Reinventing The Islanders

Last weekend, I attended my ten-year high school reunion. I haven't spent much time over the past decade thinking about high school, but I was happy to attend. Though Facebook took away a good chunk of the surprise and small talk, it was great to see some people I hadn't seen since graduation day.

What I didn't expect was to be left with a bunch of blanks to fill in. Ten years ago, we all parted ways on relatively even ground. Today, we are all in different areas of life. How did we get to where we are? It's fascinating, really; all of the small choices we've made in our lives have added up and, for the first time, we're able to gauge our progress against our peers. To use a high school analogy, it's like getting a first quarter report card - an early indication of where we stand.

Because these things intrigue me way more than they should, I was far more interested in what people didn't say. For example, Bob lives in the city, where he works as a real estate broker. How did he end up there? Why did he choose to move to the city, and why has he chosen to stay there? Has he had any serious relationships? This person is the exact same person as he was ten years ago, but his experiences have changed him permanently. He's the same, but different.

Personally, I was a pretty big dork in high school, and I didn't have a ton of friends. Today, I'm still a dork without many friends. In high school, I appeared disheveled because I didn't care how I looked. At my reunion, I may have appeared disheveled because I was too busy attending to my two children and working two jobs to even have a chance to change my clothes, let alone shower or do anything else. Once again, same, but different. I wasn't particularly proud of the fact that I had no money and couldn't afford the open bar that night, but I was one of the few in attendance with children. So I reluctantly became The Guy With Kids - I've always detested The Guy With Kids - but I suppose it's a step above The Guy Who Doesn't Talk To Anybody, The Guy Who Can't Keep A Job, The Guy Who Has Drug Problems, or any other labels that may be out there.

I saw this reunion as a chance to reconnect with some old buddies and even make new friends. An old friend of mine once said that meeting people from high school was great because it's like meeting a complete stranger, but you have an automatic "in" with that person. And even though most of the old cliques remained intact, I was able to have a great time with many people, some expected, some totally unexpected. Things may have gotten a little sloppy at the end, but I felt I played my cards pretty well. My life is far from perfect, but I'm not the timid loser I was in high school. Maybe I screwed up some of the last ten years of my life, but I have a plan for the next ten, and my behavior reflected that. It was a nice moral victory, one that hopefully leads to some lasting friendships with some old classmates.

As I thought about the relative success of my reunion, I began to compare it to hockey. Surprising, I know. In my senior year of high school, the 1998-99 NHL season, the league was in the throes of the Dead Puck Era. Only one team (Toronto) averaged more than six total goals per game. Today, thirteen teams average more than six total goals. In fact, Detroit's 5.76 total goals per game ranks 20th in 2009-10, but would have placed second ten years ago. It's a different game... and yet, it isn't. The Red Wings have struggled this year, but have been on top of the league for the past decade. The Devils have been up there for ten years as well. The Sharks barely qualified for the playoffs in 1998-99, but they've been great for much of the 2000s. The Rangers are still chasing after big-name free agents, yet are still looking to get past the second round of the playoffs. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) And yes, the Islanders are still in last place in the Atlantic Division.

Islanders fans will talk until your ears bleed about how the Islanders are having a great year and how they're .500. Too bad they're sitting at 11th in the East, and too bad their 10-10-7 record would be 10-17 in any other sport. This isn't to demean the Islanders, it's just to illustrate the facts. For all of the progress the Islanders have made in 2009-10, they're still perceived as a second-rate franchise - and rightfully so. Over the past decade, the Islanders have had exactly one good season. They've won a total of six playoff games. Yes, they've made the playoffs four times in the past nine seasons, but three of those appearances came in the sacrificial role of the eighth seed. In short, there hasn't been much to cheer about. And yet, there's hope.

In 1998-99, the Islanders finished with 58 points. Their leading scorer was Robert Reichel. Players like Barry Richter and David Harlock saw significant ice time. Of the 41 players who wore an Islanders sweater in 1998-99, just eight of them had a plus rating; none of these players dressed in more than twelve games. How bad were the 1998-99 Islanders? In NHL 99, the Islanders' top rated player was Mats Lindgren. Not only was this team horrendous, but there was no plan for the future - aside, of course, from saving money. 1998-99 was Zigmund Palffy's final year on the Island; the same was true of Tommy Salo, Bryan Berard and Bryan Smolinski. The Islanders had acquired a nice group of talented prospects, but these players were being sold off rapidly.

Since 1998-99, the Islanders have transformed themselves on more than one occasion. After years of dumping the league's best prospects for pennies on the dollar, the Islanders finally figured things out in 2001-02, taking the Maple Leafs to the brink in perhaps the best first-round series of the decade. The Isles stuck with that core for a few years, albeit with much less success, until the lockout necessitated changes. When the initial post-lockout group didn't work, Garth Snow retooled the Islanders by bringing in spurned veterans on one-year contracts. While this method got the Islanders into the playoffs in 2006-07, it wouldn't work over the long haul, so Snow and the Islanders committed to a true rebuild. That's the Islanders team we see today.

Since Ted Nolan took over the coaching reins in 2006, the team has had the reputation of an extremely hard-working team, if not an overly talented one. Now that Scott Gordon is here, that hasn't changed. Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins has cited the Islanders as the team he hates to play the most, and for good reason. The Islanders give opposing teams routine fits, and now that the team is being rebuilt the correct way, they can continue to build around this identity - their identity. How many other NHL teams actually stand for something?

It's taken a while, but the Islanders are finally on the right track. Just the same as we might seem like we're doing the same old things ten years later in life, it's also possible that we're much further along than people realize. That's where the Islanders are right now. To the uninitiated observer, they're the same sad-sack team they've always been. Those of us who follow the team, though, know better. We know anyone who spends time with this team will be impressed and will be motivated to follow them regularly, just as I tried to use my reunion to show my old classmates that I'd made some progress over the past ten years. At the end of the day, it might not mean more wins for the Islanders or more money in my pocket, but success of any kind - even if it can't be quantified - is surely welcome.

Happy Thanksgiving...

Though it is cold and rainy, it is indeed Thanksgiving. I started to search for a pretty cool Hockey Thanksgiving image to put on here, but as soon as I saw pictures of those creepy fat birds that everyone else in America eats today, I decided not to.

Yes, I'm scared of turkeys.

Anyway, on a day that I'm thankful the Rangers gaining 4 points in 2 games for the first time since they beat LA and Toronto in back-to-backs in mid-October, I wish you the best today. (Sure, these 4 points came against 2 teams that haven't won a combined playoff game since a 1997 series against Wayne Gretzky and the Rangers, but it's still a good feeling.)



As for me, I'll be in sunny San Diego starting tomorrow, and while you would think hockey would be the last thing on my mind, I'll be glued to my cell phone for text message updates for the 3 games I'll miss.

That Tampa Bay game is another big points, and if they can get 3 points against the Penguins, then that's 9 out of 10 and a big step in the right direction. Of course, there's a solid chance that Steven Stamkos will score 2 goals tomorrow, Marian Gaborik will score 1, and nobody else will score anything and they'll lose 2-1. And taking 2 from Pittsburgh is more realistic (they can definitely win the home game on Monday, I believe).

I leave this website in the hands of Bryan, whom I'll be seeing for some Thanksgiving hockey in less than an hour. I know Bryan was all set to write something last night, but then his daughter threw up because she ate too much. Since she ate dinner in my restaurant, I take full responsibility.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Garden of Dreams Charity Event...

Thanks to Longtime Reader Lou (who was responsible for my seat upgrade a few weeks ago during that not-very-fun Sharks game at MSG), I got a ticket into the Garden of Dreams charity event last night at The Garden.

It was a great night with a free buffet (featuring prime rib), an open bar, Adam Graves, and 4 other Rangers patrolling the area all night.

Pictures? Of course I have pictures! But first, let me say...

- Donald Brashear does not like when you thank him for punching Aaron Ward in the face, even if you say that all Rangers fans wanted to do it.

- Marian Gaborik does not play fantasy hockey. And upon my request to slow down his scoring because my friend Dan has him on his team, he politely refused.

- Dan Girardi's Dan Girardi jersey looked a lot better than mine, although his was free and mine was the crappiest jersey NHL.com ever sent out. I probably should have returned it.

- Marc Staal will tell you he "dusted" me "for two goals" in air hockey. He would be correct, but I decided to let him score to boost his confidence. If he nets two goals against Florida on Saturday, I will accept kudos and congratulations.

- Time for the Worst Moment of the Night, brought to you by Amstel Light. Staal gave up his air hockey paddle to Gaborik and I decided I needed a picture of it. I put the paddle down a moment, reached for my camera to give Lou, and some 6 year-old girl jacked the paddle. Very rude. And since it was a charity event and she was a guest, I couldn't ask for it back.

- The coolest guy there was the PA announcer. He gave us really good inside information and even announced a line that we wanted to hear: "Ladies and gentleman, time for tonight's scratches. Number twenty-five, Petr Prucha."

If I knew Gaborik was going to be there, I would've worn my jersey!

This picture looks fake but I assure you, it is not. I was just afraid he was
going to hit me. Donald Brashear does not like me.

I'm 25. I shouldn't be taking this kind of picture with an athlete.

This is me teaching our youth to play air hockey. Protect the puck!

Reader Lou and Volunteer Brad after the event.

Are The Islanders For Real?

One quarter of the way through the 2009-10 NHL season, the New York Islanders are tied for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, envision this scenario? Last year, around this time, the season peaked as the Islanders approached .500 and the eighth seed. That team crapped out and finished with 61 points. This year's Islanders team has 23 points after just 21 games. Over 82 games, that projects to 90 points. If you're thinking playoffs already, I've always used the Rule of 92 when it comes to playoff teams - as in, you need 92 or more points to stake a claim to a playoff spot. But even 92 points guarantees you nothing. Florida missed the playoffs last year with 93 points. Carolina had 92 points in 2007-08, but finished ninth. In other words, the Islanders will have to play even better than they are now - and sustain that level of play for 61 more games - if they want to make the playoffs.

Now, contrary to popular belief, the playoffs are not the sole determinant of a team being "for real". Most Islanders fans will take contention for a playoff spot as constituting a "real" team. Hell, I'm just happy the season isn't over at Thanksgiving. The question is, though, can the Islanders keep this up? Are the Islanders for real?

In short... yes, the Islanders are for real.

Botta wrote a piece earlier today about why the Islanders have gotten off to their hot start. I won't regurgitate his rationale. But health, goaltending, John Tavares and Matt Moulson have all helped. It also helps that the players are better suited to Scott Gordon's system; Gordon has helped his own cause by not dressing the likes of Joel Rechlicz and Mitch Fritz for three minutes a game. In short, everyone on the team has a role, and everyone fills theirs well. Even Jeff Tambellini has produced this year, before his inexplicable (and unexplained) absence on this road trip. And speaking of road games, the Islanders have nabbed 11 of 24 possible road points this year - not too shabby.

Perhaps the best thing about this Islanders team is that the Lighthouse isn't looming over the on-ice product - finally. It's amazing what can happen when the focus is solely on the on-ice product. The only unfortunate fallout from the Lighthouse happenings is that Charles Wang likely won't let Garth Snow spend big bucks to bolster the Isles' roster, but we're all probably better off that way. This Islanders team is pretty deep, and the eventual return of Rick DiPietro can only help matters.

There are still some questions about this team, some criteria I have for a good team that the Islanders aren't reaching as of yet. First, they've allowed more goals than they've scored. The disparity has come down significantly in recent weeks, but it's still there. Second, for all the talk about how the Islanders are above. 500 - they're not. It's this writer's opinion (I don't believe Zach shares this opinion) that .500 means winning half your games, not having more wins than losses. Let's not forget that the Islanders are actually 8-13 and have fattened up on, as Howie Rose would call them, "loser points". Oh, and the Islanders have played the most games of anyone in the East.

These are nit-picking issues Islanders fans are wont to come up with, mainly because we're so used to seeing the other shoe drop in excruciating fashion. I, for one, am not even thinking about the playoffs, 92 points, winning 41 of 82 games, or any of the other criteria I'd use to gauge a team's level of success. With these Islanders, they're simply fun to watch. They play hard, as they always have, but this year they have an added layer of skill that scores three goals per game and (usually) keeps them from self-destructing in the third period. After a summer full of Lighthouse acrimony and worrying about Snow screwing up the draft, Islanders fans deserve to watch this brand of entertaining hockey.

And yes, that entertaining hockey played by the Islanders makes them "for real".

Coming Tomorrow!...

Coming Tomorrow on The Rivalry!

* * Alex Ovechkin's return is imminent, and what better way to do it than against the Rangers! (See: Kovalchuk; Atlanta; 11/12/09)

* * Bryan thinks the Islanders might be "for real" this year. His prediction is 85 points, putting them exactly where I predicted in September: 10th place.

* * Matt Moulson is to 2009 fantasy hockey as Steve Slaton was to 2008 fantasy football: Best Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year.

* * Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky still not playing for the Rangers. Don't worry, even if they were, they wouldn't score.

* * Wade Redden returns to glory on the power play. (Webster's Dictionary defines glory as: "non-scoring, non-shooting, can't keep the puck in the zone, overpaid, and got Tom Renney fired." Weird.)

* * John Tortorella says Redden is "playing decent." Glen Sather agrees. Sather then states that "All decent players should received $6.5M for 6 years."

* * Blair Betts makes $600,000. Does more than Drury. Sather preemptively refuses to offer him a deal next year, saying "I will make mistakes, but I will never admit them." (See: Betts; Moore; Drury; Redden; Rozsival; Orr; Brashear)

* * The guy behind me at the Ranger games is constantly a dick to everyone. Will he yell at the large people I sold my tickets for tomorrow's game to? Will he live to tell about it? Why does he put a belt around his sweatpants and still think he's a tough guy?

Stay Tuned!

I Often Sleep Too Much...

I recently got a new job.

In my previous employment, I would often work at 5:00 at night, waking up sometime around 11 in the morning. Sometimes, I would go to bed at 2 a.m. then wake up at 11:30, sleeping over 9 hours.

I would actually be more tired when I woke up then when I went to sleep. I would feel... groggy. Sometimes, I would work better on short rest (say, 4 a.m. - 10 a.m.) than an entire night's rest.

I think that's what happened to the Rangers tonight. They played Calgary on short rest, and played well. They just couldn't beat that hot goalie.

Tonight, they had too much rest. Imagine if I slept all of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday? I would've been lost on Thursday.

I probably would've given up a goal 19 seconds into the game. I probably would've taken a penalty a minute later. I probably would've shown up only for the last 15 minutes of the 3rd period. I probably would've taken lazy, offensive-zone penalties. I probably would've relied on my incredible goaltender to save our hides against a weaker team. I would've let a player playing for the first time in 3 weeks get a goal and 2 assists.

I also probably would've put an APB out on Sean Avery. Has anyone seen him? A healthy Sean Avery without the edge is just like any other player. I miss having an abrasive forward who turns games in our favor. Has he impacted any game except the Toronto game at MSG where he scored two goals? Has he been himself? Knee injury? A fear of taking penalties? Something's up, and it's not helping the Rangers.

I probably would've cut this short, too.

The Best (And Worst) Islanders Jerseys To Wear

As Zach explained on Sunday, there are certain jerseys you can wear to the game. At the same time, there are others you wouldn't be caught dead wearing at the Coliseum. Here's a (hopefully) comprehensive list of what's in and out when it comes to Islanders jerseys.

Good

Denis Potvin#5, Clark Gillies #9, Bryan Trottier #19, Mike Bossy #22, Bob Nystrom #23, Billy Smith #31 (if your number is retired, it can be worn by fans forever)

Pat LaFontaine #16 (that this number is not hanging from the rafters is a travesty)

Pierre Turgeon #77 (they really should retire this; it's not as though any future player will wear it anyway)

Josh Bailey #12, Kyle Okposo #21, John Tavares #91 (nice future-proof jersey)

Darius Kasparaitis #11, Ray Ferraro #20, David Volek #25, Glenn Healy #35 (for many of us, the '93 team is the only time we've seen the Islanders win)

Gary Howatt #8, Rich Pilon #2/#47, Mick Vukota #12, Steve Webb #20, Eric Cairns #33 (nothing like wearing the jersey of a goon)

Trent Hunter #7, Claude Lapointe #13, Dave Scatchard #38, Butch Goring #91 (wearing the jersey of a grinder shows you appreciate the nuances of hockey and accentuates your fandom)

Iffy

Rick DiPietro #39 (not because he's hurt, but because everyone has one and it makes you look like you're not as big of a fan as you probably are)

Derek King #27 (fine player, but most of us would prefer to forget the early 1990s)

Michael Peca #27 (he had a great run, but he hasn't been an Islander in five years)

Miroslav Satan #81 (he didn't leave the team all that long ago, but it's not as though he was a legendary Islander)

Roberto Luongo #1, Zdeno Chara #3, Bryan McCabe #4, Zigmund Palffy #16/#68, Bryan Berard #34, Todd Bertuzzi #44 (it never hurts to remind people how good this team would have been if not for the Mike Milbury era)

Bad

Alexei Yashin #79 (Zach argues that this is okay, because Yashin left the NHL as an Islander, but it's probably time to buy a new jersey if you're still wearing Yashin)

Eric Fichaud #1, Dean Chynoweth #3, Dave Chyzowski #9, Oleg Kvasha #12, Scott Scissions #14, Robert Nilsson #21, Brett Lindros #75 (busts of epic proportions)

Garth Snow #30 (as a fan, you are required to hate your team's management)

Kirk Muller #9, Trevor Linden #32, Ron Hextall #72 (these guys were great elsewhere, but didn't exactly work out well on the Island)

Anything from the Gorton's Fisherman era (obviously)

What Ranger Jerseys Can You Comfortably Wear?...

I started compiling this list after I was at the Ranger-Islander game at the Coliseum last Wednesday and saw Nikolai Zherdev and Lauri Korpikoski standing next to each other. Of course, it wasn't actually them, but two people who paid a combined $360 for the jerseys of two players who no longer play on the Rangers.

Yet, some players no longer play in New York, but you can still wear their jersey and be proud of it. And even further, there are some players who play here whose jersey should not be worn, and if it is, you should be ridiculed.

Think you're safe? Check the list...

Good (Wear Proudly)
Jaromir Jagr #68 (had a great resurgence in NY; since he didn’t win a Cup, you have about 2 more years with this jersey before you should move on)
Brendan Shanahan #14 (I would never fault someone for having a Shanny jersey)
Henrik Lundqvist #30
Blair Betts #15/19; Jed Ortmeyer #41 (you can wear there jerseys for years and they would be appropriate)
Nigel Dawes #10 ; Petr Prucha #25 (it’s not your fault they were traded)
Sean Avery #16
Dan Girardi #5; Brandon Dubinsky #17; Marc Staal #18; Ryan Callahan #24; Artem Anisimov #42
Mike Del Zotto #4; Matt Gilroy #97 (buy with no hesitation; there two will be around a while)
Marian Gaborik #10
Steve Rucchin #20 (because I have one, and every once in a while, I still wear it)
Petr Nedved #93
Brian Leetch #2; Adam Graves #9; Mark Messier #11; Mike Richter #35
Jeff Beukeboom #23 (or mostly any member from the 1994 Cup team)
Ales Kotalik #12; Vinny Prospal #20; Martin Straka #82; Michael Nylander #92 (not the superstar of the team, but they compliment a Jagr or Gaborik well)
Eddie Giacomin #1; Rod Gilbert #7; Andy Bathgate #9; Ron Duguay #10 (or any other number he wore); Phil Esposito #77 (if you were old enough to watch these players play)

Iffy (Wear Cautiously)
Darius Kasparaitis #6; Pavel Bure #9; Theo Fleury #14 (I don’t mind the players, but it’s time for a new one, don’t you think?)
#28 Colton Orr (had a solid season last year, but there weren’t other choices?)
#99 Wayne Gretzky (can’t fault a Gretzky jersey, but it has been a decade since he left and he was in the twilight of his great career here. If he won a Cup, that would be different, of course.)
Alex Kovalev #27 (hey, he still might come back, and after all, he did win the Cup here as a rookie)
Chris Drury #23 (you obviously bought it during the summer of 2007 when you thought he’d be a superstar in New York, but he plays hard enough most of the time to warrant wearing him on your back... sometimes)

Bad (Give Them Away to the Garden of Dreams Foundation)
(Before you ask, yes, I have seen all of these jerseys recently.)
Dale Purinton #5 (seriously, I once saw one)
Andy Bathgate #9 (if you were born after 1955, you should not wear a Bathgate jersey. If you have seen him play in person, go for it.)
Lauri Korpikoski #29; Fedor Tyutin #51 (while it’s not your fault they were traded, it’s your fault for buying one in the first place)
Wade Redden #6 (must’ve been a present)
Ivan Baranka #21 (one NHL game and you have a jersey?)
Steve Valiquette #40 (you got it to be different, admit it)
Michal Rozsival #33
Eric Lindros #88 (Only one other jersey makes me madder, and I even have a Lindros jersey... safely in my closet. While Lindros, the player, wasn't awful, this jersey symbolizes a horrible stretch of time in Rangers history and wearing it only brings up good memories. No one goes, "Oh, the Lindros Era! What a jolly time!")
Luc Robitaille #20 (he wasn’t here long enough/didn’t play good enough to warrant having his jersey still 10 years later)
Chris Higgins #21 (until he proves otherwise)
Nik Zherdev #13
Markus Naslund #91
Ryan Hollweg #44 (Yes, I have one - I got it after his great 2005-06 season - and no, I’ll probably never wear it again, even though about 15 players have signed it)
Tom Poti #3/16
Dan Blackburn #31 (by this logic, you should’ve gotten a Lundqvist when he first came up)

And the worst Rangers jersey to wear...
Scott Gomez #19 (You bought it when he was signed. He never did anything in New York except play well against them. Everyone sighed when he was finally traded. Yet, you continue to wear this on your back when real players like Prospal and Gaborik actually show up to play. If you have a Scott Gomez jersey, please don't wear it. No one wants to see it, no one wants to remember him.)

Good Stuff Tonight...

I try not to be one of "those fans" - you know, the type who sulks and glooms and says the team is horrible after a loss, but they're the first one to chant "We Want the Cup" after a convincing win.

However, tonight was a good game. The difference between Edmonton and Vancouver, between 1,160 kilometers or 721 miles (thank you, Google Maps), was the offense. It was firing tonight. They took advantage of power plays. (The 0% on the power play was misleading in Vancouver, by the way. Chris Higgins scored a second after one expired.) They swarmed the net. They passed well. But more importantly, they took shots. Take a shot, you never know what will happen.

They had 23 shots in Vancouver - 14 in the second period and then 9 combined in periods 1 and 3. Tonight, they had 39. Phil Esposito always says - and I'm sure Alex Ovechkin will concur - you can't score if you don't shoot. Dan Girardi had a great pass/shot today that Sean Avery deflected. It didn't go in, but it was close. Get the puck to the net. If they don't get the puck to the net, Marian Gaborik doesn't one-hand that last goal home.

The effort was definitely there tonight...

Aaron Voros - Horrible 1st period, but he did play better in the 2nd and 3rd... saving his job for another day. Granted, he probably only had another 3 minutes all game, but they were better than his first minute, where he took 2 penalties. When he swung his stick at an Oilers' knees (can't remember which Oiler) and took a two-minute minor, did you see how *shocked* he was? How could he be surprised! It looked like he was cutting down a tree!

(By the way, I've never used the two asterisks on a word before in my life.)

Brian Boyle - Good ol' T-Bone. How many open nets can a man miss in one period? The answer, it seems, is two... twice. But he had a few good shots, a couple of good hits, and played like a 4th line player should: Good enough for the coach not to be nervous to put you out on the ice.

Chris Higgins - I won't profess him a great pickup yet, although we're all happy he is here instead of Scott Gomez. However, isn't it amazing how much better he is playing since he scored one goal? He has another goal already and played inspired, tough hockey tonight. If only he would do a move on a breakaway. Every time he gets one, he just shoots, and so far, it hasn't worked.

Ryan Callahan - "Gritty." Good word to describe his play tonight, as far as most nights.

Brandon Dubinsky - Was he even out there tonight? I noticed his play as much as I noticed Healthy Scratch Donald Brashear.

Wade Redden & Michal Rozsival - Weak games as well. Redden reminds me of myself, when I was 9. Any time I got the puck, I would get scared and pass it to the nearest teammate. That's what he does. Don't believe the hype in his "great pass to spring Higgins on a breakaway." It was lucky, he was just clearing it. And Rozsival? For a defender, he sure doesn't defend. I wouldn't want him on my team during an autumnal game of capture the flag, let alone near my crease in an NHL game.

Steve Valiquette - The team played good in front of him - especially Girardi and Marc Staal. It was huge for him to win this game, especially after the Sharks game where he got shellacked. Now, like Boyle, John Tortorella should feel safe putting him into a game.

Now, let's not be overly optimistic. Edmonton is a mediocre team. They were .500 going into tonight, and they were on a slide. Sheldon Souray is hurt, significantly impacting their power play. Mike Comrie was sick. A lot of other players got hit with the flu bug also the past 10 days.

So, what did the Rangers really do? They beat up on a weak team. And sometimes, that's just what you need to get back on track. Now, let's see if they can keep up the pace against the 9-4-1 Flames, who suddenly are an offensive team.

(By the way, I love these 9:30 games. I leave work at 8:20, clean up, eat, and I'm ready for pre-game and the opening faceoff.)

Tom Renney...

The last two times that the Edmonton Oilers faced the Rangers, the Rangers lost in a shootout. Last time, they fired 42 shots on net and scored on only 2 - on a backup goaltender. Ah, the Tom Renney era...

Well, tomorrow, the Rangers meet Tom Renney again, and while not many current players were there for a lot of his reign (Henrik Lundqvist and Michal Rozsival were the only ones there from his first full season in 2005-06), it should be an emotional night for him. Imagine if the game were at Madison Square Garden?

While I rip on Renney a lot here, I do think he was a very good coach, and I'm sure he will be sometime soon. There are a few coaches who will "always be a Ranger," no matter where they wind up coaching or working. Mike Keenan, though he only had 1 season, is one of them. Renney is another.

No coach could have done what he did after the lockout. He took a team destined to fail -at least according to the experts - and brought them into the playoffs, one point away from winning the division. He got 123 points out of Jaromir Jagr - a man who would have refused to return to the NHL if he wasn't playing for Renney in New York, he once said. He turned a team of veterans - Rucchin, Jagr, Straka, Rucinsky, Kasparaitis, Nylander - and young no-names - Jay Ward, Ortmeyer, Dom Moore, Hollweg, Orr, Prucha, Betts - into a contender.

I still say that if not for the Olympics, the Rangers could have gone far that year. Jagr and Lundqvist came back injured - Jagr with hip and groin problems, Hank with headaches from grinding his teeth. And then there was Sandis Ozolinsh, who seemed like a good trade at first until he came apart in the Devils' series and cost the team 2 games.

Still, Renney was a huge part of the rebuilding process. While they rebuilt, he brought them into the playoffs. He just wasn't a good fit for the team last year and going forward. His style had stopped working, and he continued to play people based on their paychecks rather than skill (see: Wade Redden on the power play while Petr Prucha sat in street clothes).

For all the good he did, he will be remembered for 2 things: being fired when the team couldn't score and for Game 5 in Buffalo, where Fedor Tyutin and rookie Dan Girardi were on the ice with 30 seconds left with a 1-0 lead. When they iced the puck, Tyutin and Girardi had to stay on, they couldn't clear the puck, and Chris Drury scored.

Besides that being the one game that still upsets my stomach (and the only time I ever lost sleep over a sports event), you know that if they won that game and went up 3-2 in the series, they would not have lost Game 6 at MSG. I'm not saying they would have won the Stanley Cup - hell, they might not even have beaten Ottawa in the Conference Finals - but they would have beaten Buffalo. And maybe Chris Drury never would've been signed the following summer, and maybe everything would've been different.

But this is how it's played out, and I wish Tom Renney the best in Edmonton - no matter how often I make fun of his healthy scratches or his power play.

Western Canada Road Trip...

Ah, the dreaded Western Canadian Road Trip. Remember last time, in January of 2008 when they got 1 points in 3 games?

They ran into a red-hot Calgary team featuring Kristian Huselius, who had 4 points in the 4-3 game, including a goal from behind the goal-line that somehow sneaked past Henrik Lundqvist.

Steve Valiquette had no offense in a 3-0 loss to Vancouver.

And if not for Chris Drury scoring with 7 seconds left to force overtime, they would've left with 0 points instead of 1 (Edmonton was monstrous in the shootout in '07-'08, partially because then-rookie Sam Gagner was unstoppable in the tiebreaker).

Last night against Vancouver felt like that trip all over again. The Rangers applied little pressure, even in the 2nd period when the shot-counter went in their favor. Sure, they fired 14 shots in that frame, but how many were legitimate scoring chances? Two? Maybe just one?

They ought to have pounced on Vancouver, especially in the 3rd. They had, what, 4 power plays in a row, including a double-minor to end the 2nd period? And they couldn't do anything with it. Vancouver was shorthanded for 8 minutes, had good players in the penalty box, had Henrik Sedin and Willie Mitchell playing at 40% because of injuries, and still, no good opportunities. Other than Chris Higgins, who worked hard for Goal #1, there were a handful of Rangers who actually showed up. Matt Gilroy was one of them; he looked fantastic. Mike Del Zotto wasn't a standout but played good. Ryan Callahan played hard, again, and couldn't score, again. And Brandon Dubinsky... is on the trading block?

You would have thought that the big brawl would have fired them up, but it really just jazzed up the Canucks as it seemed the Rangers were content bringing the game to overtime and settling for a point - or a shootout.

* * *

I love that Dane Byers is in the lineup. As opposed to Evgeny Grachev or Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Byers is never going to light it up in the NHL, so he doesn't need to "dominate the minors before becoming an NHLer," and the old "it's better to play 20 minutes a night in the AHL than 7 minutes in the NHL" adage doesn't apply to him.

I would rather have Byers in the lineup over Donald Brashear any night. Maybe Brashear of 2003 or 2006, but not the 2009 version, where he is slow, shows the same hockey sense as Colton Orr, and doesn't fight - and when he does, he loses. Byers showed fire last night. Sure, he didn't win the fight, but he was out there battling, starting stuff, and showing that he belongs in the NHL. Even John Tortorella gave him a "good game" en route to the locker room - although Tortorella's good game pat fell in an awkward spot.

Been Busy...

I apologize for not writing more about our beloved Rangers, but between working very long days, going to a wedding yesterday, being hungover today, and running back and forth between the bank and the GMC dealership, I haven't had any free time to watch hockey, much less write about it.

Okay, that's being dramatic. I did miss all of the game against Minnesota, but I caught the first 2 periods of the Bruins game before I had to leave for work Sunday afternoon.

I'll be back sometime later tonight, probably around 1 in the morning, after I watch the Canucks/Rangers game on TiVo.

In the meantime, a very happy birthday to Islanders' Writer Bryan, who turns Colton Orr's number today.

Don't Believe The Hype

If I close my eyes, I can picture what so-called "experts" are writing and what they're saying.

"I'll tell you what - I like this New York Islanders team."

"This is a team that will never say die."

"These Islanders do not know the meaning of the word 'quit'."

"Last year's Islanders team folded in the clutch. But not this year's team."

"Opposing teams can no longer take the New York Islanders for granted."

Gag. I'm not trying to be the turd in the punch bowl here, but just about all of these quotes could have been attributed to the Islanders we saw twelve months ago. You know, the team that was hovering around .500 (or, as Howie Rose would say, "The NHL's definition of .500") and the eighth seed for the first two months of the season. Ultimately, as the season progressed, blown leads became blown games, the entire team got hurt, and that was that. This year has gone much the same way, but the Isles managed to not blow a couple of games. So now, I'm supposed to be excited? Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

Here's the thing. Everyone else might be surprised about the Isles' success of late and the sudden emergence of Jeff Tambellini. I'm not.

Tambellini

Let's discuss Tambellini first, because he's the easy one. When Mike Piazza left the Mets to sign with the Oakland A's as a designated hitter, he said the hardest adjustment was keeping his mental focus when he wasn't hitting. As a DH, all he could do was hit, and if he was hitting poorly, it was hard for him to feel confident. After all, he couldn't pat himself on the back for catching a good game anymore. Most pure scorers in the NHL are not unlike designated hitters in baseball - they need to do their one thing extremely well in order to feel confident.

Tambellini, obviously, took a long time to come around as a scorer in the NHL. Quite frankly, aside from the past week, there's no proof that he will ever become a consistent scorer in the NHL. But Tambellini has been smart enough to focus on playing a physical game over the past 40 or so NHL games he's played. This has not only helped the team and his development, but it's helped his own psyche as well. Now, if he's not scoring, he can contribute in other ways and know he's making a difference. And sometimes, all it takes is for a scorer to not think about scoring for him to suddenly be presented with great scoring opportunities.

Yankee fans out there know that a relaxed player is that much more likely to succeed. It seems that all it took was one home run for Alex Rodriguez to transform from vilified slugger into Captain Clutch. We won't go that far with Jeff Tambellini yet. But this is truly Tambellini's chance. With the support of the fans and tangible proof that his hard work is paying off, he's got a great chance to earn another contract with the Islanders.

Level of Competition

Here's the thing about the Islanders. They play extremely well against good teams. Think about all the third-period leads they've blown over the past two years. Can you recall them blowing a lead against an inferior team? That's because it never happened.

On Friday night, you might have heard Howie and Billy talking about the Capitals playing to the level of their competition. This is usually a criticism levied against good teams. However, you don't have to be a good team to be guilty of this. The Islanders do it all the time. They'll give a team like Washington or Pittsburgh a run for their money, then go out and stink up the joint against Florida the next night.

According to the incomparable PlayoffStatus.com, the Islanders have the highest strength of schedule thus far in the Eastern Conference. That is, their opponents have earned a higher percentage of potential points than the opponents of any other team in the East. In most cases, you'd look at a team's strength of schedule and assume that if they've done well against good teams, they'll also do well against poor teams. Sadly, that's never been the case with the Islanders.

In four nights, the Islanders scored wins over, in terms of points, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best teams in the East. This is an amazing accomplishment, and Islanders fans are right to be excited. However, I've seen this before, and I know that the real test for the Islanders is how they perform against teams like Tampa Bay and Toronto. I know they can hang with the best teams in the league, even if "hanging" means being underestimated and then getting destroyed when the sleeping giant awakens. But I don't know that the Islanders can win the games a good team is supposed to win.

As crazy as it sounds, November might be a tougher test for the Islanders than October was. The Islanders played 13 games in October; aside from Carolina, all of their opponents were eighth or better in their respective conferences. In November, the Islanders will play some good teams such as New Jersey and an underrated Atlanta team, but they will also play Minnesota (15th in West), St. Louis (13th in West), Florida (13th in East), Toronto (15th in East) and the aforementioned Hurricanes. If the Isles can play these teams with the same intensity as they showed against the likes of the Rangers and Capitals, I'll feel a lot better about this team. As it stands now, though, I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm enjoying this recent run of success, but I'm taking it at face value. As Islanders fans, judging from past experiences, that's really all we can do.