More craziness today, what else is new?  Derek already did a fine job of recapping all the moves but I’ll add my two cents.

I got to hand it to Marian Hossa, yeah you could say he’s being a bit of a weenie trying to piggyback his way to a championship by joining a loaded Detroit team, but there’s something to be said about turning down a huge offer from a conference-winning Penguin team (a reported $49 million for 7 years) to do so!  Of course he’ll try to have his cake and eat it too by getting an even bigger contract next year, but there is always the risk of injury.  That’s a lot of money to turn down.

Many, including me speculated how the Rangers would be able to fill their forward lines while spending all their money on defense, well apparently the answer was robbing Columbus blind.  Yes, Nikolai Zherdev can be a royal pain in the russkie, but if he could come close to 30 goals on a defensive-minded team that has no offensive talent other than Rick Nash, what will he do on a Ranger team that has talented centers up and down the roster?  Not to mention other young forwards that weren’t there in Columbus either.  It’s puzzling that all they could get for Zherdev and Dan Fritsche was one decent defenseman in Fedor Tyutin (and a not-so-decent one in Backman).  I thought after what, 7 or 8 years of not making the playoffs as an expansion team the Blue Jackets would get serious about trying to break through - obviously I was mistaken.

As for the Sean Avery sideshow, I’m not shedding a tear he’s gone - I was a bit tired of Ranger-Devil games being all about what Avery said or did, now they can just be about hockey again.  I figured someone would overpay him, but I’m a bit stunned it was Dallas.  Maybe co-GM Brett Hull wanted a fellow yapper around that he could relate to.  It is telling that despite Avery’s on-ice attributes he’s now on his fourth team and counting.

A Devil fan friend in Atlanta was telling me yesterday about how the Thrashers promised they would be players in the FA market.  I’m sure he got a kick out of Ron Hainsey being the signature move of FA for Atlanta (and overpaid at that, but so is just about every other UFA), who looks more and more like Ilya Kovalchuk and the nineteen dwarves with each passing season.

Ottawa’s hasn’t done too much but they have made a couple of nice under-the-radar moves.  Letting go of clubhouse distraction Ray Emery was addition by subtraction.  Replacing him with Alex Auld, who resurrected his career in Boston last year was a good move.  Getting pest Jarko Ruutu (think Avery only with a little less offensive talent and not nearly as camera-happy) should also help a team that’s historically fought a reputation for being soft.   

Pittsburgh managed to salvage a nearly destructive offseason by extending Evgeni Malkin, who’s been rumored to be on the trading block seemingly since the Hossa trade last year and it’s not unreasonable to think he would have been dealt at some point had Hossa re-upped.  But Malkin’s the far better long-term investment anyway.  Losing Ryan Malone also hurts but at least they retained rugged defenseman Brooks Orpik.

UPDATE: And once again proving you can’t really judge moves until after the dust settles, Columbus signs Kristian Huselius at 3 years, $14.25 million, a more than acceptable replacement for Zherdev at least, though it still leaves the Blue Jackets way short on scorers.

Aw shoot I might as well provide some analysis too, especially since it’s so much fun to dissect 234235 moves all at once.

So far Day One’s biggest winner (or risk-taker) is the Blackhawk$.  They made a splash both in goal with Cristobal Huet and on defense with Brian Campbell.  That’s almost a combined $13 million in salary cap space for the next four years but for a team that finally showed signs of life last year for the first time since the days of Jeremy Roenick talking to Patrick Roy’s plugged-up ears, they were moves that had to be made.  Huet’s nothing great but a clear upgrade over Nikolai Khabibulin (now surely the world’s most expensive minor leaguer) who seemingly lost his way after signing a big deal with the Blackhawks post-lockout and post-Stanley Cup win in Tampa Bay.  And Campbell gives a huge boost to a young, improving defense.  With goaltending and defense upgraded and a young, feisty offense things look even brighter in the Windy City.

It’s hard to say any team’s a loser after the first seven hours of UFA but Colorado sure got shafted, losing out on the Huet sweepstakes and watching Jose Theodore walk to Washington to take his place.  They couldn’t even get an Alex Auld or a Patrick Lalime-type, so they were forced to go to the local five-and-ten to pick up Andrew Raycroft, who was so bad last season the Leafs signed a 503-year old Curtis Joseph to replace him in Toronto.  Raycroft will now become Peter Budaj’s backup…yeesh.  But the off-season is young, Colorado could still talk Roy out of retirement, seeing as if they’ve already loaded up on ex-Avs Cup winners in the last few months. 

I really shouldn’t make fun of the Avs bringing back the old gang though, after all Lou Lamoriello’s only UFA moves seem to involve ex-Devils.  But hopefully Rolston and Holik turn out better than Alexander Mogilny and Vladimir Malakhov did two offseasons ago.  As far as other local teams, the Rangers are still in limbo waiting to find out where Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, etc wind up.  They retained Michael Roszival and signed Aaron Voros, a potential Sean Avery ‘replacement’, only without any semblance of offensive game or a similar level of nuttiness.  And the Islanders are still, well the Islanders.

I’ve never been a Brad Stuart fan - at all.  But Detroit’s the one team that can pay him $15 million over 4 years and probably get away with it.  After all, with Lidstrom, Rafalski and Kronwall there he can fly under the radar completely.

And even with all this action, still no word on the destinations of Marian Hossa, Mats Sundin, Wade Redden or a cast of a thousand other UFA’s.  But stay tuned, the night is young!

UPDATE: And Redden goes to…the Rangers at a reported 6 years and $39 million.  Ouch.  Aside from the fact that Redden’s pretty much stunk for the last year plus, are they going to have any money left for forwards?!

All Photos Copyright Getty Images

Martin Brodeur didn’t have much to say. Aside from the predictable handshake snub of Sean Avery, the normally unflappable Devil franchise netminder handled questions in odd fashion after the Rangers had eliminated his team with a 5-3 Game Five win at The Prudential Center Friday night. 

To say it was awkward would be an understatement. Or maybe as he’d term it, ”Weird.” 

Aside from the unusually brief Brodeur postgame reaction, several other teammates took it in better stride analyzing what went wrong. I watched a vast majority of both sides of the Battle of Hudson MSG postgame coverage and came away impressed with how other Devs handled the crushing defeat. Particularly John Madden, who almost was the hero.

It was a rough night for Brodeur, who didn’t have a good showing allowing another questionable goal in what amounted to another high scoring game. If there was a turning point in this game, it had to be after the Devils got on the board first courtesy of a Brian Gionta goal from Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus. Wonder where that line combo came from?

Oddly enough, all four of Brent Sutter’s lines were exactly what was written here. Did someone spread the word to the first-year coach? I just found it totally amusing. 

Anyway, Gionta finally solved Henrik Lundqvist and it came early. You had to figure that boded well for the Devs as the team who scored first had won the past four games. Plus the percentage had been fairly high thus far in these playoffs.

Instead of keeping momentum, the Devs allowed the Rangers to come right back 18 seconds later when the series’ best player Jaromir Jagr got to a loose puck behind the net and centered for teammate Michal Rozsival, who beat Brodeur upstairs for his first of the series. Not long after, Jagr notched his second of the series while on the power play when for some reason the Devils backed off allowing him enough time to setup and wrist one five-hole on Marty.

MSG-Plus (that’s the best name they come up with? Geez.) Devil analyst Ken Daneyko had it right when he said that the Devs’ PK needed to be more aggressive there against Jagr. You don’t let a skilled player like that get so much space. It was just way too much time for what was a stoppable shot.

The turnaround continued thanks to a great shift by Avery. With a target on his back all period where Devils hit him often including a few illegally, the Ranger pest took the abuse during one shift coming out with the puck forcing Brodeur to make a save. Instead of taking their former teammate, the Madden line was preoccupied with Avery allowing Scott Gomez an early Christmas present which made it 3-1 Blueshirts with 1:59 left in the first.

That goal really categorized why the Devils came out on the wrong side in this series. There were just too many instances during this heated series where they were going for the big hit and forgot about their defensive assignments. Not the kind of disciplined hockey one would expect from New Jersey.

Another glaring example of this was Chris Drury’s series clincher. The Devils had a solid shift in the Ranger end but couldn’t make a dent on the scoreboard. Somehow, Nigel Dawes came out with the puck during a two-on-three and made a perfect cross feed between Mike Mottau’s legs to a cutting Drury, who buried it for his second in two contests at 5:35.

At the time, it looked like a knockout blow because the Devs didn’t have much life. However, hockey’s a weird game. Sometimes, you’ll get a couple of bounces to get back in it which was precisely what happened when a Bryce Salvador dump-in from his bench deflected off Brandon Dubinsky’s back past a stunned Lundqvist which suddenly cut it to 4-2 with over 30 minutes still left in regulation. Maybe one of the oddest goals I’ve ever seen.

A few minutes later, a loss of discipline from Dubinsky (offensive zone- interference) and Marc Staal (slash) led to a Patrik Elias five-on-three tally at 13:50 making it a one-goal contest. During a siege in front, Elias threw a puck which caromed off a Ranger past Lundqvist. Suddenly, it was the Devils with all the momentum and plenty of time on their side.

Ultimately, the game came down to Madden, who was pulled down by Ranger defenseman Dan Girardi leading to the first ever penalty shot in Stanley Cup playoff history in the third period. He made a strong move opting to go to the backhand but Lundqvist got just enough of a pad on Madden’s five-hole stuff attempt to keep it out with 7:08 remaining.

With the Rangers playing more conservatively (more on this in another column) trapping, the Devs only got one more quality chance to tie it but a wide open Gionta one-timer similar to the one he scored on was foiled by Lundqvist, who got enough of his goalstick to push the puck over the net.

An inspired shift by Ryan Callahan where he controlled the puck deep in Devil territory for roughly 40 seconds seemed to take the wind out of Sutter’s club as they never threatened again.

A Dubinsky empty netter was the final nail in the coffin with exactly a minute to go, allowing the Rangers to become the second team to advance to the Eastern Conference Semis- joining possibly future opponent and division rival Pittsburgh.

That all depends on what happens with the two remaining series. The Flyers will try to wrap up a spot in D.C. later today while the top seeded Canadiens look to do the same tonight in Boston. If the Habs prevail, they’ll get either the Rangers or Flyers. That’s if the Caps don’t mount a 3-1 comeback. There are other scenarios. So we’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out.

In the other two Western Conference series, the Red Wings got a Johan Franzen OT goal at 1:48 to edge the Predators 2-1, taking a 3-2 series lead back to Nashville. Meanwhile, the Ducks responded to adversity getting a goal and helper from veteran Teemu Selanne and 42 saves from Jean-Sebastien Giguere while getting the better of the Stars 5-2 to force a Game Six back in Big D.

All Photos Copyright Getty Images 

I just didn’t have a good feeling about this game. All day, I was tenative for many reasons:

1.The Devils had way too much experience to go so quietly.

2.Both the first two games could’ve easily gone the other direction just showing how closely matched these bitter Hudson rivals are.

3.I just couldn’t envision being up 3-0 on the Devils even with home ice at what was an electric Garden. Truthfully, it was a fun atmosphere even if the team I root for lost. They have only themselves to blame.

4.You just knew the Devils would come with their best effort. They played with more edge and got the desired result to make this a series.

I could probably think of even more reasons but you can pretty much catch my drift as to why the Devils had what it took to win Game Three. Even if it was decided on one of the flukiest goals you’ll ever see. Stephane Matteau ring a bell? Sure did for myself watching from Section 411 as suddenly off a draw rookie Brandon Dubinsky won- outstanding all night- John Madden snuck in and centered the puck and got the break which his more desperate club was looking for with the puck taking a Devil-esque bounce off rookie Marc Staal’s skate past a stunned Henrik Lundqvist who never saw it coming.

If you were a diehard fan sitting or standing like myself watching it, you just couldn’t figure how the puck went in. But that’s what happens when your team plays like a bunch of wusses. It was all Devils in sudden death. And that’s what these sort of games come down to. NHL overtime is about who wants it most. On this night, Brent Sutter’s club did. They had the desperation and attacked with vigor also hitting three posts including a brilliant outside-inside move by Brian Gionta which rang off the crossbar.

Maybe that should’ve sounded off the alarms at the Ranger bench but the message never got to Tom Renney, who saw his team sit back more than the old style Devils used to. Hello? It was playoff OT! What the hell were they waiting for?

From my perspective, they basically said to the better goalie Marty Brodeur and his team:

“Here. You take it.”

That might’ve worked in the regular season against these guys but it sure won’t get it done now.

I give the Devils credit. They could’ve caved in when it was tied 3-3 late in regulation but wouldn’t mostly thanks to their future Hall of Famer in net, who saved his biggest stops for those final frantic minutes with his team’s first round hopes sinking as fast as sand in an hour glass. Brodeur’s best save had to be on Michal Rozsival, who jumped in and rocketed one labeled for the far right corner but the veteran netminder slid across and just got his stick on it to push it wide.

If that goes in, that could be it for the Devils. Maybe they go away for good. Instead, it allowed his team to regroup and play a much superior six minutes of OT before Madden’s prayer was answered with help from who’s maybe been the Rangers’ best defenseman Staal.

Go figure. Dubinsky, who netted his first two career NHL postseason tallies including the tying power play goal and Staal, who’s played like a veteran would impact the winner at 6:01.

Sometimes, hockey’s a stange game. Either way, the Blueshirts now know it’s a series and there will be a lot more riding on the line following two days off before Wednesday’s Game Four on Garden ice. By now, they realize how tough a task it will be to put these Devils away. They also to a man never thought they’d be up three zip. They’re still in an enviable position.

If there’s one thing I’d worry about from a Ranger fan perspective, it’s that usually when a series is dictated by the road team and then the road one gets an OT victory, it tends to shift the momentum. I still can recall the 2000 Flyers down 2-0 against the Pens. Keith Primeau. Once, there were the Pens trailing the Caps by the same deficit needing to turn it around on the road. With help from Petr Nedved, they did.

Will the Rangers get sucked up and have the same kind of fate or will they bounceback and show the sort of character this team’s had when their backs were up against it.

I’m calling out a few players now:

A.Paging Chris Drury. You weren’t brought in to lose every faceoff to Madden and make fans nervous. You were brought here to win those all draws and score the all important goal which changes the tide. That zero next to your scoresheet is looming larger and larger buddy. So get it in high gear. Time to find your game!

B.Paging Nigel Dawes. Yes, you scored that gimme in Game One but you’ve not been as good as you can be on the forecheck. Win some more pucks and get open for your shot which Brodeur even with perfect 20/20 has problems with. We need you also to make that key defensive play which sets up the transition and that extra pass which creates the kind of scoring chance which will have our opponent very concerned over. You and Drury have not done the job while your grittier linemate Ryan Callahan has won every battle and done so much more.

C.Paging Marty Straka. You freaking missed on a textbook give-and-go with your very inspired Czech butt buddy Jaromir Jagr. Score there like you have in the past when setup by that same great pass by No.68 and there’s a good chance we’re not talking about a loss. You are a good skater and have backed up the Devils a few times but stop overpassing the puck and shoot it already! Jagr needs you to be a threat.

D.Paging Fedor Tyutin. For whatever reason, you aren’t playing up to capability. While your partner Dan Girardi covers for your every mistake, you have been too tenative. That penalty didn’t help either buddy. Even if it was a crap call which speaks volumes about how abysmal the two-ref BHL crew really was. That doesn’t matter because you were in the box while the Devils found a way to score on the power play and get back in the game.

E.Paging Henrik Lundqvist. You were brilliant the first two games but tonight, weren’t as razor sharp as needed. In particular, that Zach Parise PPG was about as soft as a marshmallow. There was no excuse for letting that low backhand to sneak through like that. And the first goal early on wasn’t a good one either and allowed the Devils to establish themselves and gain more confidence. You must be better come Wednesday or people are going to start questioning you including this fellow blogger. It’s happened before.

F.Paging Scott Gomez. It was nice that you dominated Game One and were good again in Game Two but you were basically invisible tonight. Even if you did get a primary helper on a Sean Avery lay-up during a five-on-three, you did little else. You didn’t battle hard and dogged it frequently when challenged by former teammates. You can’t always smile and want to hug your ex-buddies during a playoff series. Time to get hungrier and impact the game with your game changing speed. That’s what you get paid for.

G.Paging Gary Bettman. Your referees are an utter disgrace. It’s clear that most don’t know how to interpret the rules and make the wrong calls. I’m not just speaking about tonight’s game which nearly derailed what was a very entertaining playoff game. I’m talking in general. There have just been way too many poor judgments being used by these officials. We saw it rear its ugly head in Newark the other night and again Saturday in Montreal helping decide games. If that’s what you want, then your sport is never going to get the respect it merits. Right now, I sit here a little baffled. Is this what you want? If we took a poll, I’d be willing to bet the old regimen isn’t pleased with the standard of officiating. Either get guys who actually grasp it and won’t make tacky calls which have no business being in the game or go back to the one ref system.

Well, guess that’s all I can think of for now. There were other games. The Caps were shutout on home ice by a more desperate Flyer team 2-0 and the Bruins got an OT winner from Marc Savard to get back in their series against the Canadiens. Oh my god. I also see the Sharks somehow managed to blow a three-goal first period lead losing 4-3 to the Flames in Alberta. Adding further injury to insult, former Shark Owen Nolan potted the winner at 16:15 of the third. Wow. What a bunch of chokers. I sure hope my team doesn’t have that same label after this series. How could I have picked San Jose? What was I on?

Geez.

It was down to the nitty gritty in a shootout between a couple of bitter New York rivals. Bragging rights was on the line as was the stinkin’ Metro Cup which is presented to the local team with supremacy against their closest two rivals.

For the New York Islanders, that meant a chance to walk away with that nice trophy even if their golf reservations had been booked for some time. Possibly drawing inspiration from a very classy speech by former New York police officer Steven McDonald who presented the Ranger annual Extra Effort Award to rookie pivot Brandon Dubinsky, it was those younger Isles who skated harder and finished every check while finding the back of the net with regularity against Henrik Lundqvist.

Before I get to the game details, if I may for a second point out how well put together McDonald’s speech was. Mr. McDonald is a great example for all of us. Lately, things haven’t quite gone my way and I’ve dealt with a lot of internal issues. However, maybe the next time I’m feeling sorry for myself or anyone else is, we should look at what this true New York hero has to go through everyday being handicapped due to being shot in the line of duty. As I stood there next to my family applauding Mr. McDonald’s speech, my eyes started to well up. This man truly made all those in attendance at Madison Square Garden realize that there’s so much more to appreciate than the teams we root for.

The next time, you go for a walk, run, skate or do whatever this Spring, think of that speech. It really puts so much into proper perspective.

Maybe in some aspects, Ted Nolan’s little club that could was like what McDonald described about the grit and determination that’s on display because it wasn’t as much coming from a much healthier NHL team on Broadway tonight.

Let’s face it. The Islanders have been beaten up for quite a while forced to field an AHL team. The Rangers basically lost to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in that shootout 4-3. Something which wasn’t lost on one of the knowledgable and passionate True Blue fans in my section.

If the Islanders competed harder despite being outshot by a wide misleading margin (51-32), it wasn’t due to lack of effort as co-host Gary Harding’s orange, white and blue wanted it more for some reason. Was it the bad taste of having let a rejuvenated Jaromir Jagr (2 goals last night, 1-1-2 tonight) along with Lundqvist (25 saves for NHL best 10th shutout) wrap up a third straight postseason appearance the previous night on their home ice over by the Meadowbrook Parkway? Probably.

The one aspect of this rivalry which makes it one of the best is that no matter who are wearing those jerseys, there’s no such thing as a game being a virtual lock for the other due to talent. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, talent doesn’t always win hockey games. Especially ones played at the highest level with passion exhibited during each shift the way it always should during this fun time of year.

It was that sort of attitude from young guns such as Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau along with pesky shorthanded specialist Richard Park which allowed the Islanders to not only come out with the extra point but also insure themselves of that nice mug. Maybe it doesn’t mean a whole lot but the pride they showed was why they’ve fared so well against both the Blueshirts and Devils this season edging the Rangers for that trophy.

“We always hear that there is nothing to play for. I strongly disagree with that,” Nolan later pointed out of how hard his lesser experienced club fought to send most Ranger fans with a sour taste in their mouths. Anytime you lose to that team, that’s how it is. Besides, Lundqvist was flat out PATH-ETT-IC in that shootout. Apparently, he forgot to take his B-12 as he also let in a couple of klunkers during regulation.

“We always have something to play for. … To just go through the motions isn’t the right thing to do, and we never did that, which is a great thing.”

I definitely have to concur with Nolan. There was his team still competing. They even were out on the bench for the pregame ceremony. A very classy move on their part and one which was a good lesson for their younger players getting valuable experience now.

Despite having a chance to get a win and tie the Devils, who got absolutely handled by a desperate Flyer club 3-0 in a game which was never close, the Rangers just couldn’t seem to get up for this one quite the way they would’ve liked.

Maybe that’s because like Jagr alluded to later that there really aren’t any weak teams left. So, if it’s the Devils in that first round, that’s a given. Or if the Bruins win later today against Buffalo and New Jersey finally figures out Lundqvist in regulation, then it will be either Carolina or Washington. With the Candy Canes somehow losing at home 4-3 to the Panthers despite nine power plays to none for their opponents (they did outshoot Fla 46-17), I’m betting the house on the Caps as there’s no chance Alexander Ovechkin will let his team miss at in the regular season home finale against those same Panthers.

I said two weeks prior that the Capitals were running the table. They now know that one point will be good enough to wrap up the Southeast and the No.3 seed plus the home ice which comes with it. By show of hands, who thinks they won’t at least get it to overtime?

The Isles went ahead on Okposo’s second NHL goal off a brilliant passing play with a nifty Comeau backhand setting up the former 2006 No.1 pick in the slot from 20 feet out. He didn’t miss giving his team a one-goal lead which they held thru 20 minutes.

Ranger defenseman Dan Girardi drew the MSG hosts even just 2:29 into the second setup off a three-on-two rush by Jagr and Marty Straka. He walked in and beat Wade Dubielewicz upstairs for his 10th. Not a bad output for the solid stay-at-home smooth skating defender who logs big minutes and can play in any situation.

Then, Lundqvist fell asleep on the Isles’ second goal, giftwrapping an easy rebound off the stick of rookie Jack Hillen right to Ranger killer Miroslav Satan, who deposited the loose change to hike his embarrassing goal total to 16. How’s that even possible? Can you say deported back to Slovakia this summer? I sure as hell can. In case you were wondering, no player has scored more goals against the Rangers since 1997-98 than Satan. I believe that’s now 25 dating back to his Buffalo days when he netted his first career hat trick.

Another odd goal allowed the Blueshirts to tie it for the second time 7:30 later thanks to a seeing eye shot from the top of the left circle by improving rookie Nigel Dawes. He got the puck from linemates Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury and just fired. It seemed to go off someone in front and get a piece of Dubielewicz before finding its way into the back of the net for his 14th to level it at two with 6:50 left in the middle stanza.

The game wouldn’t stay knotted for long. Somehow, the Isles were charged with two penalties giving the Rangers a full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage to work with. Given that they’d finally come in hot having scored seven times the past few games, you had to figure they’d at least net one and go ahead.

However, that’s not what transpired. After a TV timeout, they somehow managed to let Park get free off a faceoff. The speedy much overlooked pivot who once was a folkhero during the Wild’s run to the Western Conference Final was sprung by defenseman Radek Martinek. He made his move and floated a tricky wrister which Lundqvist got a piece of but not enough of as it trickled into the net for his fourth shorthanded tally of the season. It was only the third such instance this season a player had scored during a 3-on-5. Come to think of it, I think Park might’ve also turned the trick in a road game at Philly. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

Just awful! How could the Rangers allow that? They did have five forwards out there. Of course, Renney sent the same experienced guys back out after it and they failed miserably. Overally, they took a collar in eight chances which is where the game was lost.

Why didn’t the coach pull them off the ice and send out a Dawes or Callahan? That’s what I would’ve done. If you allow an opponent (especially one as hated as the Isles) to score down two men, you don’t deserve to play the rest of the power play. Have a seat on the bench!

The Rangers still managed to tie it up thanks to a nifty give-and-go with Jagr being setup for his 24th from perfect complement Straka off a two-on-one 4:24 into the third. Ryan Hollweg got maybe the cheapest secondary assist ever. He totally sucked during that shift in his own end almost allowing the Isles to score. God is he sloooow. I sure hope he’s not dressed for the playoffs. He makes Colton Orr look like the Road Runner.

In spite of a 31-17 SOG edge in the final 40 of regulation, the game required OT due to the Ranger ineptitude on the PP. It was during the four-on-four by which time I’d gone downstairs to listen to the game in Gerry Cosby’s that Ranger color analyst Dave Maloney absolutely trashed Bill McCreary’s soft hook on Scott Gomez with 107 seconds left which gave the Isles a 4-on-3. Must’ve been one of those Bettman specials because he really disliked the call. They don’t call it the BHL up in 411 for nothing.

The Rangers killed it off due mostly to outstanding penalty kill work from who else but team leader Drury. The guy just always is in the proper position. Even from the radio, you can tell when it’s going to be cleared. He’s that good. Or to quote legendary Sabre play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret of who I’ll miss this Spring:

“Scaaa—-rrryyyy goooooodd!!!!”

The game and Metro-Cup went to a skill competition. In it, Okposo and Comeau absolutely abused Lundqvist who just never looked balanced tonight. I sure hope it was his bad game because this is no time to hit a slump.

The Isles had what seemed like an insurmountable 2-0 lead but the Rangers’ money shooter Dawes made Dubielewicz look flat out bad going to the backhand to slice it to 2-1. After Sean Bergenheim lost control of the puck making it a routine stop for Lundqvist, Renney turned to Fredrik Sjostrom. Yes. That guy. And the speedy underused fourth liner (could someone please explain why he’s not used more- God sometimes our coach is just dumb) delivered with a textbook forehand deke tucking the puck in to suddenly tie it 2-2.

The Rangers surely were going to pull this off now! Right? Wrong! Lundqvist earlier had given up a softie to Park Well, Park’s winner was even worse going through him. Ugh. That was just ugly.

So, who did Renney send out to try to tie it? Jagr who’s been hot lately? Drury? Callahan? Straka? How about the ice cold Petr Prucha, who now fumbles the puck like he’s Chad Pennington on the run. No surprise that his way too fancy array of moves was snuffed out by Dubielewicz to give the harder working team points 78 and 79 concluding their season.

They can smile a little because they didn’t mail it in like doormats Tampa Bay and Atlanta. Instead, a Nolan coached club made teams sweat it out playing their asses off.

Kudos to them. They made their fans proud. We might not have an Islander blogger at present but it was easy even for this diehard Ranger fan and blogger extraordinaire to appreciate the effort put forth by that hated rival.

Said Islander hero Park:

“It’s always nice to win, but I don’t think it overshadows the fact that there is a lot of disappointment and sadness in our locker room. We had really high expectations throughout the whole year. It’s a little bit of a Band-Aid over the wound, but the hurt is still there.”

That might be true but hey. They were bruised and battered. Who thinks they wouldn’t have been right there in the thick of this race if they weren’t healthier?

Even if you do dislike them, try answering that with a straight face. Sometimes, the truth can hurt.

On this night, the Islanders were better and got the deserved breaks.

For the Rangers, here are the scenarios:

A.A regulation win at New Jersey tomorrow gives them the No.4 seed and home ice against those same Devils, who truly are their mirror image.

B.An OT or shootout loss gives them 97 points making them the No.5 seed, allowing the Devils to have home ice in the Battle for the Hudson.

C.A Bruins’ win tonight versus the Sabres and a Devil regulation win tomorrow would tie Boston with the Rangers at 96 points and 42 wins apiece. The tiebreaker would then belong to Boston due to head-to-head as they earned 5 points to the Rangers’ 4. Something I actually was nice enough to call into Steve Somers’ producer last night and inform him because his update guy assumed Rangers-Devils was happening.

Like seriously. I should be working for them.

And with that, I’ve said plenty for one night. See ya’ll later!

Mr. Clutch once again delivered for the Rangers. When they needed it most with the playoff race extremely tight entering the season’s final week, Chris Drury scored another big goal, tallying on the power play in overtime to lift his desperate club past the Atlantic leading Penguins 2-1 last night at Madison Square Garden.

Having already assisted on the weirdest power play goal you’ll ever see (Jaromir Jagr got credit for his 21st after video replays on Versus Network confirmed that Scott Gomez’ high stick never touched the puck with it instead going off Rob Scuderi’s glove banking off Marc-Andre Fleury- got all that?), Drury delivered a money goal in OT when he got to a loose puck and wired his club best 24th through a Gomez screen past Fleury to lift the Blueshirts to a huge win.

“His [Drury] positioning is as good a compliment as anyone can pay because he is really good at that,” a happy Rangers coach Tom Renney expressed after his team pulled even with the idle Devils for fourth in the conference- a point better than Ottawa with three games left.

If the former Sabre was barely noticeable during a disappointing first half, the crafty two-way pivot has been the total opposite morphing into his team’s best player during this critical stretch. Not surprisingly, the respectable man who grew up a Ranger fan has scored many big goals during a two month span which has seen his underachieving club imitate last year by coming on strong to get back into playoff position. They need one more win to insure a third straight berth this Spring.

“I never think of my game in that light,” Mr. Clutch replied about his flair for the dramatic. During a nine-year NHL career with four teams which has included a Calder Trophy and Stanley Cup with the Avalanche along with leading Buffalo to a President’s Trophy a year prior and within a game of the Finals in 2005-06, Drury’s managed to make his goals count saving a vast majority for big moments.

How else to explain the high percentage (20.3) of his 217 goals which resulted in deciding tallies?

“I just play my same game. Just go hard every shift.”

It’s no accident. Anyone who’s followed his career knows better than to doubt Drury when the game’s on the line.

So, can a Drury-led Ranger team make some playoff noise assuming they clinch? Sure. But there remain questions about why under Renney’s system that they don’t score more goals. There’s certainly enough talent. Even if Jagr’s not what he once was along with savvy vet Brendan Shanahan, who left with a lower body injury, there’s plenty of talent on this roster.

Especially with Gomez continuing to play through rib pain at a high level notching two helpers to hike his team-leading point total to 71 (16-55-71). Marty Straka and Sean Avery are perfect complementary speedy wings who can play in any situation. The rookie trio of Brandon Dubinsky, Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan continue to play well getting very involved physically on the forecheck while generating quality chances.

In particular, Dawes had a standout game coming close to setting up a couple of goals if not for two posts which rejected linemate Callahan and himself off an impressive sequence. Both forwards were outstanding.

On this night, the same couldn’t be said for the usually detail oriented Dubinsky, who got caught trying to stick up for Jagr after a Brooks Orpik healthy check and never got back in the proper position on Pens’ forward Max Talbot’s tying marker with 9:57 remaining in regulation. While it was commendable that the 21 year-old from Anchorage, Alaska was so eager to stand up for his gifted linemate, it wasn’t the right time. Especially when his club was nursing a one-goal lead in which they’d played extremely well in controlling large portions. They needed it after losing a tough one by the identical 2-1 score which eliminated them from taking the division.

By at least getting it to OT, the Pens on the other hand are now at 100 points- two better than the Habs for home ice in the East. They also need just one point to clinch their first Atlantic in over a decade. Either a combination of a point in their final two games or a Devil OT loss will allow Pittsburgh to wrap it up. The Devils have two extra games left including a visit to Long Island later tonight. The Pens will host the Flyers tomorrow.

Notes: Both goalies were once again excellent for a second straight day with Fleury razor sharp in making 25 stops for the hard luck loss while Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 21 of 22. … After connecting twice more in five tries, the Ranger power play has actually scored in three straight going a remarkable five-for-12. … D Marek Malik sat out a third game in a row with Paul Mara again taking his place while effectively working with new partner Christian Backman, who looked much more confident with the puck in all facets. … Rangers have a couple of days off before a home-and-home with the Islanders starting Thursday at Nassau Coliseum.

First of all Derek, they were mad because “Dancin’ Larry” wasn’t what you were chanting. Moron. I kid, I kid.

ANYWHO, the Devils sort of beat the Flyers tonight in a shootout, 5-4. They really should’ve lost the game. They went down early in the game on a ripper by Vinny Prospal. For once, I think Derek will enjoy my recap because Marty Brodeur was human tonight. Had to happen at some point. But Derek, I suppose even Derek Jeter has his off days, eh?

Anywho, the Devils got a pair late in the period from Johnny (5!) Oduya, whom I will talk about later. It was a rough and tumble game that featured some heavy hitting, and a bout between Mike Mottau and Riley Cote, which Mottau won pretty handily, yet somehow Mottau got an instigator because he went after Cote for running Brodeur.

The Devils extended their lead in period two on a goal from Jamie Langenbrunner, who’s line with Patrik Elias and Zach Parise looked like a legit #1 line for the 2nd game in a row. The Devils looked confident, the fans… not so much, and rightly so, as the Flyers got a goal from Jersey Jim Dowd on a tip late in the 2nd. The Devils fans didn’t feel so confident.

They were right again, as midway through the third, the Flyers got a flukey one that Randy Jones let go. Even an incredible give-and-go between Brian Gionta and John Madden late in the third didn’t stoke the fans, because Mike Knuble’s goal with less than a minute to go tied it, and we went to OT.

Now, a word to Johnny Oduya. That goal…not your fault man. Just because you turned your head for a split-second doesn’t mean Marty shouldn’t have stopped that Knuble wrister. Don’t listen to Chico.

We went through OT, and into a shootout, where Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias cashed in for NJ, and Jeff Carter and Danny Briere for Philly. It was up to Jamie Langenbrunner, who went forehand and beat Biron. Oh boy, hooray. Woo. Two Ranger-Penguin games from now, the Devils take on the Isles at the Mausoleum. See you then.

Take that Martin “Excuse Maker” Brodeur! Even on a night when the Devils severely outplayed the Rangers through the first 40, they still didn’t have what it took to get a win against their bitter Hudson rivals at a fun filled atmosphere in NYC.

Ranger beat writer Larry Brooks of the New York Post had it documented perfectly in his article yesterday which was to the point about the subtle cheapshots Brodeur will stupe to when it comes to the team he’s become envious of. A week after not giving any props to rookie Nigel Dawes for pulling off a great move and shot which wasn’t even close to being “missed”, the future Hall of Fame netminder this time was at it again over the opposite No.30 Henrik Lundqvist when in a recent SI piece, he had some unflattering remarks which didn’t make a whole lot of sense:

“The way he plays is not something I like too much. “Lundqvist is weird.”

Huh? What exactly was Mr. Brodeur talking about? Even the affable 26 year-old who led Sweden to Olympic Gold a couple of years prior was baffled beyond belief:

“I have to tell you, I respect Marty a lot, and it’s always a great challenge for me to play against him, but I don’t know what to say about what he said about me,” a rather bemused Lundqvist told The Post yesterday. “Does he think my style is weird? I don’t think I have a weird style.

“Does he think that I’m weird as person? I don’t think I’m weird. I don’t know what to say.”

It’s probably better off that Lundqvist didn’t make much of an issue of it. The only thing I can think of is Marty can’t like the fact that the third-year Ranger has fared quite well against him in the regular season. As poetic justice had it, in a game where both franchise goalies made terrific highlight reel saves, Lundqvist’s star shined the brightest again in making 32 saves to Brodeur’s 28 in improving to an unheard of 12-2-3 lifetime head-to-head in the regular season. Marty still till this point holds the edge in the playoffs (3-0).

If you liked goaltending, then you got to see another classic turned in as each netminder took turns making ridiculous saves. Brodeur got it started with a right pad kick out of a Marty Straka try off a great backhand Jaromir Jagr pass. Lundqvist turned away Jamie Langenbrunner’s shot labeled for the top of the net with a great glove save. He also robbed Langenbrunner on a tip try from in close with his team leading at that point 1-0.

With the game tied at two late, Brodeur answered with perhaps the finest save of the night imitating Lundqvist with a cat-like glove stop foiling rookie Ryan Callahan’s breakaway try. Unfortunately, he could do very little about Dawes’ latest heroics. Off a quick rush by who else but Chris Drury, the 23 year-old Manitoban drove hard to the net. Drury’s centering feed went off Devil defender Sheldon Brookbank ricocheting at Brodeur, whose clearing attempt hit the driving Dawes as he was being hooked on the unpredictable play by Travis Zajac.

As fate would have it, the puck went off Dawes’ shoulder while flat on the ice into the net along with the spunky player who always seems to be in that area.

“I was just kind of mad I got hooked,” Dawes told the AP. “That’s the craziest goal I’ve probably scored in my career. I’ll take it. It’s a huge two points. Good things happen when you go to the net like that.”

How right he is. From there, the Blueshirts held off a strong Devil attack which finally decided to test Lundqvist, who wasn’t required to do much but made a couple of strong stops including one on Brian Gionta. With Brodeur pulled for an extra attacker, the former Ranger killer was parked right in front and made a nice deflection but Lundqvist was positioned perfectly eating it up.

The Rangers won despite playing two poor periods. Honestly, the game should’ve been over at that point. As I said to one of my buddies up in 411, the Devils probably could’ve been in front 6-1. Only Lundqvist and Dainius Zubrus’ wide shots kept that from happening.

The second started out alright for the Rangers with a miracle taking place in the form of an actual power play goal with Brendan Shanahan netting his 23rd to snap a seven-game drought off a great feed from Scott Gomez. Gomez wasn’t expected to play due to bad ribs but the ex-Devil didn’t seem to care and suited up. To be honest, I didn’t think it was the wisest decision by him and Tom Renney. He could’ve been seriously hurt. The Devils twice took cheapshots at him including an illegal hit by scrub Vitaly Vishnevcrapski at the conclusion of a scoreless first. How in the world wasn’t that an interference call? He freaking crosschecked Gomez down with the puck nowhere in sight.

That was not only dirty but looked intentional. There was also Zubrus doing what he does best wrestling him to the ice. Of course, no call. Just like last year.

I had plenty of reasons to hate the Devils already. It was awfully nice of them to give me a couple of more. Oddly enough, I ran into a Devil fan when I got out of work yesterday. He was sporting his Black and Red Devil hat supporting his team. We talked a little about the game and he mentioned he was from Haslet, New Jersey. Hope I didn’t mess that up. The dude was definitely amped up for the game mentioning how he was going to watch it with plenty of buddies. I wished his team luck.

That’s not the best part of the story though. Ironically enough, we both attended the same exact public schools (P.S.4) and junior high schools (I.S.75). I was like, “Well, no sh*t!”

How cool is that? He also remembered Mr. Glawon. Imo, the best teacher at P.S.4, who later went on to become a principal. It’s just really weird I guess. Especially me being three years older. What were the odds? Probably about as good as the two teams combining to score five total goals in regulation.

When the Devils get to two and the Rangers score not once but twice on the man-advantage, something’s not right. Possibly a full moon?

I just figured at that point, the law of averages would finally catch up and the Devils would come away with their first win of the season series. Instead, Christian “Traffic Cone II” Backman atoned for his Sandis Ozolinsh-esque primary assist on Zach Parise’s go-ahead late in the second by firing past Brodeur over the left shoulder early in the third for a PPG. His third (second as NYR- both at MSG) came 98 seconds into the third from Gomez and Drury.

Speaking of Gomer, he showed a lot of courage playing last night and quite well too in notching two assists continuing to stick it to his former club. He has seven assists against them so far with one more big game left on the final day of the regular season at The Prudential Center next month.

Will Patricia Greuter of 2Man really have to don Ranger blue? We’ll know soon enough.

AP Photo by Ryan Remiorz  of The Canadien Press

There won’t be any heartbreaking conclusion to the regular season this year at least anyway. Well, up in Montreal at least as one of the NHL’s best stories continued with the Canadiens finally having what it took to get the better of rival Ottawa putting a seven spot on the board in a 7-5 playoff-clinching home win last night.

“It’s a big credit for all the players here,” defenseman Francis Bouillon told the Canadian Press after contributing a goal.

“It’s a big surprise—nobody was expecting that from the beginning of the season and we worked pretty hard all season long to be there. Tonight was a great victory for us.”

The Habs entered having dropped the first five to the Senators making many wonder if they could beat them. Proving a point, they scored the first three in a dominant first period forcing Martin Gerber to be yanked. Andrei Kostistyn notched his 24th and 25th sandwiched around Long Island native Chris Higgins’ 23rd.

Ray Emery wasn’t much better allowing four more in the middle stanza including an Andrei Markov power play tally and Tom Kostopoulos’ shorthanded marker with 46 seconds left which made it 7-1.

Outplayed severely, the Sens responded with a dominant third outscoring Les Habitants 4-0 and outshooting them 14-2. Sizzling sniper Dany Heatley tallied twice to pull within one of 40. The ex-Thrasher’s hit for 50 his first two seasons up in Kanata but won’t reach that mark again due to missing double digits.

“We kind of got a little settled down and too relaxed and they really picked up their game,” Kostopoulos later said. “The combination of the two led to a strong third period for them and a weak one for us but we were fortunate that we had a big enough lead to hold onto the game.”

Jason Spezza’s 32nd via the power play with 1:58 left made it interesting but Calder hopeful Carey Price made 31 saves to pickup his 20th win of the season.

Notes: Montreal leading scorer Alexei Kovalev notched two assists hiking his point total to 79 (33-46-79). Thirty-two points more than the previous season. … Ottawa team captain Daniel Alfredsson had three helpers in a losing cause. … Senator deadline D pickup Mike Commodore registered an assist for a second consecutive game after having previously gone 23 straight without a point. … With a goal and assist, Markov increased his career season to 57 points (16-41-57) boosting his chances of being nominated for the Norris. … Gerber made 11 saves while replacement Emery fared little better turning aside 14 of 18 for the Sens, who now trail the Canadiens by seven points in the Northeast. … Montreal also got unexpected help from the Islanders, who got a goal and assist from captain Bill Guerin and 28 saves from Wade Dubielewicz in a 4-1 home win over the Atlantic-leading Penguins. The Pens trail the Habs by three for the conference lead and take a two-point lead into New Jersey later tonight. The Devils are seeking redemption for their worst defeat of the season (7-1 road blowout Saturday). … At least 14 Canadiens got on the scoresheet with just captain Saku Koivu, Steve Begin, Ryan O’Byrne and Josh Gorges failing to do so.

Well, can’t complain too much about a 3-game losing streak that still has us within 3 points of the conference lead. The way teams go up and down in the standings, to still be in 4th and with a chance to get back at the Penguins on Tuesday, let them have their fun. This one got out of hand in the 3rd, and there’s not much to describe before that, so let’s just post the scoresheet and move on.

PIT:
Ruutu (5)
Malone (25, 26)
Dupuis (12)
Malkin (43, 44)
Sykora (27)

NJ:
Gionta (21) 

High School High: Here are the finals from the NJSIAA Hockey Championships, played in front of 8,200 fans at The Rock this afternoon:

Non-Public: Delbarton 5, St. Augustine 1

Public B: Kinnelon 5, Jefferson 1

Public A: Ridge 4, Watchung Hills 0