Tavares, Islanders draw first blood

October 28, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Round One went to John Tavares and the rest of his Islander teammates, who were superior in every single facet, humiliating the Rangers 3-1 before an energized Nassau Coliseum. Fitting that with one of the best rivalries renewed, the Islanders finally earned their first win in regulation- improving to 2-4-5 while their befuddled Broadway nemesis fell to 8-4-1.

Save us the built in Marian Gaborik excuse which Joe Micheletti used repeatedly as if it was some crutch. Pathetic would be an accurate assessment for what John Tortorella’s club did against an archrival, earning the mock song:

“If you know the Rangers suck, Clap your hands,” from the cheesy organist. Yeah. About as bush league as it gets but they deserved it.

Any Ranger fan who went had to be hanging their head at how brutal this team looked minus their offensive leader. It was as if they forgot how to play organized hockey. What exactly does that say for so-called ‘team leader’ Chris Drury? Well, at least he’s not Michal Rozsival. By far the most overpaid stiff and typically responsible for putting the contest out of reach. Uh. That would be for the home team! Wow.

While the Rangers stunk making it one heck of an unwatchable game filled with more turnovers than a bakery holds, offsides and disgusting passing that even a pee wee team wouldn’t make, the Islanders looked right at home locked in on getting the ‘W.’ Indeed, they brought their A game as was expected against the most hated rival, giving their fans what they wanted to see for so long.

From the very outset, Scott Gordon’s club was sharper. And it didn’t take long for them to go ahead with great find Matt Moulson beating Henrik Lundqvist on a clean breakaway just 55 seconds in. Taking complete advantage of some horrid play from Wade Redden and Matt Gilroy, Islander defenseman Jack Hillen sprung Moulson who was left behind Gilroy while Redden was too far out of position to recover. As soon as he got the puck, I knew he was scoring. He went shortside on Lundqvist for his club-leading sixth, pumping his fists as teammates mobbed him.

Gaining all kinds of early momentum, the Islanders attacked, attacked and attacked against a flat Ranger club which kept turning the puck over in its own end. Part of this was due to the aggressive style the home team played, really getting after our D. A solid game plan from Gordon, who obviously knew they could be pressured. If not for a few timely stops from Lundqvist, it could easily have been 3-zip. The Isles were all over his crease, fishing for pucks making things edgy. But as usual, nobody defended our goalie. Especially with Donald Brashear out. Sure. There were scrums but again, not one message sent. Even you Sean Avery, who at least was visible tonight.

Despite holding the edge in play, the Islanders only led by one. Soon, that one-goal lead got erased thanks to some hard work from Hartford call-up Pierre Parenteau. In his first game with the big club, the AHL leading scorer was superb in 17 shifts, gaining Tort’s trust. Fittingly, he scored the team’s only goal when he stuck with a broken play, rifling a backhand thru a Christopher Higgins screen. The play was started by Drury along the boards but the puck came to Parenteau before deflecting off an Isle right back to him. With Higgins screening Dwayne Roloson, Parenteau buried the chance to tie it 1-1 at 8:30.

The rest of the period was fairly even with both teams getting chances but neither able to break the tie. Following coincidental minors (NYR-too many men, NYI-Sean Bergenheim interference), the Rangers had the best opportunity late. With time winding down, Vinny Prospal found Marc Staal in the slot but his backhand sailed off the goalpost. It would be one of five the Blueshirts hit.

After getting outshot 13-8, they came out better in the middle stanza. Starting to dictate, the Rangers blew a few chances to go ahead highlighted by Ryan Callahan firing a perfect Prospal feed off the post. Enver Lisin also hit the crossbar later and missed another chance which would’ve tied it in the third. That’s the kinda night it was. But really, when push came to shove, the Islander D bent but never broke. They wouldn’t allow the Rangers to get to rebounds, keeping them to the outside all game.

If it was a product of no Gaborik, that’s pretty sad. If they want to be considered a good team, they have to learn to win without him. It’s not like these guys haven’t played before. With the exception of rookies Gilroy, Michael Del Zotto and Artem Anisimov, they’re experienced enough to know what to do. Yet if we were to judge on tonight, you’d have thought just the opposite. In a period they gave as good as they got, the Rangers fell behind when Dan Girardi failed to take Kyle Okposo, allowing him to rebound home a Hillen shot for a power play goal with 1:46 left in the second. It broke an eight-game drought for a guy who always seems to score on us.

Islander captain Doug Weight got the other assist. The classy vet was back after missing the last five with swine flu. He sounded just fine when John Giannone interviewed him. Coming out of the box was Avery, who took a selfish hooking minor in the offensive zone. The kind that deserves a benching.

The final period was a total embarrassment. Forget the 15-7 SOG edge because it lied. Few were quality with the more determined Islanders doing a diligent job boxing out. A basketball terminology which apparently doesn’t apply to the Knicks. Oops. Couldn’t resist. Give the Isles credit. They did a nice job killing off all three of our power plays including an early one that saw Tim Jackman in the box. Nate Thompson had taken a similar penalty 190 feet away in the second but the Rangers looked lost. Those are the kind fringe players must stay away from.

Predictably, Tortorella shuffled lines but all night, players were skating different ways. A few at least showed. If you watched, I think you can figure out who. The same guys who usually do. How bad was the third? Brutal enough to remind me of Rangers past when the team royally sucked. We flipped between that and the Yankee game with them at least so far, faring no better against the Phillies. Not looking good there either.

Somehow, the Rangers were still down just one. But I knew it was a matter of time before they cracked. Leave it to Rozsival to hand the Isles the insurance marker. This is a team that entering couldn’t protect leads to save their lives. Yet if you saw it, they looked like the Jacques Lemaire Devils.

So, how did the final nail in the coffin happen? Here was Rozsival losing his stick as only he can. Then, the puck came to him with a chance to get it out. A few nights ago, Gaborik wisely kicked it out with ease. But Rozy is the royal definition of a klutz. If you looked it up in the dictionary, his photo should be there. Instead of kicking it, he pushes the puck weakly which of course allows Jeff Tambellini to push it to Tavares, who gets his initial shot blocked by Redden. But it came right back allowing him to surprise Lundqvist for his fourth, ending a four-game pointless stint.

Game over. Once again, Rozsival screwed up. When oh when will our senile GM just pay him the rest of his contract so we don’t have to see him ever again? Ahhh. He’s lost. Period. With under two minutes left, here was Marc Staal battling two Isles behind the net in an attempt to free the puck while No.33 couldn’t even be bothered, instead watching. What’s more? His lack of hustle in his own end led to Tavares’ marker. The man never skates hard. It’s a freaking travesty.

It’s no surprise that they lost to the Islanders because these games are like their Cup. They always play hard. And they brought it while our guys loafed. So, both teams got what was deserved. Tavares and the Isles drew first blood.

Notes: Roloson was solid making 34 saves including 27 the final 40 minutes. … Lundqvist turned aside 29 of 32 but showed frustration with both Girardi and himself for a bad rebound that allowed Okposo to net the winner. … Hillen tallied two assists. … With a helper on Tavares’ goal, Tambellini has four points (3-1-4) in his last three. … Summing up the night, the Isles dominated in the faceoff circle, winning a ridiculous 64 percent (36-20) led by Richard Park (10-3) while Tavares went 7-4. For the Blueshirts, only Anisimov was good taking four-of-six but mystifiably was reduced to 12 shifts (7:35) despite being one of his team’s best skaters in which he got two shots on net, including a spin-a-rama backhand that Roloson gloved out of harm’s way. … Isles outhit the Rangers 38-24 with at least seven players registering four paced by Thompson’s five. Not one Ranger had four with Callahan and Ales Kotalik each having three. When Kotalik’s one of your most physical, that’s a ringing indictment. … NYI also blocked 16 shots to NYR’s 10 with both Brendan Witt and Mark Streit each getting in the path of three. On an otherwise forgettable night, Gilroy had three.

… On the downside, with Gary Bettman in the house indicating that the franchise needed a new arena, the game wasn’t a sellout with 15,213 making the trip. … Islanders (2-4-5, 9 Pts) next visit the Caps on All Hallow’s Eve while the Rangers (8-4-1, 17 Pts) are in St. Paul to face Gaborik’s ex-team. Will he miss it?

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Pierre Parenteau,  (1st goal of season, 3 SOG, hit, +1 in 14:07)

2nd Star-Jack Hillen,  (2 assists, SOG, blocked shot, +1 in 14:43)

1st Star-Kyle Okposo,  (PPG-2nd snapped a 1-1 tie, game best 7 SOG, 2 takeaways, 2 blocked shots, 1-0 draws, +1 in 17:37)