Battle Of Hudson

Hockey Town meets Broadway tonight at The Garden. Two Original Sixes the Red Wings and Rangers meet for the final time this season. Granted. They only play twice a year.

For Blueshirt fanatics, it’s a chance to see one of the game’s premier players in Pavel Datsyuk, who just returned a couple of games ago from a knee scope. And in my view, the best overall player in the game with apologies to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Datsyuk will never put up the gaudy numbers of either Pen star but he is the most complete player who magnifies with his blend of skating, skill, grit and attention to detail. He also is clean compared to his Russian comrade who will win the Hart in a runaway.

While the Pens continue to chase us for the top spot, the Wings are slumping due to health. Without Nick Lidstrom and a banged up Jimmy Howard, they’re not the same. However, anytime the Rangers face them, it usually results in a loss. So, they better come ready. John Tortorella’s club is fresh off the emotional 4-2 win over the Devils with plenty of discussion about the game’s start. While Tort and Pete DeBoer exchanged barbs, it’s time to put the hard hat on and get back to business.

The Rangers may get back Artem Anisimov, who declared that he felt great this morning. If so, I can’t see how Mats Zuccarello stays out of the lineup. He’s been a spark offensively, particularly on the power play and is playing more physical given his small stature. It’s hard to say what I’d do with the lineup. I don’t think you mess with chemistry. Keep RGH and USA together. Maybe slide Anisimov on the fourth line in place of Ruslan Fedotenko, who’s not 100 percent. That would give the fourth line some skill while allowing Zucc to remain with Brian Boyle and John Mitchell.

Figure the blueline to stay the same with Tim Erixon in for Steve Eminger while Henrik Lundqvist should start against Ty Conklin. On paper, it seems like a mismatch. But given our history against backup goalies, the Rangers can’t take anything for granted. Especially against the skilled Wings who still boast Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula, Jiri Hudler and bruiser Nik Kronwall with Darren Helm and Johan Franzen sidelined. In other words, expect it to be competitive. Detroit has a lot of pride and want to get back on track.

The game will be another 7:30 start on NBC Sports Network with probably Doc Emrick calling the action. I’ll be lucky if I catch any as I am heading into work now. Should be a good one.

Maybe it was fitting. How else could one describe “Line Brawl” three seconds out of the gate between blood rivals, the Devils and Rangers? At least in the final regular season installment of the Battle Of Hudson, blood was shed at the opening faceoff between two teams who can’t stand each other. Whatever side you’re on, it was old-time hockey that would’ve made Paul Newman’s Reggie Dunlap character proud.

How else to explain defenseman Stu Bickel taking the first draw against Ryan Carter which predictably led to six players squaring off side by side. Aside from Bickel and Carter throwing heymakers, the participants included Brandon Prust and Cam Janssen pairing off while Mike Rupp and Eric Boulton danced, creating the NHL version of Slap Shot to NBC Sports Network in front of a national audience. I’m not sure how well it went over but for those at The Garden, it was riveting in a bizarre fashion. Truth is the majority of hockey fans love fighting. Scripted or not, the entire crowd got into it. And there were enough Devil jerseys there too.

Do I support staged fights? Unequivocally, no. I’m going to side with resident Jersey blogger Hasan, who gave a good account on why it was a mistake from Devil coach Pete DeBoer to start his enforcers. Anytime the visiting coach turns in a lineup that features two noted goons and one bruiser who put Brandon Dubinsky out of action for a bit, they’re asking for it. While it’s more of a challenge than anything, especially after how the Devils manhandled us earlier this month in Newark, you have to answer the bell. And so a couple of days removed from real boxing upstairs at The Theater in a traditional St. Patrick’s Day MSG special seen on HBO by me and Pop, the capacity crowd got treated to an old fashioned downeybrook.

The positive out of the three entertaining scraps is that there were no more the rest of the way. It also eliminated the cheap shots that have become all too common in today’s game. For those who want fighting out, even if this was a negative example for the league due to John Tortorella countering with his tough guys, it still supports why we have it. Both teams got the rough stuff out of the way and then hockey was played. Given the bad blood dating back to our December visit along with the Devils last month that included Boulton going after Marian Gaborik following a goal, it was gonna happen. I’d say lay the blame on both coaches and move on. There was no way a fuming Tort, who screamed obscenities no matter what he said could start our skill guys against DeBoer’s lineup. He wanted to push us around. You can’t tolerate that on home turf.

The Rangers responded better to the challenge that also cost Devil blueliner Bryce Salvador a misconduct for justifiably jumping in to save fallen teammate Carter, who Bickel kept pounding. Definitely something I didn’t agree with. Once a guy’s down, you stop. End of story. As for what ensued, it didn’t take long for Dubinsky to take advantage of a four-on-two, beating Martin Brodeur low stick-side, firing us up even more. To be in the building for what easily was the best crowd of the season made it worth the price of admission. And we again had our 50 percent off for the obstructed view in Sec.411 with new areas visible for big screens they’ll be installing for next Fall. Considering the price is staying under 30 bucks for ’12-13 and we’re getting a 10 percent playoff discount by March 26, the Garden actually deserves to be commended for turning an ugly situation into a great one. That and ten dollar food vouchers per seat has been nice. Especially on a hot night where $5 water bottles came in handy. 😛

It was pretty clear that the Blueshirts played their most inspired hockey in weeks. They flat out dominated the first, outshooting the Devils 13-6 and outchancing them by a mile. Maybe something good did come out of the Colorado loss. They forechecked, finished checks and got shots through on a shaky Brodeur, who still saved his team’s bacon later on. Say this for both goalies. Neither was particularly sharp with both Marty and Henrik Lundqvist allowing a pair of soft goals. Dubinsky’s wasn’t. If not for a few big saves from Brodeur, his team probably would’ve trailed by three instead of one.

Tortorella reconstructed the third and fourth lines, finally breaking up Prust and Brian Boyle, who recently along with Ruslan Fedotenko had struggled. Instead, Boyle played with John Mitchell and Mats Zuccarello, who notched a power play goal and played well. Meanwhile, Prust formed a crash line with Rupp and Fedotenko that forechecked and was defensively responsible. The top two lines stayed intact with the RGH line (Richards-Gaborik-Hagelin) and USA line (Dubinsky-Stepan-Callahan) doing their part. The nice aspect of last night was they didn’t rely on Gaborik who couldn’t find the range on a great chance. As usual, Carl Hagelin was on the scoresheet with two helpers. You could give him a star almost every time out due his combination of speed, skill and grit that drives opponents nuts.

It was Hagelin who rode a Devil off the puck before finding Dan Girardi for a routine wrister that eluded Brodeur, going off his stick and skate for a two-goal lead 33 seconds into the second. Before they got too comfortable, the Devils cut the lead in half when all-time leading scorer Patrik Elias found the shortside on a Petr Sykora feed. By that point, they’d turned it up with relentless pressure and got just reward even if it wasn’t a good goal for Lundqvist to allow.

On this night, the Devils were their own worst enemy. Two undisciplined penalties came back to haunt them. The first on Boulton for boarding Zuccarello hurt any momentum when the feisty Norwegian got to a Brad Richards rebound for his second two and a half minutes later- restoring a two-goal lead. Callahan netted a primary helper by deflecting it off Brodeur for a juicy rebound that MZA deposited. The second two-goal lead lasted less than four minutes with Sykora somehow beating Lundqvist in an identical spot. Marek Zidlicky and Ilya Kovalchuk drew assists. On the first, he was without a stick. This one was unforgivable. Hank fought it all night, leaking rebounds. Good thing our D cleared the garbage.

The rest of the second saw the Devils press for the equalizer, including a golden opportunity with Dubinsky taking a needless boarding minor. However, the penalty killing unit marked Kovalchuk, who on a previous power play got off three one-timers in succession with the last gloved by Lundqvist. Ironically, the man who got the assignment Boyle talked to Pierre McGuire after the win. Kovalchuk tried his best to find room but either had his shots blocked or overpassed. At even strength, he found it difficult against Ryan McDonagh, who again effectively neutralized one of the most dangerous scorers. Adam Henrique had trouble and Zach Parise outside of a couple of strong shifts following a DeBoer timeout, was held in check.

One of the themes in this game was the Rangers’ attention to detail, winning the neutral zone battle in the first and most of the third. Our guys became sloppy in the second and it almost cost. Not surprisingly, they tightened up the screws. In fact, the Devils couldn’t mount anything during the first half which led to DeBoer’s timeout with still over 11 minutes remaining. His team responded with better shifts, pinning our D in. Particularly Marc Staal, who was a step behind. Mike Del Zotto wasn’t much sharper but was quicker at least. Stu Bickel had some shaky moments too. Oddly enough, rookie recall Tim Erixon didn’t panic. David Clarkson did some good stuff on the cycle for the black and red but was checked properly and took a couple of big hits. Even though I can’t stand him, he’s a player you have to contain because he does a lot of things for the Devs.

A McDonagh trip with 11:22 left gave the Devils another chance. They never came close due to outstanding PK work from usual suspects Boyle/Prust along with Stepan and Callahan. Hagelin also was good. Girardi excelled and Staal played his best down a man with McDonagh in the box. Following the kill, a loud “Let’s Go Rangers” chant went up. There were plenty of those for once. A pleasant welcome on a night they became the first Eastern team to wrap up a playoff berth, joining St. Louis out West.

Soon, the Blueshirts picked it up and started taking away center ice, forcing the Devils into several turnovers. Some came in their own end, leading to odd-man breaks. On more than a handful, our guys overpassed with even Dubinsky on a day he notched his eighth (2nd in 20) passing up a shot. When will they ever learn? There also was another sequence which seemed destined to be a goal but a sliding Brodeur stoned them. Gaborik and Boyle also whistled chances from 10 feet out wide.

Finally with New Jersey putting one last rush together, Jacob Josefson hi-sticked Callahan while trying to keep a play alive putting his team shorthanded with only three and a half left. Predictably, our team decided to go four corners and wait for a dangerous shorthanded club that boasts Henrique, Parise, Elias and even Kovalchuk to generate chances. Luckily, Salvador couldn’t keep a puck in to save his life or who knows. When it was finally concluding, Dubinsky did the wise thing and shot with Stepan deflecting home his 16th for 4-2 with 70 seconds to go.

As the final buzzer sounded, the season series was done. The Rangers prevailed 3-2-1 but were outscored 14-12. I think NHL Network had the shots as being nearly dead even, favoring us by one. These teams are evenly matched. While it looks like a long shot for the first round, an Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Devils would be great theater. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Mats Zuccarello, NYR (power play goal-2nd of season, 3 SOG, 3 hits, spunky in 16 shifts-13:37)
2nd Star-Martin Brodeur, NJD (23 saves, including some big ones)
1st Star-Brandon Dubinsky, NYR (8th of season, assist, 5 hits, 8-5 on draws, +2 in 17:57)

Notes: The physical affair saw a  combined 56 penalty minutes (NJD-33, NYR-23) 64 hits (NJD-23, NYR-41) and 22 blocked shots (NJD-9, NYR-13). … D Steve Eminger sat out a second straight due to injury with Tim Erixon (Even in 15 shifts-12:29) effectively replacing him. … Lundqvist finished with 20 saves, picking up his 33rd victory. … C Artem Anisimov (shoulder) missed another game and is a “game-time decision” for tomorrow versus Detroit. … Devils scratched RW Steve Bernier. … New Jersey visits Ottawa tonight with three points separating them from the seventh seeded Senators. The Devils have 87 while the Sens have 84. … Rangers conclude homestand with two against Detroit and Buffalo.

Copyright Getty Images

An Avalanche struck MSG tonight. At least it wasn’t a real one with a virtuoso performance on display from Colorado netminder Semyon Varlamov. The Russian was brilliant in making 41 saves to backstop the Avs past the Rangers 3-1. It was our second straight defeat and now the sizzling Pens are two points out with their extra game tomorrow versus hated Pennsylvania rival Philly. After the way they manhandled the Devils as Hasan noted here, it looks like it’s a foregone conclusion that they’ll tie us by Monday when we host New Jersey.

The way it’s gone for both Hudson rivals this week, there should be an awful lot of blood at stake in the final regular season meeting tomorrow. One which we’ll be at in Section 411. To be perfectly blunt, both teams need the game. The Devils to stay afloat in the race for fourth or fifth and the Blueshirts if they want to fight off the Pens for the top spot. Considering that the Flyers picked up a brownie point in a shootout loss at Boston, we’re only five points ahead of them. Yes. Unfortunately, it really is time to start scoreboard watching. Especially if the Rangers continue their inconsistency.

However, they couldn’t be faulted for last night. Not the way they battled against a desperate Colorado club locked in a crazy five-team race (or is it six) out West. Trailing thanks to a Gabriel Landeskog deflection that steered the visitors in front, the Rangers threw everything but the kitchen sink at the former Cap netminder who the Avalanche gave up a first round pick for. They fired 14 of 41 shots in the third but never found a way past Varlamov, who was a human brick wall. Ironically enough as one of our fans tweeted, he did the same thing to us once in the playoffs. Never the less, it still was impressive how well he saw the puck. Even through traffic and miraculously good power plays, Varlamov was the difference.

“I think their goalie kind of saved the day for them,” Henrik Lundqvist said afterwards in the loser’s locker room. “We played really well. We created a lot of chances. If we just get another goal, maybe two more goals, I think we’d all sit in here and feel pretty good about ourselves.”

Far from displeased after his team outshot Colorado 42-19, John Tortorella thought it was one of our best efforts. Ironically Lundqvist (17 saves), Ryan Callahan (7 SOG, 25+ mins) and Mike Del Zotto (25:20) all returned. Only Artem Anisimov sat out with a shoulder injury sustained in a loss to Pittsburgh. Gee. Who else would it come against? Despite being healthier, they only could muster one goal and it didn’t come from the RHG line (Richards-Hagelin-Gaborik). But rather recently recalled Mats Zuccarello, who tipped in a Dan Girardi pass for his first of the season. He saw a lot of power play time late and also nearly tied it off a faceoff win, only to see his shot ring off the post. Zuccarello makes things happen, which is why it’s ridiculous that it took this long to recall him. He adds more skill which our team sorely lacks.

Sorry. But Brandon Dubinsky ain’t getting it done. Oh. The try is always there with him making a good rush and shot only to see Varlamov harmlessly glove it the same way he robbed Ryan McDonagh earlier. McDonagh’s shot came with traffic and was labeled that the athletic netminder grabbed. Such is life when you face a hot goalie at this time of year. Teams are more desperate and that’s what we’re seeing with our team dropping five of its last seven. They still have time to right the ship. The playoffs are a certainty. Home ice is still in their grasp. It’s up to them.

3rd Star-Jan Hejda, Col (28 shifts-23:10 vs top line, 3 hits, 4 blocked shots)
2nd Star-Gabriel Landeskog, Col (game winning goal-21st of season at 9:51 of 2nd)
1st Star-Semyon Varlamov, Col (41 saves incl. 14/14 in 3rd)

Notes: As speculated, D Tim Erixon returned from Connecticut and took 12 shifts, finishing minus-one in 9:57. … Anisimov and Steve Eminger sat out. … C Derek Stepan has a six-game goal drought and only one point during that span. He started the month hot with a four-game point streak but hasn’t been the same since Tortorella switched lines. Perhaps he should try Zuccarello next game over Dubinsky. With his next point, Stepan will surpass his rookie total. He’s 15-30-45 in 71 GP. … Landeskog’s goal put him in first by a point over the Devils’ Adam Henrique.

TRACKING THE CALDER
                                        GP   PTS
1.Landeskog, Avs             74   47
2.Henrique, Devs              64   46
3.Nugent-Hopkins, Oilers  51   45
4.Read, Flyers                  68   41
5.Hagelin, Rangers            53   35

It was billed as Sid’s Return Part II. But really had a lot to do with the Pens’ top defender Kris Letang, who was a bigger factor in Pittsburgh’s 5-2 win over the Blueshirts. Letang finished plus-five along with an assist while teammate Sidney Crosby helped set up two of the Pens’ five goals en route to their 10th consecutive win, cutting the Ranger lead to four.

Crosby was good in 16 minutes, flashing off the gamebreaking speed and playmaking that’s made him the game’s best player. Though he got plenty of help from Evgeni Malkin (goal, dominant), Matt Cooke (2 goals), Pascal Dupuis (goal) and Chris Kunitz (goal), who did damage on the scoreboard. James Neal and Steve Sullivan each had a pair of assists as the healthier team was too much for the Rangers at The Garden.

Aside from their lead down to four, there has to be concern about how they’ve been handled by the Pens, who after dropping the first two, have taken three straight in the season series with one more left that could very well decide the division and top seed. The theme has been the same with Pittsburgh jumping in front quickly and then controlling the tempo with puck possession, making our team chase throughout. Against a talented team who also boasts their own elite goalie in much overlooked Marc-Andre Fleury (29 saves), you just can’t fall behind. Finally intact, the Pens are deeper than anyone and are the favorites to come out of the East even if Boston’s the defending champ. You wouldn’t know it lately.

It would’ve been nice to have Ryan Callahan, Henrik Lundqvist and Mike Del Zotto for last night but it’s more imperative for them to be 100 percent down the stretch. Despite taking the morning skate, Lundqvist rested due to the flu. Marty Biron (27 saves) wasn’t bad. Early on, he kept us in the game with some big stops and really couldn’t be faulted on the Pens’ first three, which exposed terrible D lapses. However, with our team fighting back down 3-2 thanks to Marian Gaborik’s 35th late in the second, he allowed a backbreaking goal to Kunitz right as a Pittsburgh power play expired. It killed any momentum and Dupuis soon put it away on a broken play.

The Pens were quicker to the puck and deserved what they got. Crosby centered a third line flanked by Cooke and Tyler Kennedy (2 helpers). He drew a penalty and created space for unguarded linemates. How else to explain the horrible gap that Kennedy had to find Cooke at the doorstep for his second that came 72 seconds after Malkin undressed Ryan McDonagh for his 39th? McDonagh had one of his worst showings, getting outmuscled by Kennedy on the first Penguin goal to Cooke that set the tone. John Tortorella eventually switched McDonagh and Marc Staal, who was reunited with Dan Girardi while Ryan worked with Stu Bickel.

In a game like yesterday’s, you can’t get away with playing seventh defensemen like Anton Stralman and Steve Eminger. Tortorella was forced to use them due to the schedule. He’s no longer overusing Girardi, who needs to stay fresh for the postseason. The numbers were ugly with our top four going a combined minus-nine. Del Zotto was missed. So too was Mike Sauer, who we probably won’t see again till the Fall hopefully. Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust tried but went minus-five. Both continue to play through pain due to how much they sacrifice. There’s no way you can match them against a top line right now. But Tort continues to while trying to find a spark for slumping Derek Stepan, who worked well with Brandon Dubinsky on a few shifts in the second. Unfortunately, Artem Anisimov didn’t return for the third due to a bad shoulder from a hit. Just what they need. Another key player hurt. Hopefully, it’s not too bad.

Both our goals came from who else but the line of Carl Hagelin, Brad Richards and Gaborik. They’ve been everything. I erred the other night when I said they combined for seven points. The correct total was nine. My apologies. After the Pens dominated the first half of period one, Hagelin continued his brilliant play when he combined with Richards and Gaborik for his 14th, which he buried top shelf from in front. Fourteen goals and 21 assists for the former sixth round pick, who studied four years under Red Berenson at Michigan. Can you say gem?

For the most part, our team stayed disciplined only taking three penalties. However, Bickel’s hi-sticking double minor hurt because the Pens basically scored on it thanks to a nifty Crosby backhand feed for Kunitz, whose shortside shot eluded Biron. The rough Prust picked up in the first was a good penalty cause he took the body on Malkin, who of course retaliated with a two-handed to the face. No penalty was called. Unbelievable. We’ll just leave it at that.

There was also a missed elbow on Pitt bruiser Deryk Engelland. Ironically, right before Hagelin tied it, Brooks Orpik punched Gaborik. Maybe it was poetic justice that they scored. It’s not like our power play would’ve done the job. Though they did get two opportunities against one of the best penalty killing units, who made it 23 for their last 23. There just aren’t many flaws with the Pens. Not when they can roll out a Norris caliber defenseman in Letang and one of the best defensive blueliners in Orpik. Zbynek Michalek is probably their most underappreciated. Even Paul Martin has picked it up. When you boast Jordan Staal as your third center, you are loaded. They will be a handful this Spring.

The bigger questions center on Crosby and Letang, who both have concussion history. They’ll get tested. Even if Sid told reporters afterwards that he rested more than his first comeback where he ramped up the physical play. As dominant as Malkin is and Fleury, the Pens would be hard pressed to win without Crosby and Letang. Though I’m of the belief that Letang is the most valuable Pen because of how he can control a game. There are few better.

As for our Blueshirts, it’s back at it tomorrow when the stingy Avs visit. In case you missed it, J.S. Giguere and Martin Brodeur turned back the clock to ’03 with each pitching a shutout. The Devils prevailed in the shootout with Ilya Kovalchuk getting his record seventh skill competition decider. Just dandy. Figure Semyon Varlamov to be back in on St. Patrick’s Day against Lundqvist, who should be ready to go.

Both Callahan and Del Zotto practiced this morning. Whether they’re ready to go remains to be seen. In the mean time, we’ll probably see Mats Zuccarello again. He was robbed by Fleury on a great chance. I hope the flashy Norwegian sticks. Here’s hoping we see Tim Erixon before too long.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Carl Hagelin, NYR (14th goal, 21st assist-5 Pts in last 2 GP)
2nd Star-Kris Letang, Pit (assist, +5 in 24 shifts-24:42)
1st Star-Evgeni Malkin, Pit (39th of season, 8 SOG, +2, 5-1-6 vs NYR in ’11-12)

Brad Richards is on fire. He scored two more and set up another in the Rangers’ 4-2 win over the Hurricanes last night for the club’s second consecutive victory. The timing couldn’t be more perfect with Ryan Callahan, Mike Del Zotto and Henrik Lundqvist all out. Lundqvist wasn’t available due to the flu. So, the club recalled Chad Johnson as an emergency backup to Marty Biron, who had one of his best games since the calendar year turned. He finished with 27 saves, including a handful of big ones early.

Since being reunited with Marian Gaborik, Richards has found chemistry along with ever improving freshman Carl Hagelin, who recorded his first three-point game with his 13th goal and two helpers. Gaborik also notched his club best 34th as the line scored all four goals, combining for seven points. Gaborik got it started when he took a favorable carom (ironic eh) and steered home No.34 at 3:02. Dan Girardi’s wide shot went right to him and his goal put him in a four-way tie for third behind runaway Rocket Richard leader Steven Stamkos (49 & 50 yesterday) and the Pens’ Evgeni Malkin, who visits along with Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang tomorrow in a big showdown. The Rangers will take a six-point lead for the conference lead into the anticipated match-up.

Following Gaborik’s tally, Carolina made life difficult on Biron due in part to a Stu Bickel penalty. One of the issues during their slump has been untimely penalties. Even though the Blueshirts killed it off thanks to some outstanding netminding from Biron, they must buck the trend. In the postseason, such loss of discipline could come back to bite them. Before they knew, it the Canes led 7-4 in shots. But they finished better.

Putting some distance between them and the Canes, Richards struck twice 2:59 apart halfway through the middle stanza. On both goals, he used great patience before beating Cam Ward on feeds from Hagelin, whose rookie push will be too late to make up ground on Calder trio Adam Henrique, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Gabriel Landeskog. Richie’s 22nd and 23rd made it five goals over the last four. A great response by the vet who I called out following last week’s Devil disappointment. He finally is seeing the ice well and shooting at the right time, which will make us a much better club the rest of the way.

Before they could relax, a bad penalty from Mats Zuccarello led to Tim Brent breaking the shutout on a neat deflection from Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner. One thing about the Canes. They play hard for Kirk Muller, who looks more and more like a great hire along with former Devil coach/current assistant John MacLean. They won’t make the playoffs this season but should be competitive for years to come. Drayson Bowman made it two goals 32 seconds apart when he finished off a Brandon Sutter feed, stunning the crowd. Just like that, a three-goal lead became one with still four-plus minutes left. The Canes nearly tied it on a four-on-two rush but a big stop from Biron denied Staal.

Biron did the job until Hagelin tallied with seven minutes to go in the third. On the play, Ward had just denied Gaborik but he quickly fed Hagelin who snuck in from behind the net and surprised the scrambling former Conn Smythe winner with a wraparound. Both Gaborik and Richards picked up their 30th assists. It would be enough to hold off the Canes.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Martin Biron, NYR (27 saves for emergency win)
2nd Star-Brad Richards, NYR (2nd straight 2-goal game-22nd, 23rd, assist)
1st Star-Carl Hagelin, NYR (13th of season, 2 assists for 1st career 3-point game)

Notes: Hagelin has points in four of his last six (2-4-6) with a plus-six rating. He leads all rookies with a plus-23 and is tied with the Flyers’ Sean Couturier for second in shorthanded goals (2) behind the Devils’ Henrique (4). Of the rookie top eight scorers, only Nugent-Hopkins has played fewer games (49) than Hagelin (51). … Richards has a four-game point streak (5-3-8) and has registered a point in six of eight games this month. He’s 5-6-11 in 8 GP after finishing February 2-7-9 in 13 GP. … Gaborik has six points (2-4-6) over his last three. He has seven goals over the last 11. … It was the first time in seven games the Blueshirts permitted less than two goals also doing it on Mar.1 against the same Canes in a 3-2 win.

The Rangers were in dire need of something. Entering last night’s final regular season match versus the blood rival Islanders, they came in on a three-game skid, doomed by two third period collapses along with a no show at Jersey when the streak began. With the Pens nipping at their heels after posting another win to creep within two, the Broadway Blueshirts got peak performances from their stars to end the frustration in a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over the Islanders.

Whenever these teams get together, throw the records aside. Truthfully, the Isles are much improved this season. If not for a couple of awful finishes, including the Devil backbreaker a day earlier, we could be talking about all three metro area teams making the playoffs. Heck. The entire Atlantic for good measure. Sometimes, luck is a strange thing. Otherwise, Anders Nilsson would have two shutouts over the surging Devils. Instead, the Islanders did what they usually do, picking themselves up and giving our team trouble. Oh. Not in the way of shots with the Rangers doubling up in that department. But just being opportunistic to make this one part of the crazy rivalry.

The fun started minutes in when Michael Haley and Stu Bickel exchanged bombs during an entertaining scrap that got the building up. Haley was subbing for hit machine Matt Martin. You knew he’d battle someone. Bickel is always willing to go and certainly looks like our sixth D if Tim Erixon is recalled. Right now, Bickel has played better than Anton Stralman and Steve Eminger, who didn’t see the light of day in the third. I admire Bickel for his toughness. Never afraid to take the body, he brings needed edge to our lineup. Without Mike Sauer, there’s not enough of it to a blueline that’s slumped.

Not shockingly, Henrik Lundqvist’s play has also dipped. Sunday marked the fourth consecutive game he allowed three-or-more goals. He admitted afterwards that he fought it a bit but still came up large when the Rangers needed him. Oddly enough, our team hasn’t been allowing many shots. Lundqvist was on the hook for three goals on 18 shots during regulation. Fortunately, his teammates had his back, which was refreshing.

The Islanders had us behind early when John Tavares banged home a P.A. Parenteau rebound for his 28th. The rush saw some nice passing as they flew past the Brian Boyle line, who weren’t up to par defensively. Considering what John Tortorella said afterwards about Boyle playing hurt, it’s no wonder his play has suffered. The culprit in Chicago who fumbled a puck that turned into a Hawks’ Globetrotter set up for Patrick Sharp, has struggled mightily in his end. Why Tort tried to match Boyle, Brandon Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko versus the blazing Isles’ top trio of Tavares, Parenteau and Matt Moulson was anyone’s guess. They had issues all night defensively. The nice aspect for a character guy like Boyle, who I do like is that even with his shortcomings that also included an undisciplined boarding on Tavares, he always fights. It came in handy.

One of the guys I’ve been all over is Brad Richards. On this night with myself, Dad, Justin and Mike in 411, Richards was outstanding. He had one of his best games of the year, scoring twice and setting up Marian Gaborik’s dramatic OT winner. You could tell from the outset that he had it going. Perhaps ending a goal drought with a late one in the recent 4-3 loss to the Hawks was enough to reinstill confidence. Sometimes, even a garbage goal can get a key star back on track. He also skated with constant Carl Hagelin and Brandon Dubinsky, who returned in place of banged up Ryan Callahan. Callahan is still not 100 percent from the shot he blocked in the Devil loss. Better to rest him. Mike Del Zotto also sat out again with a sore hip.

Despite trailing on the scoreboard, the Rangers generated plenty against Evgeni Nabokov, who made some sparkling saves. He finished with 32. A couple of Islander penalties late in the first finally resulted in Richards knotting the score. For what seems like forever, I’ve begged him to shoot due to his halitzer. This time as I joked sarcastically about our power play issues, he went end to end and beat Nabokov with a wrister with 1:13 left. I turned away when it happened and had to duck down to see the replay. No Islander touched Richards. It was brutal. They gave assists to Lundqvist and Stralman for breathing on the puck. 😛

Despite outshooting them 11-5, it was tied. A loss of discipline from one of our most clean players ended up biting us a few minutes into the second. Stepan highsticked Parenteau, who got caught high and went down for a few minutes. It was kinda scary. I like to refer to him as PA Lemieux because when he faces us, that’s who he turns into. Plus he is gonna command a lot on the open market. After skating to the locker room and missing a good chunk of the double minor, Parenteau returned. The guy has 46 assists. Must be fun playing with talent.

With our team having an inspired penalty kill, they were seconds away from getting it done. There were even “Let’s Go Rangers” chants. Something that wasn’t common. The atmosphere sucked. Too many people who came in late and couldn’t find their seats. Not only that but they also would just go back to them while play was going on. Whatever happened to wait for the whistle? This is what Dolan wants. Great vision. In any event, the Isles caught a huge break when Moulson banked home his 29th off a Mark Streit wild shot that caromed off the back boards. If it were comedy, our home ice played a bad joke. At that point, I was thinking, ‘Not even our arena can help.’

Trailing again, the Rangers kept coming. The play of Mats Zucarello, who I’ve been begging for, was good. The pint sized Norwegian brought some spunk along with needed skill to our power play. Given another chance, he helped set up Richards’ second with some smart play along the boards. Taking a pass from Gaborik, I yelled for Richards to shoot and he obliged by whistling one past a screened Nabokov. It was Boyle’s big body that made it impossible for him to pick up Richie’s 21st.

Following another strong shift that forced Andrew MacDonald into a minor, a Zuccarello near miss to an open ‘mate produced a gasp. Then, at the tail end, an open MZA had a wide open shot but overpassed for a tough angle. Before you knew it, the Islanders had transitioned the puck up the ice and a pass went off a skate right to MacDonald, who came out of the box and beat Lundqvist on a breakaway. Now, I get that it was a quality scoring chance but it was Andy freaking MacDonald! King Henrik has to stop him. He’s delivered all year. Just humiliating.

All our momentum was gone as the Isles took a 3-2 lead into the dressing room. The one thing I love about our team is their resilience. They’re never out of a game. They came hard in the third and got it tied thanks to a Boyle faceoff win to Ryan McDonagh, whose shot was deflected home by Boyle for his sixth. The kind of goal we need from his line. Prust scored in the last game too off hard work. Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come.

With the game tied again, the Blueshirts had opportunities to go ahead but Nabokov made some tough stops, including a great sprawling save on Gaborik off a set up. Still, the Islanders gave us a few scary moments late with Tavares coming close only to see Lundqvist close it up. It would go to overtime. In it, the Islanders had a couple of great chances to win. First, Moulson found Tavares open with daylight but he missed. Then, Tavares abused Stralman and dished for Frans Nielsen, who was flat out robbed by a sliding Lundqvist.

Instead, the Rangers got a break when Travis Hamonic was nabbed for tripping. There was 2:02 remaining. At that point, I’m thinking ‘Our team will find a way not to score and they’ll lose in the shootout.’ I was almost prophetic as they bumbled the puck around as fans screamed “Shoot The Puck.” As I was headed down, I caught the winner on the screen. It took until five seconds for Richards to pass for Gaborik, who ripped one high stick side on Nabokov for a great finish. His 33rd sent the home part of the rivalry out of their seats happy.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Marian Gaborik, NYR (OT winner at 4:54-33rd of season, assist)
2nd Star-John Tavares, NYI (28th of season, assist-38)
1st Star-Brad Richards, NYR (2 PPG-#’s 20 & 21, assist, dominant)