Right from the start, Tuesday had a different feel to it. There was a definite buzz in the air in Atlanta, but it was not because of the Hawks. The buzz was generating all the way from New York City. With the Jets, Giants, Knicks and Nets having just completed losing seasons (I know basketball is only halfway through their season, but trust me it has been over for quite some time now), the Islanders and Rangers have become the focal point of New York City. The Islanders came into this game in first place with 57 points and the Rangers came in with 52 points, which was only the second time in their history that both teams had amassed greater than 50 points by the all-star game.
The Rangers came into the game as arguably the hottest team in the league winning 12 of their last 13 games including a road sweep on the west coast for the first time in their history. The game at Madison Square Garden was being touted as one of the most important games in this rivalry in many years. Even though the Islanders have had the more consistent season, most pundits were saying that the Rangers had the advantage. The feeling was that they could not wait to beat the Islanders at home and pound their chests. In some respects the Islanders were the underdogs and still needed to prove to the general public once again that they are real. I guess most people out there failed to get the message this year. It was time to deliver it in person.
I rushed to get home in time for the start of the game in order to get into my Islanders garb before the game started. But before that could happen the were a couple of small matters to take care of. First, there was a pizza to pickup and then when I got home the little monsters had to be fed. I quickly found my lucky Islanders hoodie and cap, put on a pair of sweatpants and just as I put on my second slipper the puck dropped. Perfect timing indeed.
The start of the game found both teams playing very cautiously. The forwards got back on defense and both teams were pushing the play. There was a lot of back and forth with few chances to during the first ten minutes. The Islanders gave the puck away a number of times which led to some good chances for the Rangers. Thomas “Fish Oils” Hickey, who has struggled in the past week, made a dangerous pass that led into two chances for the Rick Nash line. Zuccarello was stopped in close by Halak on two consecutive shots.
The Rangers had the better of the play. In the final ten minutes of the period, Nash barreled past Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy and then promptly hit the post. The rebound came right to Derick Brassard who had a wide open net but he hit the post as well. After the game Halak was asked what his best stop was on the night and his reply was “the posts.” The Islanders had a few chances themselves, but Henrik Lundqvist was up to the test. The Islanders won on the shot clock 13-9, but the Rangers played a bit better. The team was definitely fortunate to get out of the period with no score.
The second period was dominated by the Islanders. It was not even close. Most of the first five minutes was spent in the Rangers zone. The key was in the face-off circle. The Islanders after winning 13 of 18 face-offs in the first period continued to do so in the second. Most of those face-off wins were in the Rangers end which made it easy for the Islanders to maintain possession for long stretches.
It started to look like the second period would end up a lot like the first with no score and with the better team having nothing to show for their effort. However, that would soon change. After a shot from the point from Calvin deHaan, Anders Lee spun around in front of the net and back-handed the puck past Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead. Travis Hamonic got the second helper on Lee's 11th goal of the year right before the nine minute mark.
The Islanders then started to get physical as Johnny Boychuk leveled Rick Nash and put him straight on his back in the Rangers zone. Casey Czikas also got into it with some fisticuffs on a couple of occasions. The Islanders got the first power play of the game and had some chances but could not convert. There was a sense that the tide was starting to turn.
Then with a little under five minutes left in the period the Islanders won another face-off and kept the pressure on the Rangers. Hickey then tried to pass the puck from behind the net, but it got deflected and landed on the stick of Nickolay Kulemin in the slot and he roofed one past Lundqvist. It was Kulemin's 8th goal of the year. At this point the Islanders were just hoping that they could just somehow end the period with a 2-0 lead, but that would not be the case.
With less than two minutes to go in the period, Travis Hamonic took a crosschecking penalty and it seemed like it was just a matter of time before the Rangers goal song would be blaring in the Garden. The red light did come on, but it turned out to be a short-handed goal at the other end of the rink. Boychuk started a two on one breakout, but Frans Nielsen had the presence of mind to not ice the puck. He saw an opportunity and, with Kulemin by his side, took a shot that just got through Lindqvist for, dare I say it, a 3-0 lead. It was Fransy's 9th goal of the year. It was probably the Islanders most impressive period of the year. The y out shot the Rangers 19-12 during the period and dominated the face-offs and time of possession.
Cam Talbot came in to replace Lundquist to start the third period. The Rangers still had some power play time left which was promptly killed off. As opposed to other games this year in which the Islanders had and surrendered three goal leads, they stayed on the offensive and took it to the Rangers. The Islanders maintained pressure and had a number of opportunities to get a fourth goal, but Talbot was very sharp off the bench. Islanders out shot the Rangers in the third period 1-5 and 42-26 for the entire game. The Islanders kept the Rangers off the score sheet and shut them out 3-0 for their second win at Madison Square Garden this year (which was only one win shy of the New York Knicks which had won only three games there this year in almost half a season).
The Islanders improved to 10-3-1 in past 14 games and improved their overall record to an impressive 29-13-1 for 59 points. They remained in first place over the Penguins by a single point in the Metropolitan Division, but moved into first place in the entire Eastern Conference with a Tampa Bay loss. Next up is a showdown with the Penguins at the Nassau Coliseum on Friday followed by a road game in Montreal on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if Chad Johnson plays one of those two games. The Islanders close out the first half of the year next Monday afternoon with a home game against the Flyers.
Tonight was a statement game. Many have come to realize that the Islanders are for real, however there are some that are still out there that still need convincing. This game went a long way in making that statement. After the game a reporter asked Johnny Boychuk about playing a “red hot Rangers team” and his response was “ We aren't playing too bad ourselves.” Some people just still haven't gotten the message.
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