Until We Meet Again

Here it is. Game On. Welcome all to the game of the year. The final regular season game ever at the Nassau Coliseum between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers. A rivalry that is like none other in hockey or any other sport for that matter. The game between these two teams has always been full of pride, spirit, and blind loyalty for both players and fans alike.

No fan will admit it, but there is always a bit of trepidation in a a game like this. On one hand there is chance of public acclaim from beating your arch rival. On the other hand there is always the chance of public shame from being beaten by your arch rival. This is the last game between these two teams. It is one for the ages. It is not for the faint of heart. It is the ultimate contest. Unless of course these two New York teams somehow meet in the playoffs. Then we all will need to come up with some new superlatives to describe what would happen next.

The Islanders came into the game with 90 points (43-21-4) and the Rangers had 87 points (40-17-7) with four games in hand. In fact, the last time both teams met in the regular season and both teams had at least 40 wins was back in 1979. The Islanders have won three out of the four meetings this year.

The Rangers have nearly unbeatable for a very long stretch. The Islanders have stayed on top of the Metropolitan Division for that same stretch. Both teams have faced adversity. The Islanders lost one of their top wingers in Kyle Okposo and the Rangers lost their best player in Henrik Lundqvist. Okposo has recovered and returned for this game after suffering a detached retina back in January. Lundqvist is still out of the lineup with a vascular injury. Both were significant upper body injuries.

Michael Grabner was a healthy scratch to make room for Okposo. Interesting choice by Head Coach Jack Capuano, but Tyler Kennedy looked good in his first game as an Islander last night against the Toronto Maple Leaves and Grabner has not been producing as of late. Kael (Mole Rat) Mouillierat was returned to Bridgeport.

Nick Leddy was a game time decision but could not go. That ended a 320 game playing streak. Brian Strait got the call in his absence. A rested Jaroslav Halak was back in net after getting two games off and the red hot Cam Ward was in goal for the Rangers. It was the 19th sellout of the year at the Nassau Coliseum which equaled the total number of sellouts in the past four years. Tighten your belt buckle. Here we go…

Every game between the teams this year has seen the Islanders get off to a hot start and this one was no exception. The first period saw each team with a failed power play. But it was Anders Lee that gave the Islanders a 1-0 with his 23rd goal of the year after feeds from Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome. Lee stuffed it past Talbot as if he was trying to get on a crowded #1 Train at 34th Street. The Islanders had the lead in shots 13-7 and had the better of the play.

In the second period it was the Rangers that made a little noise. Kevin Hayes wristed one past Halak after a feed from Mats Zuccarrello to tie the game at one apiece. The Islanders had to kill off two power plays during the period. Towards the end of the second period, Josh Bailey had a two on none breakaway with John Tavares, but the league's leading scorer did not have a twig. Bailey took the shot, but Cam Ward came up big. Rangers had the edge on shots 11-10.

Just three minutes into the last frame, Rick Nash took a slapper from the right boards. He was just directing it on net, because he saw three of his teammates going towards the goal and he was hoping his shot would catch one of their sticks. The puck ended up bouncing off of Ryan Strome's skate and past Halak for a 2-1 Rangers lead. That would end up being the final score.

There were only 11 shots total for both teams in the period and the Islanders had the edge for the game 30-22. Both teams were 0-4 on the power play the the hits were about even. However, what did the Islanders in were their 28 takeaways which was double of what the Rangers had.

The Islanders now have a couple of days off before back-to-back home games against Ottawa and Montreal. Good news is that for the rest of the month they are playing in New York with the one lone exception being a road game at Chicago next week.

Overall, it was not a well played game by any stretch of the imagination. After the barn burner of a game that these teams play a couple of weeks ago, this one ended up being a dud. Lets hope that these two great rivals meet in the playoffs. The Nassau Coliseum needs a much better send of than this one. So for now this will have to do…until we meet again.