This could be it…
-
- March
- 4
In honor of the Rangers opponent tonight, the press room offering will be some sort of fish, which again means it’s time to call my wife and tell her I love her (just in case I don’t make it through).
As for the Islanders themselves, they will indeed be without Rick DiPietro, whose prolonged absence after the death of his grandmother remains something of a mystery. One theory is that DiPietro would have returned to the team tonight if Ted Nolan had agreed to start him. But with Nolan thinking DiPietro wasn’t ready, he gave the nod to Wade Dubielewicz, and now DiPietro isn’t even in the building.
Meanwhile, my vote would have been for DiPietro since Dubielewicz is really hard to type.
And speaking of Dubie…well, you know his name…it turns out Tom Renney coached the Islanders backup at a hockey camp in British Columbia when he was six years old (not Renney, the goalie).
“I didn’t teach him a thing, really” Renney said.
That of course may be to Renney’s advantage tonight. It’s very easy to look at this game against a slumping Islanders team featuring their backup goalie and think it’s a lock for the Rangers. Most of you are too smart to think that, but the rest of you should know these games rarely play out according to plan.
I do think the Rangers are a tougher, more disciplined team than they were when they lost three straight to the Isles to start the year. But the important part to remember is that with the playoffs looking less and less likely for the Islanders, it is games like tonight they will use to define their season.
Translation? Don’t change the channel.
OK, Lynn Zinser of the Times just threw me a lifeline. We’re bypassing the fish and heading out for something instead.
Back in a bit…
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 5:40 pm by Sam Weinman.
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Josh Thomson Josh, who is 26 and a native of Carmel, graduated from Boston University in 2002 and began working for The Journal News the following March. 
Sam, Any chance of you getting cloned in the near future? Female hockey fanatics like myself need more men like you!
:)
Here’s to frying the fishsticks tonight! Go Rangers!
“Now the closest I get to a fight is when I fart in bed and pull the sheets over my wife’s head.”
The Dutch Oven, nice!
“OK, Lynn Zinser of the Times just threw me a lifeline. We’re bypassing the fish and heading out for something instead.”
Sammy, better think twice about calling your wife then!
Sam, I don’t know how you could forget to report such important news for your fantasy team: Forsberg is playing tonight!
who’s the fish backup goalie ? Sam you have to eat the fish, it’s symbolic, otherwise get a plate and throw it in the garbage ;-)
Thank God Hank held onto that one…
Malikenstein strikes again!
How could that not be a penalty against Straka?
I just love Malik’s nonchalance after he gave up the puck.
Timay, I know thats what I said when I saw the non penalty…
tom renney is beyond stupid. putting a stiff like malik on the top defensive pair. what a disgraceful turnover. he’s a 6” 5’ marshmallow that’s afraid to take a hit. what a Pus**
I would rather have the refs swallow the whistles in agame like this, but for break-a-ways there needs to be calls
Timay,
yea I would have loved fo him to have apenalty shot there.
I would just love smack that clueless look right off of malik’s face. what a loser. he needs to be forever banished from the rangers
Malik’s turnover was bad, but just as bad was Avery’s that led to a breakaway. The differences? Hank makes a great stop on the breakaway, while Malik’s turns into a fluke goal, and everyone hates Malik, and is on Avery’s jock.
Another Avery turnover, this time becomes a goal.
Doodie… maybe he will come down on his asking price…
Please put Vally in!! Hank needs to wake up!
I really wish Lundqvist could play the puck. That is his biggest fundamental problem. He is just TERRIBLE with the puck.
Doodie, ye he doesn’t hold rebounds and he doesn’t play it well…
God i miss paul mara…
This officially just in: Backman is horrible. It looks like he is trying to set-up the Islanders at times and is fooled by the sound of the stick pounding on the ice from the other team’s forward.
I want STRUDWICK back at The Mausoleum Thursday
Won’t happen…Malik and Backman will be in on Thurs. You’ll notice that Malik started the second period.
I don’t think they should’ve paired Backman with Staal. I think they’re both a little bit overwhelmed with the assignment.
Yeah, I agree…Staal is probably trying to do to much to compensate for Backman.
Doodie, we were talking about that at Game on and Ranger Nation, but what would you do to change the lines?
Rozi Staal (I fear the minutes are wearing down the rookie)
Girardi Tyutin
Strud Malik/backman
or do you eave Malik with Rozi and just scratch Backman, I think they really want to get him time…
That should read, too much.
Well, before Mara comes back, I think you need to give Malik-Backman a chance. It can’t be THAT much worse, and even if it was, you still can change it to what it is now.
BTW, we only had 2 PPs, and Backman wasn’t a part of either of them. What happened?
Thanks Hank!
Renney’s a dick!!!!! Rosival over Callahan????????
beaten by a bunch of Nhl fringe players and castoffs
So, we get one point.
Could someone give any sort of logical explanation as to Rozsival and Straka over Jagr and say Cally?????????
Rozival over Jagr??
what about Drury? Sjostrom? Avery?
NOPE, he goes with Rozy. Bad call by Renney
The title of every article about this game tomorrow morning should have some clever play on words involving Rozsival, shootout, Renney and moronic.
It’s a tough chore, but it has to be done.
Then all of those articles should be bundled up, and forced down Renney’s throat until he chokes on them.
Lundqvist is still not King. 3 gifts for Isles tonight. What a lucky team they are. Jeeeeeeezzz!!!!
I completely agree with the comments on this one, why pick roszival over jagr, drury, avery, even sjostrom? roszival has a great shot but hes not taking the shot from the point, hes breaking in alone. Im not sure how anyone can defend that decision.
SAm,
I am a big fan of Rozi, but why the hell was he shooting there? Can anyone explain it? Why was he shooting before Cally and Drury and Straka?
and with Hank’s shaky play why are we shooting first… why put the extra pressire on him…
Ross,
yea Rozi has a hard shot, he almost beat Dubie five hole, but with no one screening its not enough, he has a hard shot but he isn’t Charra… without a fancy move it won’t do it.
Who wants to go first in a shootout ever? I hate that strategy, makes no sense to me.
I know that I am not the only one thinking it, but was that the worst shootout lineup ever? Why Roszival? It almost seemed as if they were trying to screw up? You have to hit the net to score.
On the bright side we get a point.
SATHER, YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!!!
Backman? F**KING Backman. That is what this team needed to get over the top?
The devils, Isles and Peguins all got a tough physical d-man for nothing. We got Backman. I don’t know who is worse Malik or Backman. Backman turned over the puck in front of his own net, because an Islander was banging his stick on the ice calling for a pass- Are you kidding?
The east can be won by almost any team. The Rangers are so close. all they needed was a physical presence to shore up the d-fense. SATHER YOU SUCK.
This team is going nowhere. Thanks Sather.
I think King Henry needs an eye exam…and to cut back on the caffiene ,he looked very shaky.
Renney blows it, Lundqvist blows it. really think Sather fucked up by signing HL long term for that exorbitant price. Sorry, I don’t think he’s worth that kind of money. He’s an ordinary goaltender not a franchise stopper.
Think the league has figured out HL and he hasn’t been able to adjust. His best play may just be behind him.
Renney has to be taking stupid pills to put Rozsival out there when he had Cally and Drury on the bench.
I like the Sjostrom deal, must better than Hossa and we also get an AHL goon.
Dawes is awesome.
Will someone tell Renney that the home team gets last licks and shooting first in the shitout gives away the advantage.But they get their 1 point,so all is well in Rangerland
I think Renney should start Vally on Thursday.
I think Henry is good ,but not yet great.He can now join the ranks of the Ranger fat cats Leetch,Richter.one cup and relax enjoy the money..Henry gets a pass on the cup.
Rangers used the deadline to restock hartford for their playoff push…..All we got was Backman?
tomg, I have never agreed with you more than with what you just said. All of it.
Stf…I agree…Vally should get the nod. He’s shown that he’s got his shit together and deserves a shot but Renney said Hank is our #1 goalie there’s no two ways aboot it so, guess who will be goal.
LOL, 6.8 MILLION FOR QUEEN HENRIK AND YOU STILL CAN’T WIN!
BLUESKIRTS SUCK!
15 years for DP… glad he’s dedicated enough to show up… oh, wait
Very disappointing loss, they did not really play well at all. But I am keeping my cool we are still ok, yea we can’t keep giving up these points especially in our division. They better come out Thursday and run it up. I agree with most, why the hell was Rozsvile in there for the shootout. To many turnovers in our end. WE WILL DO BETTER THURSDAY.
His grandmother died…so he’s not dedicated to his team?
Are you kidding me?
God Ragholes are retarded.
Queen Henrik looked like he was dead tonight, that’s for sure. Nice of him to show up for your team…..oh wait.
What is it that teams have broke out of a scoring slump on the Rangers??? What was the other team that did this, this year???
Brett Favre – plays day after father dies, torches Raiders.
Great leaders/players should always want to be there for their team, especially when they are on the outside looking in in the playoff picture. DP misses 2 games? Nice. He probably wasn’t going to play anyway, so he pouted and wouldn’t back up Dubie. Again, nice. He’s got a lot of years left though, I just hope his 3rd cousin twice removed doesn’t kick the bucket so we see him on thursday.
Yeah well Ryan.. I guess DiPi’s not a leader because he was close to his grandmother who got buried yesterday so he didn’t play today.. which makes it even sweeter beating the blueskirts with our BACKUP goalie..
Bottom Line Fish Fans: You islanders shouldn’t be giving any points to those teams above you in the standings—can’t wait till Thursday when we rock the Mausoleum
You’ll rock the Coliseum just as you said you would rock the Madison Queer Garden tonight?
Man, this is why we need to sign Avery. If I can stir up Icelander fans on a blog with Avery-like yapping, imagine what he does on the ice.
Too bad Avery’s a selfish homo…
Good luck signing that punk.
Sean Avery – the heart and soul of the NY Rangers. LAUGHABLE!
1 CUP IN 70 YEARS!!!
Also – lol @ Blueskirts fans booing Queen Lundqvist tonight.
Soon enough you will be back to wacking off to your Clark Gillies pin-ups in your moms basement in Syosset…Look at the standings, you are on the outside looking in, dogpussy
Ryan, You can only dream about being in Manhattan and you won’t find any limp wrists in our Garden, but I’ve seen some of the islander ready to wear and I sure the Fish Uniforms were inspired by your poeple on Fire Island-and the fans just loves them, too.
Do the Rangers (and that includes the coaching staff) get pre-game lobotomies before playing the fishsticks or something?
Yes we managed to salvage 1 point but what really worries me is our goaltender. I don’t see a cup run with a goalie who’s good for at least 1 soft goal a game. I couldn’t stand Weeks because he always let in a softie and now Lundqvist is doing the same. Unless he has a huge turn around, this year will end in bitter disappointment.
sorry, Ryan, I didn’t mean to jab you.
wow some real scholars with some really insightful nonsense today….
staal has to pick things up, he has slipped recently.
the rangers played bad in there own zone but they still dominated.
can jagr get more scoring chances???The guy has 7 good chances tonight and he cannot score a goal…....
SAM- CAN WE BAN THESE LOSER, LOW-LIFE ISLANDER FANS from this site? Don’t they have their own blog sites they can yap on?!
dogpussy? Oh god…not only are the Blueskirts fan unintelligent, they can’t come up with insults for SHIT!
Paaaaaaaaathetic.
You can’t even think of anything worse than “fishsticks” to call the Islanders either…that or “Icelanders”, which is equally pathetic..
We may be on the outside looking in, but we’re only 3 points out with an almost AHL-Equivilent team. AND WE BEAT YOU.
4 TIMES.
GTFO MY INTERNETS.
The limp wrists are from the queer stockbrokers who blow coke in the men’s room and leave after the second period. Oh wait, I thought it was “sold out” tonight, right Dolan? You propagandist tool.
Rag$hit$ suck. Now and forever.
QFT
Also why do I hear more Potvin chants than “Lets Go Rangers” chants at the Garden?
Are you guys done masturbating to pictures of him yet?
Oh wait, half of the 12 year olds that chant it think you’re talking about Felix.
For someone who normally rips the team and Renney, I thought they dominated tonight despite some poor defensive coverage. However, when you’re now the highest paid goalie in the league, you have to win a game once in awhile. This is the second straight game Lundqvist has given up 3 goals on very few shots and he blew in the shootout. He hasn’t played consistently well since Thanksgiving. Every time the puck gets in the Rangers zone-its an impending disaster because this guy has no confidence and can’t save anything anymore. This was all cool when he was making 800k and surprising everyone, but now that he makes more than Brodeur, Luongo, Kiprusoff, and the other greats, this just can’t fly anymore. You know what Keenan does? He pulls Kiprusoff every game, he plays Joseph to get the point across, and Kiprusoff has rebounded very well.
This mediocre goaltending has to stop or else we’re going nowhere. It’s not Backman, Malik, or any of the position players anymore—this sits solely on Lundqvist.
Probably the same rich stockbrokers who are banging your wife when you are not home because you are working the late shift at Blockbuster video down there on Jericho Tpke bringing home a $500 a week salary
It’s like watching a friggin circus seal every night now—every time the puck gets dumped in, Lundqvist looks around, bounces his head up and down, tries to head the puck, sprawls all over the place-he has been an abomination. Name a game since Thanksgiving, outside of a couple of scattered ones here and there that he has won. Our current streak is a result of the fact that we can score now.
They are doing bumps off your moms nipple while you are looking up info on Anders Kallur on Wikipedia
My final point of the evening: I’m glad I purchase season tickets annually to watch Sean Bergenheim score on a routine shot from the blueline over the shoulder of our 7 million dollar goalie.
Isn’t that where Crackhead Theo works now? Blockbuster Video?
Nope sorry, I think he was doing lines off Ryan Hollweg’s ass behind a dumpster on 34th and 8th.
I think there’s a legitimate question to be made about the Potvin chants. Why do I hear it more often then “Let’s Go Rangers” chants?
Is there a reason why you choose to obsess over a player that retired 20 years ago rather than cheer on your own team?
I think all the Ragholes have run away. LOL.
Amazing. This is a fanbase that talks so much shit….between fishsticks, “mausoleums” (even though you could’ve heard a pin drop in that building from TV for most of the game and there were empty seats everywhere) and everything else. Yet in the end, you still have 1 cup in 67 years. That you had to purchase from the Edmonton Oilers.
You are the Chicago Cubs of hockey. Yet the Rag fanbase collectively run their mouths like they’re the Yankees and chant “We Want The Cup” IN PRESEASON.
It’s no wonder you have such a pitiful, pathetic history. Karma will come back to bite you in the ass every time….no matter what the Dolan media cartel tries to tell you.
Us- 83% chance to make playoffs
You- 18% chance
Who would you rather be right now?
Hey I-loser fans, go back to your trailer parks. Congrats you won a meaningless game in March. When was the last time you won a playoff series? 1993. Do something worthwhile again before you talk s__t. Enjoy watching the Rangers in the playoffs. Losers.
I-Loser…
lol, apparentely we’re apple products now
gg ranger fans…you say it’s meaningless, but if you had beaten us, you’d be ranting and raving and sucking on Renney’s teats calling him the greatest coach ever…
And winning playoff series means nothing IF YOU DON’T WIN THE STANLEY CUP. Dumbass.
Love the whole back and forth between all you “devoted” Islander Fans and Ranger Fans.
Reminds me of my high school days, seriously.
THAT SAID, ISLANDERS STILL SUCK, HAVE TERRIBLE MANAGEMENT AND HAVE THE ABSOLUTELY MOST NASTY RUNDOWN ARENA IN ALL OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTS.
You’d think that winnning 4 cups in such a short span would put the franchise on the map, but everything about the Islanders remains classless.
1) We know our arena’s shitty. Sorry we don’t play in a city of 8 million people. Atleast we can admit it.
2) HAD terrible management. Darth Milbury fucked us over. Snow knows what he’s doing and in not even 2 years has done a better job assembling a team of rag-tag players than Sather has done with a team of all-stars.
Classless? Oh yeah, Rangers fans are one to talk…go on a train from Penn Station to Ronkonkoma after a Blueskirts game. We’ll see “Classless”.
Fucking naive dumbass.
Ronkonkoma
HAHAAHAAHAAHA!!!!
Get a life moron-
Aww, that’s cute…he giggles at town names. Maybe if I say pudding he’ll start drooling!
Um, is there anything more pathetic than Islander fans having to troll Ranger blogs? Losers.
Jagr blows. Worst player on the rangers easily and plays the most minutes. Avery is a little twat. Queen henrik did nothing right toinght. That goal he let in by comeau was horrifying.
RANGERS SUCK
“Um, is there anything more pathetic than Islander fans having to troll Ranger blogs?”
Ranger fans?