t solve our secondary scoring. Hopefully, Slats has an alternative plan.

While I was out taking in my friend’s band Breaking Even, another Original Six match-up took place at Madison Square Garden. The Maple Leafs and Rangers renewed a classic rivalry on Hockey Night In Canada. The game also was on MSG for the locals.

It took a while. But the Rangers climbed out of a two-goal hole to win for the second time this year. When it was over, they’d scored five unanswered en route to a satisfying 5-2 victory over the Leafs. A couple of critical mistakes allowed the guests to jump out to a two-goal lead. Despite outshooting them by a wide margin, they fell behind early.

A blown coverage allowed Mikhail Grabovski to have all day to deke Henrik Lundqvist for the game’s first goal. It was our top pair of Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi that got victimized. McDonagh took most of the heat on Twitter, which came in handy along with my Ranger texts. They still trailed by one when James Reimer robbed Rick Nash on a breakaway. Nash went high but Reimer’s cat-like glove denied him.

Another mental mistake led to Toronto’s second of the period. Called for a bench minor (too many men), the Rangers failed to kill it off. Ex-Flyer James van Riemsdyk got to a John-Michael Liles rebound and steered the puck past a flustered Henrik Lundqvist. On the play, Marc Staal went too high leaving Mike Del Zotto to fend for himself. It was easy pickings for JVR, who netted his third.

Judging on the shots, I was frustrated into thinking it was going to be one of those nights when they totally outplay an opponent and might not win. Fortunately, the Rangers were very determined to make tonight a good one. It took a while for them to come back. Brad Richards got it started when he backhanded home a Marian Gaborik rebound past Reimer to pull within 2-1 at 5:43 of the second. Nash started the play by gaining the zone and firing a shot off Reimer. Gaborik poked away with the puck coming to Richards, who put it into an open side for his second.

The Blueshirts continued to pepper Reimer, who kept his team in front until a frantic third. Trailing by one, the Rangers erupted for four goals. Staal started it when he drove the net and finished off a Del Zotto pass for his first. A great play with Gaborik right in the middle. A kid outside told me they tied it. He was a Ranger fan and said, “Let’s Go Rangers.”

As I got in the car and drove back, Gaborik scored the winner with 7:03 left. It was a great passing play that started off a strong fore check. Richards worked the puck back to Staal, who fired for Gaborik in front. He redirected the shot pass past Reimer for his fourth. A great finish with Gabby showing off his skill. Nash didn’t get an assist but helped draw attention away from Gaborik. Exactly what a star power forward can do.

The fourth goal came off some more strong attack time. Brian Boyle has taken some heat for a sluggish start. He entered with no points and a minus-four rating. However, it was his play along the boards that got rewarded. On a night he also was stronger in the faceoff circle going 12-of-20, he drove to the net and had a Del Zotto shot go off him for his first. Del Zotto took a Derek Stepan feed and had a shot carom right back to him. He fired again and Boyle scored the key insurance marker with 2:52 remaining.

With Reimer off for an extra attacker, Nash unselfishly flipped the puck ahead for Gaborik, who scored his fifth in three games.

QUICK HITS

-The Rangers outshot the Leafs 41-17.
-The top line of Gaborik-Richards-Nash combined for three goals, five assists and went a combined plus-12.

-Staal’s goal was the first for a Ranger defenseman. He finished 1-1-2 while partner Del Zotto was 0-2-2. They combined for a plus-eight. On for four goals.

-As predicted, there were two heavyweight bouts. They came two seconds apart in the first. In the undercard, Arron Asham lost to Mike Brown. The main event saw former Ranger Colton Orr knock down Mike Rupp.

-The Rangers went 0-for-4 on the power play. The Leafs converted 1-for-4, cashing in on the bench minor.

-In 24:49 of ice-time, Girardi had an assist with four shots, four blocked shots and three hits.

-Face-offs were Toronto 32, New York 31. Boyle was the Rangers’ best going 12-8 while Richards was 12-for-26. The Leafs’ best was Grabovski (12-8) while Tyler Bozak was 8-for-18.

-The fourth line barely played again with Jeff Halpern only taking 10 shifts (4:16) while Asham played five (1:57) and Rupp six (2:08). One the signing becomes official, Jason Arnott can only help.

–Carl Hagelin was held without a point for the fifth consecutive game.

-Stepan’s assist gives him four for the season.

–Steve Eminger took seven shifts (4:12). Anton Stralman had 22 (13:48).

-In his fifth straight start, Lundqvist made 15 saves to pick up his second win. Counterpart Reimer was far busier turning aside 37 of 41.

–Dion Phaneuf was minus-four.

-Liles finished with two assists.

-Rangers (2-3-0) host the Flyers (2-3-0), who won their second in a row by pasting the Panthers 7-1. The game is Tuesday at MSG.

I am sure a lot of you have heard that song by Don Henley called ‘New York Minute’, which happens to me one of my favorite Don Henley songs. Here is a small snippet:

In a New York minute… Everything can change In a New York minute… Things can get a little strange In a New York minute… Everything can change In a New York minute…

No words can be applied better to the 2013 NHL sprint err, the 48 games in 99 night season that has now completed 1 week of play.  And these words from the Henley song can apply to the Buffalo Sabres.

This past Sunday was a festive day for Sabres fans: Owner Terry Pegula and the players greeted players outside First Niagara Center, with Pegula donning a Sabres logo on his jacket, and the Sabres responded with a 5-2 win over the hated Philadelphia Flyers. 24 hours later, they went up the QEW to Toronto, and held on for a 2-1 win over the rival Leafs. Ticket sales were on fire, and life was grand in Western New York.

Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville were and still are in mid season form. Ryan Miller looked sharp. The Sabres were 2-0 and some were even suggesting ‘maybe the Sabres are a Stanley Cup Finals sleeper in the East’.

The knee jerk reactions were in full effect after just 2 games.

Fast forward to Saturday Night, Jan 27th, 1 week into the short but frenetic NHL season, and my how things changed fast. The Sabres traveled to Carolina Thursday Night as Jhonas Enroth brought back visions of Patrick Lalime, as the Carolina Hurricanes handled the Sabres 6-3. The very next night the scene shifted back to Buffalo, and the results were similar, as the Hurricanes and backup goaltender Dan Ellis stoned the Sabres and won a 3-1 decision.

In a flash, the Sabres went from 1st to now 9th in the conference. The knee jerk reactions bent the other way again. All over twitter, some Sabres fans were groaning about Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier again after these two losses to Carolina.

Folks, get used to this roller coaster ride. Now that every single game this season for the Sabres is a game within the Eastern Conference, the standings will change quicker. Teams can fall behind fast, but also dig themselves out quicker with a 5-6 game winning streak, as you are directly impacting most of the teams around you on a nightly basis.

So to my fellow Sabres fans: Just remain calm and enjoy the ride for the next few weeks. Things will change in a New York Minute..

NOTES:

Where have you gone Tyler Myers?  Sure, Myers will be only 23 next week and as we all know, defenceman can take a longer time to develop in the National Hockey League. But Myers game has regressed slowly since his breakout 48 point rookie season, and so far in 4 games this year he does have 1 goal, but is a -1 and at times makes mistakes that lead to chances for the opposition. Does Myers need more time? Were we fooled early by his rookie season and the expectations were set too high? Only time will tell…

Steve Ott Fan Club: It only took 1 hour into the NHL season for me to forget about Derek Roy and embrace Steve Ott. Love the edge and physicality that he brings to this hockey team that was so needed, and Ott showed his offensive skills by scoring a PPG in his first game in the opening win against the Flyers, In addition, Ott has 21 hits through his first 4 games as a Sabre.

Zach Who?  This is not a knock against Zach Kassian, who I believe will be a fine player for the Vancouver Canucks. I am just thrilled that Buffalo was able to bring in Cody Hodgson into the fold. Cody has 3 goals in his first 4 games (and he could have more if not for some great plays by various goalies in the first 4 games) and just appears to have that scoring sense to become a top end center in the NHL.  Look at that deal as a win win for both sides….

Upcoming Schedule: The Sabres travel to Washington for a 3PM EST faceoff against a struggling but talented Caps team. This game will make it 5 games in the first 8 nights. And there is no letting up on the sprint schedule: The Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday Night, and then travel to Boston to battle the red hot Bruins on Thursday Night and then visit Montreal to play the Habs on Saturday Night.

Hot off the presses in Twitter Land, the Rangers have signed Jason Arnott. The free agent center is a former Cup champion who brings necessary experience to our club. His Cup clinching goal in 2000 with the Devils has been replayed on highlight reels over and over.

Now, the Blueshirts turn to an older Arnott for center help. It certainly is low risk. Arnott is an upgrade over Brian Boyle, who should anchor the fourth line. The question is what does he have left? In 72 games last year with the Blues, he tallied 34 points (17-17-34). He has size and playmaking ability along with a top heavy shot that might aid our power play.

Arnott’s 38. He’ll join his seventh NHL team. The previous six are the Oilers, Devils, Stars, Predators, Capitals and Blues. He also had a second stint in New Jersey a couple of years ago. In 1,117 games, he has 417 goals, 521 assists and 938 points.

The Rangers’ newest center won’t play tonight. We should see him Tuesday against the Flyers.

As it turns out, Chris Kreider has an injury. The much discussed rookie who scored five goals last postseason, will miss a second straight game with a bone chip in his ankle. He underwent an MRI yesterday. When did he get hurt?

With Kreider out again, it didn’t take long for the Rangers to recall Benn Ferriero. The former Shark registered an assist in the Whale’s 4-1 win Friday. He was just picked up from the Pens for Chad Kolarik. Looks like that’s the end of the Stu Bickel experiment. Thank God. Bickel is an extra defenseman. Considering the options, Steve Eminger remains our No.6. Bickel and Matt Gilroy are depth on this team.

That’s not exactly encouraging. But this is the roster Glen Sather put together. One reliant on the top four of Del Zotto, Girardi, McDonagh and Staal. Though I’m still wondering why John Tortorella hasn’t used Anton Stralman more. Stralman is capable of logging more minutes and is a viable option on the power play. Hopefully, Tort will come around.

I guess the plan is to pray for our Big Three to carry the offense. I’m not particularly fond of throwing all our eggs in one basket. This team lacks balance. Taylor Pyatt has performed admirably but shouldn’t be on the second line. Brian Boyle’s off to a poor start without Brandon Prust or Ruslan Fedotenko.

The Rangers need more from Carl Hagelin. He must contribute offensively. That means the coach should use him on one of the top two lines. Maybe even on the power play. It can’t hurt to have Hags’ speed and energy.

Tonight, the Leafs visit MSG. They come off a 7-4 drubbing at the hands of the Islanders, who scored six of the last seven at the ACC. It’s no secret Toronto isn’t strong defensively and are suspect in goal. However, they do possess more offensive depth led by Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski. The Rangers must also be aware of former No.1 pick Nazem Kadri, who’s off to a hot start with three goals.

There also could be some fisticuffs between Mike Rupp and Colton Orr. If Arron Asham returns, that adds another potential scrap against pest Mike Brown.

Henrik Lundqvist gets his fifth consecutive start. It could be Ben Scrivens for the Leafs. James Reimer replaced him Thursday. We’ll see.

The AHL All-Star starters were announced today. The game will be played Monday at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence. Islander prospect Nino Niederreiter headlines the Eastern Conference lineup. The former No.1 pick has 19 goals and 17 assists totaling 36 points in 40 games for Bridgeport. He recently requested a trade from the Islanders. They’d be nuts to oblige.

El Nino will be joined by teammate Matt Donovan. In his second pro season, the defenseman has six goals and 14 assists for 20 points with a plus-six rating and 47 penalty minutes. Albany’s Bobby Butler is also a starter. The ex-Sen has tallied 25 points including 15 goals for the Devils’ AHL affiliate. He was expected to make the big club but New Jersey opted to keep Stefan Matteau and Mattias Tedenby, who played on the top line in their 3-2 overtime win over the Caps last night.

Also notable are ex-Ranger properties Tim Erixon and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, who each are representing Springfield. Erixon was included in the Rick Nash trade with Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky. He didn’t make the Blue Jackets out of camp but is having a good second pro season with the Falcons. In 39 contests, he’s posted five goals and 24 assists for 29 points with a plus-nine and 34 PIM. Last year with Connecticut, Erixon was 3-30-33 in 52 games.

Audy-Marchessault has continued to prove he can score in the ‘A.’ The 22-year old who caught on with the Whale last year has fared well in the Jackets’ system. In 41 games thus far, he’s registered 16 goals with 28 helpers for 44 points and a plus-15 rating. In ’11-12 with the Whale, he tied for the team lead with 64 points (24-40-64) and added four markers in the AHL playoffs.
Not the biggest in stature, the Quebec native is listed at 5-9, 180. His Twitter nickname appropriately is JAM. A little easier to pronounce. Considering how thin the Rangers are, you have to wonder why they didn’t re-sign him. Would it have hurt to keep him and see if he eventually could help our roster? Or was the Mats Zuccarello experiment enough for Slats to give Audy-Marchessault the cold shoulder? They gave P.A. Parenteau a chance and he showed flashes. But was let go of and made it with the Islanders. He’s off to a decent start with Colorado.

Is the Ranger organization properly evaluating their talent? Bobby Sanguinetti and Tomas Kundratek start for the Canes and Caps. It seems to me that they sour on kids too soon.

The East lineup is rounded out by Providence goalie Niklas Svedberg, who’s posted 17 wins with a 2.23 GAA and .921 save percentage. Here is how the West stacks up:

G Justin Peters (Charlotte Checkers)
D Michal Jordan (Charlotte Checkers)
D Jamie Oleksiak (Texas Stars)
F Andrew Agozinno (Lake Erie Monsters)
F Marc Ocobello (Oklahoma City Barons)
F Ryan Hamilton (Toronto Marlies)

New Islander Keith Aucoin celebrates his first goal. Copyright Getty Images

The Islanders had a nice comeback at Air Canada Centre tonight. They rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Maple Leafs 7-4. Matt Moulson tallied twice. Michael Grabner had two goals and an assist. Brad Boyes had three points (1-2-3). John Tavares and Frans Nielsen each tallied two helpers as the Islanders won their second in a row.

A pretty good start for a young club who picked up their first win on Martin Luther King Day by holding off the Lightning 4-3. That was a game they controlled for large portions. But nearly blew a four-goal lead. In that one, Kyle Okposo had three points including a nice finish on a two-on-one with Tavares. David Ullstrom’s shorthanded tally proved the difference to even their record at 1-1-0.

Tonight was a different story. After Moulson tied it with his first of the season, Toronto scored two straight over a 3:04 span. First, they got a bounce when Nazem Kadri’s rebound of a John-Michael Liles shot sailed over Evgeni Nabokov into the net. With early momentum, the Leafs increased to 3-1 when Mikhail Grabovski beat the Russian vet on a wrist shot from the left circle. He came off the rush and surprised Nabokov.

Trailing by two, the Islanders responded with five consecutive goals. Team captain Mark Streit got the party started by connecting on the power play for his first. Set up by Boyes and Tavares, he fired past Leaf starter Ben Scrivens. Scrivens had a rough night, allowing five goals on 25 shots before being replaced by James Reimer. Less than two minutes later, Boyes scored his first as an Islander from Nielsen and Grabner. Those were the only two goals in the second period, allowing Jack Capuano’s club to be tied entering the third.

The onslaught continued when Grabner snuck his second past Scrivens for the Isles’ first lead. Just over a minute later, Keith Aucoin chased the Toronto netminder with a routine wrister. The kind of goal that deflates the home crowd and inspires the road team. In this case, the Islanders who continued to pour it on. Moulson took advantage of a sloppy Leaf turnover, burying his second from the slot.

With the Islanders up 6-3, Matt Frattin got one back to make it interesting with 2:13 remaining. The Leafs nearly cut it to one on the next shift. A crazy sequence that saw Nabokov dive across to deny Clarke MacArthur. Phil Kessel had what looked like a gimme but Aucoin made the play of the game, clearing the puck on the goal line. Instead, he saved a goal and maybe some Islander hearts- stunning Toronto.

With 1:10 left, Grabner scored into an empty net to allow his team to breathe easier. The Isles can take a lot of positives with the supporting cast coming through. Grabner’s off to a quick start with three markers and Boyes had a big night. Aucoin was a late addition that some of our fans scoffed at on Twitter. Well, he sure came through for his new club.

Capuano played everyone including Marty Reasoner. I’ve never heard of either Joe Finley or Colin McDonald before checking the boxscore. McDonald had an assist for his first point with the Islanders. Nabokov made 39 saves for his second win in three starts. We still don’t know when Rick DiPietro will play. From his new look, he now resembles Chewbacca.

The Islanders (2-1-0) are back at it tonight against the Bruins at TD Garden. They visit Winnipeg Sunday. It’s part of a crucial five-game road trip with stops at Pittsburgh and New Jersey.

In the game of the night, Edmonton stunned the Kings 2-1 in overtime. The game featured an apparent tying goal wiped out with 1:05 left that angered the Oilers and their fans who littered the ice with debris. It was definitely a bad call.

However, it all turned out okay thanks to rookie Nail Yakupov. The 2012 first overall pick tied it with 4.7 seconds left in regulation. It seemed impossible. First, they won the draw against one of the league’s best Jarrett Stoll. Then off a scramble, Taylor Hall’s desperation turnaround shot caromed off Jon Quick right to Yakupov, who batted the puck out of mid-air for his second NHL goal- touching off a wild goal celebration that’ll be replayed over and over.

The Russian teenager emulated Theo Fleury by sliding across the ice in similar fashion to what Fleury did with the rival Flames in ’91 after beating the Oilers in a series. It prompted this tweet from Theo:

Theo FleuryVerified
‏@TheoFleury14

Definitely one of coolest celebrations. The video will go viral. It’s awesome to see that kind of youthful enthusiasm from Yakupov, who delivered a clutch goal against one of the top netminders.

To top it off, Sam Gagner won it in OT on a four-on-three power play when he steered home Ryan Nugent-Hopkins feed to give Edmonton an exciting comeback win on home ice. Rexall went bananas. Rookie defenseman Justin Schultz had two assists. Yakupov will score many more goals. This one will be remembered.