The Battle of New York Part II: Rangers pound Isles 4-1
So much for “The Curse of Dubie”.
Islanders coach Ted Nolan, perhaps buying too much into Brendan Shanahan’s comment from Tuesday that G Wade Dubielewicz had gotten into the Rangers’ heads, chose to play the diminutive netminder over regular starter Rick DiPietro and paid the price.
Not that much of this loss could be attributed to Dubielewicz, mind you. The Rangers were aggressive all night and outplayed their local rivals by a considerable margin. Shanahan got things going early in the 1st period by scoring a breakaway goal on a delayed penalty. Then Sean Avery, the Man Everybody Loves to Hate, scored the first of his two goals to put the Blueshirts up 2-0. The Islanders’ Sean Bergenheim recorded the only marker for the home team in the 2nd period, but once again, the Islanders lack of scoring ability came back to haunt them.
To say that the Islander Power Play is merely inept is like saying the Pacific Ocean has a little bit of water in it. Time and again, they dumped the puck into the corners, only to be beaten by the Rangers defensemen, who would then clear the zone. Ted Nolan’s squad failed yet again to score on a 5-3 manpower advantage at a crucial juncture of the game, a trend that has marked this season’s demise. Gerard Gallant, the Islander’s Assistant Coach in charge of the powerplay, either has not done a good enough job planning his strategy or the team just consistently fails to execute it. Whatever the reason may be, this group will not improve in the standings without a change.
The Playoff Dream is fading fast now and many fans must be wondering why GM Garth Snow chose to keep his troops together at the Trade Deadline as opposed to selling off spare parts and starting over. While a complete Fire sale with the playoffs still in sight may have been unnecessary, it is conceivable he overestimated his team’s chances. If that was the case, he ought to be ashamed of himself.
In any case, the Islanders play Philadelphia on Saturday in a game that realistically should determine their post-season fate.
Author Bio
Frank has been a fan of the New York Islanders since seeing his first hockey game way back in 1977.
He reveled in the success of the Dynasty years and endured the time the team has spent in the basement of the league.
He also covers the Isles and New York Jets for www.sportstalkbuzz.com and writes a regular fantasy hockey column for www.rotoexperts.com.
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