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Isles Take Manhattan? Nope 4-2 Rangers Update 9:50 pm |
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9:50 pm: It started with a puck to Matt Moulson's lower lip from Callahan and seemed to go downhill from there. For some reason, Jack Capuano looks like he took a puck to the lower lip as well. The Rangers scored with 5:07 left of the first when Dubinsky beat Nabokov. The Isles don't usually do well when they don't score the first goal.
With less than a half minute left in the first, the Isles ended up on the power play which extended to the first 1:25 of the second period and that's where PA Parenteau found a way to get passed Marty Biron only 20 seconds in. Biron has done very well as the Rangers back-up. Then again, he IS a veteran goalie.
Kyle Okposo took a stick to the face and the Isles were on a 2 minute power play instead of a four minute one. Bad call, but I guess they didn't see the blood that Richards drew by being reckless with his stick. Kyle never left the bench and didn't look like he needed stitches.
The Rangers killed off the power play and Gaborik gave the Rangers the lead at the 7:52 mark right off a face-off. That was a stunenr. It didn't matter that the Islanders were outshooting the Rangers. The BlueShirts were still leading on the scoreboard where it counted.
John Tavares was called for tripping which was a delayed penalty and Biron headed to the bench until PA Parenteau touched up and play stopped long enough for JT to skate to the box in shame. Well, effing Michael DelZotto scored an effing goal giving the Rangers an effing 2 goal lead. (Hopefully you were all on Twitter late last night and get that joke. Please do.)
Butchie complained a blue streak about the Isles breakdowns calling them out by name one by one. Apparently the DelZotto goal was Grabner's fault for not paying attention. But he wasn't the only one not paying attention.
It wasn't until the third that the fights started. Matt Martin dropped the gloves with Ranger's AHLer Bickel and it lasted quite a while as neither was willing to hit the ice. Bickel is trying to stand out and perhaps make a nice showing for the HBO cameras. Both sat in the box for five.
The Isles were back on the PK when Nino Niederreiter was called for tripping. It's always about special teams, isn't it?
A rukus broke out against the wall and it was hard to see who was beating on whom. There were sticks and gloves in faces and too many numbers to see who was involved. But off the side Wallace and Bickel made a date to go and as Wallace was taking off his helmet Bickel jumped him. Very unsportsmanlike. It took a while for the penalties to be assessed. Bickel got four for roughing while Boyle and Martin got two.
In the end the Isles were on the power play and Matt Moulson continued his point streak fighting to put in a rebound cutting the Rangers lead. And that's where it would stop.
With a minute and a half left in the third and trailing by only one, Nabokov headed to the bench while the Isles didn't have clear possession of the puck and Frans Nielsen turned it over. Huge mistake as Mitchell scored the empty netter. There was no going back.
They have now lost five straight games at MSG. This is unacceptable. As Butchie said, they made some glaring errors. I think I'm holding Capuano accountable for this one. Matt Martin agreed they played hard but made mistakes that cost them the game.
When Jack was speaking with Peter post game, he said "We showed pre-scouts and knew the plays they would make." WHAT? Oh, okay, it seems that the Isles had watched Gaborik score right off the face off before and knew how he did it. They failed to stop him. "I can live and die with a lot of things but ywhen you know what they're going to do...." Jack wasn't happy but not as angry as you would have expected. Gaborik was the Isles killer tonight and as Butchie said, they fell asleep on it.
As annoying as this is, they don't have any time to dwell on it. The Leafs are in town tomorrow along with ex-NYI coach Scott Gordon. Won't that be interesting?
Two points down the drain and playoffs further in the rear view mirror -- so far they're becoming invisible.
5:11 pm: Oh boy. Over 400 comments at 5 pm? I'm scared to look. Did I piss off a few Ranger fans or is everyone just excited to see the outcome? Either way, Nino Niederreiter will play along with Reasoner and Michael Haley.
1:20 pm: Defenseman Mark Eaton has been taken off IR and Dylan Reese has been put back on the Ferry to Bridgeport. As an emergency call-up the Rooster Freeze is not in play here.
Okay, so we know that Anders Nilsson is Nabokov's back-up, word on Twitter is that Marty Biron (who has been playing exceptionally well) should be in net against the Islanders. Well, won't that be swell.
As I can see by the amount of comments on here already, this game is going to be one to watch. Then again, an Isles vs Rangers game is ALWAYS one to watch.
As the boys did not practice this morning, please Dear hockey Gods, let them be on their game and ready to play a full 60! PLEASE!!
7:20 am: The Islanders stayed in Manhattan last night in preparation for their second meeting with the NY Rangers. Moulson, Grabner and Okposo had dinner together after Grabner did some Christmas shopping. It's all very pleasant and relaxing. Sadly none of them posted a photo of the Rockefeller Christmas tree on Twitter. Oh well.
The Rangers are facing their own list of injuries, but they are far ahead of the Islanders in the points and promotion department. The HBO cameras have been non-stop as they prepare for the Winter Classic. Tonight the Islanders will make their guest appearance, just as they did last year. I'm hoping the outcome is the same -- an annoying loss for the team that's headed to the biggest NHL game on NBC. Wouldn't that be nice?
In this cross-town rivalry it's all about the series wins and not the actual points in the standings. Sure, the Rangers have 42 points to the Isles 28, but they won their first meeting this season but lost the second. Time to turn the tables again.
However, that is a tall order without Al Montoya in net. If Evgeni Nabokov ever wanted to prove his worth in the NHL to another team -- it would be good to show off tonight against King Henrik. Without Lundqvist the Rangers stats would be far different.
I didn't know that Trevor Gillies was injured so thanks to Vinny Piccolo for that tidbit of information on Twitter. I haven't been able to really follow the Sound Tigers recently with the Christmas Chaos that surrounds me. Crap, I haven't been able to follow NHL hockey right now either.
But while I'm otherwise preoccupied, if you are looking for my blog box buddy Rob McGowan (who doesn't have to shop, bake, cook or clean for Christmas because he has a different set of chromosones and isn't married) you can find all his Islanders coverage at tclisles.com (http://islanders.thecheckingline.com/).
More info as it comes across my phone. I believe the morning skate today is voluntary so the boys may decide to take in the sights of Christmas in Manhattan today. I can't blame them.
Later all!
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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