Battle Of Hudson

Here’s the Schedule for today:

12:00 Devils vs. Blues, Regular Season, 1991 (Scotty’s first game as a Devil).
2:00 Devils vs. Penguins, Game 2, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, 1995 (Scotty gets the game-winner on a back-hander)
4:00 Devils vs. Flyers, Game 7, Eastern Conference Finals, 2000 (Scotty destroys Lindros
6:00 Scotty’s Retirement Ceremony before the Devils 2006 game vs. Carolina.
7:00 Devils-Flyers

Enjoy the day of Scotty!

With his first of a pair of goals against San Jose tonight, Mike is now the all-time leading American point-getter.

Couldn’t happen to a better player.

As a couple of my fellow bloggers already posted in previous entries, for the second time this season, the Islanders got the better of the Rangers posting another one-goal victory at the Coliseum in what was a very entertaining game last night.

The difference was the third period where a determined and fresher Ted Nolan squad took it to Tom Renney’s Blueshirts with a very aggressive forecheck which helped them solve the sizzling Henrik Lundqvist. Up until that point, King Henrik had continued to baffle another quality Atlantic Division opponent keeping the Fishsticks off the board for the first 40 minutes to extend his shutout streak to seven-plus periods since permitting a first period goal (Sergei Brylin) in last Saturday’s shootout win over the Devils.

If you watched the middle stanza closely, the Isles were really carrying the play forcing turnovers and getting excellent scoring chances before an undisciplined penalty led to Chris Drury’s power play goal which put the Rangers in front. If you’ve followed this intense bitter rivalry, then you know how huge a goal can be because the team who scores usually gets a lot of momentum. Before the second period finished, the Rangers started to dictate play and came close to going ahead by two if not for Rick DiPietro.

It’s worth noting that after the Rangers scored, Versus lost their feed for about two and a half minutes. Great job! Could you really see that happening on another network? Nevermind.

I did flip to the Islander radio feed on Bloomberg to hear them say that it had been all Rangers afterwards. Wouldn’t it have been nice to actually see it? Quite a concept, huh?!?!?!?!?!

In any event, when they did finally return to air, the newly formed Jaromir Jagr line with rookie Brandon Dubinsky and Marcel “Stone Hands” Hossa generated some chances off the cycle but couldn’t connect. It’s hard not to like the chemistry the unlikely trio has. They’re very good down low and hard to take off the puck as the Flyers found out the other night. But unless they start scoring, it doesn’t make much sense to keep them together. Renney should give it a few more games before having to make a decision as injured forwards Martin Straka and Ryan Callahan inch closer to a return.

Maybe it was predictable what happened in the final period with it being their third game in four nights (fourth in six). I had pointed out to my brother early on that the wear and tear could become a factor later on. Not surprisingly, against a more rested desperate opponent, it did.

The Islanders were much sharper in all facets and found ways to attack the Ranger D and finally get the kind of shots which even Lundqvist couldn’t stop. It started with Trent Hunter’s rocket off a two-on-one setup by Ruslan Fedotenko. Dan Girardi turned over the puck early in the third and Fedotenko found Hunter in the slot, who made no mistake ripping one upstairs off the inside of the crossbar and out. As for WFAN’s Steve Somers who asserted that the puck wasn’t in, to our naked eye it looked like it was. The Schmoozer took the Versus camera angles and officials to task but nobody complained on the Ranger side. So my guess is he was hoping here.

A point on how uncharacteristic this period was. It’s rare that Girardi makes glaring mistakes which leads to goals against. That the steady second-year blueliner committed a second when he accidentally high sticked Mike Comrie to lead to a tying Fedotenko PPG via a 4-on-3 responding to a Paul Mara tally was proof that New York just wasn’t mentally sharp. Something their coach referred to when it was all over. He didn’t make any excuses instead taking his team to task. That’s the way it should be with a team which much is expected from.

The Islander game-winner off Miro Satan’s stick was directly the result of another Ranger mental error. This time, the guilty party was Sean Avery, who was outmuscled along the boards while trying to clear the puck. Instead, Satan came off the wall and fired a lethal wrister top shelf for his third in two games. The streaky Slovak also got a couple in the Isles’ come from behind 3-2 victory over the Penguins for victory No.740 in legendary coach Al Arbour’s return to the bench for game No.1500.

Imagine if Satan always played with that fire. He’d still be in Buffalo.

To the Rangers’ credit, they didn’t go away instead getting a couple of great chances to equalize the riveting contest. But DiPietro was up to the task denying a couple of Blueshirts from in close including rookie Nigel Dawes who up till that point had been quiet.

It was a very good game no doubt and one where if you’re a Ranger supporter, you came away a little frustrated at not being able to at least take it to overtime. Especially when it was all setup for Lundqvist to record his fifth shutout of a young season. But it wasn’t meant to be on this night and was certainly understandable.

They’ve had a busy schedule lately and it will continue when they host another division rival Pittsburgh tomorrow night before heading up to Toronto for a HNIC game Saturday night.

You can’t win them all. Maybe the day off will help Renney’s club as it prepares for 2006-07 Hart recipient Sidney Crosby and the Pens. The wiz kid is red hot extending his career best point streak to 13 straight (9-13-22) after torching the Devils for two goals in a 5-0 road blowout at The Rock in Newark Monday.

How special is the 20 year-old former first overall 2005 selection? Since being held off the scoresheet in an Opening Night 4-1 defeat at Carolina, he’s put up a point in every game since. During the impressive streak, the Cole Harbour Nova Scotia native has had seven multi-point games including a four-point night in a win at Minnesota on All Hallow’s Eve last week.

He enters tonight’s home game against the Flyers with nine points (5-4-9) in his last four. Just another reason to have Center Ice and check out the rest of the action.

Final thoughts on last night:

-Rookie Marc Staal again impressed teaming with Michal Rozsival. In 18:11 of ice-time, the 20 year-old was excellent in his decision making and started to display some of those ferocious hits which made YouTube during a brilliant Junior career- delivering a couple of great takeouts on attacking Isles. He also continued to look more confident with the puck and again narrowly missed a highlight reel goal floating a backhand wide.

-Mara had his best game of the season notching a goal and assist while playing a very active game on D in 17:51 finishing plus-one.

–Scott Gomez again was very effective tallying an assist to make it four consecutive games with a point. The playmaking pivot continues to find chemistry with Avery and Petr Prucha. It was his stickhandling which created Mara’s go-ahead tally drawing two defenders behind the net which allowed Avery to find the wide open defenseman in front for a tip-in.

Gomez has also been very responsible in his end doing a solid job backchecking. He was good on draws. About the only thing he needs to do more of is shoot the puck. At times last night, he had the Islanders on their heels but was too unselfish. He’s got a very good shot and needs to use it. It will make that line that much more dangerous.

-Weird stat of Night: Colton Orr (10:01 TOI) while Blair Betts had 9:18 and Ryan Hollweg got 9:51. Betts kills penalties while the other rugged pair are more known for their physicality. That they received that much ice-time tells you what Renney thought of their games last night.


-Comrie was the best player on the ice finishing with two helpers. His skating was really effective, especially in the deciding third when the Islanders found gaps in the Ranger coverage to generate offense. What a pickup he’s been so far. Who would you rather have? The playmaking Comrie (5-10-15) for a short-term deal or Dainius Zubrus (0-6-6) for six? Got to toss Gomez (3-4-7) in there as well even though he’s more accomplished.

-Fedotenko also was really good in this one tallying a goal and assist. Think the Lightning miss him at all?

Can’t wait for the next battle between these classic rivals!

Wow, tonight was probably one of the best games I have seen the Islanders play. Well let me rephrase that. The best PERIOD Ive seen them play because although the first period was good [blink and you’d miss it] the Isles came out lethargic in the second and it was then where I had the feeling the Rangers were going to take the game over.

Watching Miro Satan cruise around the ice in the second period made me want to go down there and choke him out. I mean I realize this is an important game for both teams but this is our house and no way should any player be taking a shift off with all of this emotion in the arena.

I remember some fool yelling “How are you guys gonna feel when it’s 2-0!” Just then Trent Hunter scored and everyone in my section gave that guy some serious crap for opening his mouth. We didn’t hear from him the rest of the game.

I loved the way the Isles answered every goal the Rangers scored, every hit [except Avery’s hit on Hunter in the third] and every big save. Great save by Lundqvist on Sillinger.

Anyway the third period was intense. Dipietro really held things together and the defense for the most part did their jobs. It did get a little interesting towards the end but we really played one hell of a game. Mike Comrie got the 1st star but it was really “Mr iron Legs” Miro Satan once again who put the game away and made the Ranger fans hang their heads in shame once again while leaving the Coliseum.

Great game out on Long Island tonight, as the Islanders edged the Rangers 3-2. The game featured four extremely pretty goals, three from the Islanders. Fedotanko, Hunter and Satan scored for the Islanders and Drury and Mara scored for the Rangers.

Passion was all over the place tonight, but surprisingly, there were no fighting majors. With Avery, Orr, Hollweg, Simon, Witt and Jackman all on the ice tonight, I thought fights were imminent. But they played good clean hockey for the most part.

Refereeing was great for almost every part of the game. I thought the elbow on Prucha by Sutton should have been called, even if he did miss the hip check. Prucha then went back and boarded him, and deserved the two minutes he got in the box, but the first one should have been called too. Other than that, there were minimal stick infractions, and the guys in stripes let the two teams play.

Goaltending was spectacular tonight from both sides. Lundqvist had no chance on any of those goals, and DiPietro made some crucial saves at the end of the game.

Defense was again good for the Rangers, but it wasn’t as good as it usually is. Strudwick almost had a turnover turn into real trouble in the second period, but other than that, there was nothing glaring.

Good game all around. It was fun to watch. The Rangers play again on Thursday, when they host the Penguins. I expect Lundqvist in net for that one or Saturday’s game at Toronto, but not both. Malik may be back at sometime over the next couple of games as well. Back on Thursday unless any major news breaks.

I had a chance to witness the now legendary Al Arbour night first hand and let me tell you, it was class all the way by the Islanders Organization. Heading into the game I was having discussions as to why the Isles would schedule such a historic night against a tough opponent like the Penguins. I then agreed that an Al Arbour night combined with Sid “The Kid” equaled a guaranteed sell out at the Coliseum. Even before the drop of the puck there was a buzz in the arena. I think everyone sensed a little magic back in the building where Arbour steered the franchise to four consecutive Stanley Cup victories.

Due to the great seats I had (6 rows off the ice), you could see the speed of the game and the Isles looked a step or two behind while the Pens jumped out to a 2-nil lead. But as Ted Nolan has the knack of doing, the Islanders were able to slow down the game and weather the storm. A fortuitous bounce of the puck to Trent Hunter got the fans riled up and everyone in the Coliseum seemed to agree that things were going to start going our way, and then Dipietro went down. At real time, game-speed, to be honest I don’t think Crosby meant harm, he was driving to the net and his stick was being tied up.

In the third period it was all Satan. The effort Miro gave on Saturday night is what he needs to bring to the rink every game. He was forcing the play on the fore-check and creating offensive chances and to my surprise being physical. When he netted the winner off the rebound, the Coliseum erupted as it did when the seconds wound down and the Isles sealed win number 740 in game number 1500 behind the bench for Al Arbour.

The post game celebration was all first class. Old Islanders and new were brought together to celebrate a tremendous accomplishment for a tremendous ambassador of the sport of hockey. In the end the number 1500 banner was raised to the rafters and the legend of Al Arbour will live on forever in the hearts of Islander and hockey fans alike.

It’s been a while since I posted. The good pc’s been in the shop for over a week and right now, I’m actually on an old machine which works elsewhere. Stop the presses!

In any event, we were at the last two Ranger games- both wins against Atlantic Division rivals which is never a bad time. Lot of fun actually!

In watching rookie defenseman Marc Staal, it’s hard not to admire the kid’s poise. The former No.1 pick is starting to show what all the hype was about. He’s a Staal. Remember?

In place of the injured Marek “Big Bird” Malik paired alongside Michal Rozsival, the 19 year-old out of Thunder Bay Ontario has seen a hike in ice-time moving up from the third pair to top status. Sure, he’s gotten help from the solid underrated unspectacular tandem of Tyutin-Girardi who btw are logging 20+ minutes a night. Neither is over 25.

In the Devil game, while Rozsival again struggled, Staal made no glaring mistakes against an aggressive quick forechecking team which generated chances. However, last night was even better. More noticeable was Staal’s stickhandling ability to lug the puck out of harm’s way and up ice. He was as cool as could be against division leader Philadelphia.

Truth be told, it was by far the Rangers’ best game as our blogger Lenny already pointed out last night. But what I liked most was seeing how Staal used his skating to jump into the play. Something that we haven’t seen much of in the club’s first 13 contests.

In fact, there was one play which stood out where Marc got the puck at a vacated point and took it hard to the net going to the backhand narrowly missing his first NHL goal. If he had converted that, it would’ve been highlight reel.

If Staal continues to show this sort of maturity, I see no reason why he shouldn’t remain paired with the slower Rozsival who needs a quicker partner at this point, especially when he’s having a rough go of it. Rozy is probably the Blueshirts’ best defenseman. But right now, he’s clearly unsure of himself and has not been as sharp in making the right decisions. It needs to be quicker. When he’s himself, the puck comes out of the zone easier.

Malik has been whipped up on quite a bit. Sometimes, it’s deserved after a dreadful start to this promising Ranger campaign. But before he went down, the lanky positional D had turned his game around. He’s still quite valuable because he can log lots of minutes and play in almost any situation. I see no reason why he can’t return and team with Mara for now on the third pair until Rozsival rediscovers his game.

I realize the chances of this happening are about as slim as my shot with Shakira. But if our coach can come to his collective senses and team Gomez with two speedsters including Steve’s favorite punk Avery who last I checked had a much better resume than the budding second-year Devil antagonist Clarkson, then maybe Renney can conclude that Staal should stay with Rozy for now.

I must also say that Gomez is starting to look like the player they went out and paid a lot of cash for. He’s now carrying the puck blueline to blueline backing up the D and finding teammates. Isn’t it nice when your linemates are quick enough to be on the same page? I always knew Prucha and Gomez would be a natural combo. Especially when one considers that the affable playmaking pivot worked well with Gionta in The Swamp.

Great move also by the coach to try Dubinsky with Jagr. While the points aren’t coming yet for the other promising freshman, he’s really doing a lot of good board work with JJ and Hossa. No.68’s other two might not have gotten on the scoresheet last night but they couldn’t be handled by the Flyers down low which led to two late penalties and Brendan Shanahan’s fourth of the season which sealed the victory on an impressive 5-1 homestand. Actually, Shanny’s I think came after some great work by Avery.

P.S. That scrap by Avery against the brave Mike Richards was excellent last night. What a way to start it off! P.S. Last I checked, Richards was every bit as skilled as Parise. Yet he’s already had at least three scraps this year and centers the Flyers’ much improved second line.

Guess they didn’t teach fighting at North Dakota :P.

As for the goalie, what can be said which hasn’t already?!?!?!?!?! Henrik’s the man and unless Pascal Leclaire keeps up this act on a much more defensive oriented Blue Jackets’ team, it says in this space that King Henrik will be holding his first Vezina by next June. Let’s hope that isn’t the only piece of hardware! We did pick him before the year.

If this team really wants to gain respect, coming out with a ‘W’ against Ted Nolan’s gritty hardworking bunch would do wonders at Nassau Coliseum. Especially for their psyche on the road where they’ve yet to record a win (1 SO loss at Boston).

It should be fun to watch. Here’s to the fireworks!

Rick Dipietro should be well enough to play tonight.
Yes Chris Simon will in the lineup as well so look for Colton Orr and Simon to have a go tonight.
The Islanders called up Tim Jackman for tonight’s game. He is taking Aaron Johnson spot between Ben Walter and Simon. Jackman will add some toughness to the Isles while Orr, Hollweg and Avery are out there.

The first game was hyped up pretty big, but that was without Simon in the lineup. Look for tonight’s game to be different. Both teams do NOT lack toughness and Im sure some sparks will fly tonight.

Hooray! Mike “Doc” Emrick will be calling tonight’s Rangers-Islanders game with Brian Engblom and Billy Jaffe on VERSUS.

Bill Patrick, Keith Jones and Eddie Olczyk in the studio.

Why? Olczyk’s obviously better than Engblom.