NYR Top Post-Lockout Moments #15-11

Part 3 of an 8-part series. Up tomorrow: Top Islanders' Moments #15-11.

15) Messier Night / Jagr Scores in OT
MSG - January 12, 2006
Can you imagine how angry the fans would have been after spending $500 on one ticket to Mark Messier Night only to see a loss? Granted, the ceremony itself was great - albeit very long. But during the last retirement ceremony (Mike Richter’s), the Rangers blew a 3-2 lead and lost 4-3 to Minnesota.

Steve Rucchin started the scoring, but then Edmonton scored 3 straight to take a 3-1 lead. The Rangers jumped ahead 4-3 on an early 3rd period goal by Petr Prucha, but Mike Peca’s shorthanded goal was his second of the night scored his 2nd goal of the night and tied it at 4 (his first goal tied it at 1 and it was a power play goal with Martin Straka off the ice for an illegal stick penalty!).

Maybe predictably for a fast-paced, back and forth game, overtime didn’t last very long. Just fourteen seconds in, Jaromir Jagr whipped one past former Ranger Jussi Markkanen, capping off a great night for Rangers fans.

How fitting of an ending for a 75-minute ceremony than an extra session of hockey?

Oh, but my overall favorite moment? Christopher Reeve’s widow (now deceased herself) Dana singing Carole King’s “Now and Forever.”



14) Leetch Announcing Adam Graves’ Night
MSG - January 24, 2008
For how good the game was during Mark Messier Night, Brian Leetch Night’s game was a rolling disaster.

Sure, the Rangers won in dramatic fashion, but it was more a matter of desperation than anything. They needed the points badly (they were merely 2 games over .500 at the time) and they had played a lackluster, downright boring game so far. Michal Rozsival potted one with 11 minutes left in the 3rd period to finally give the Rangers something to cheer about since the ceremony ended.

(Brendan Shanahan wound up scoring the only shootout goal to give the Rangers 2 points, but the game, overall, was still very boring.)

The ceremony, of course, was excellent, and definitely shorter than Messier’s marathon. The highlight was definitely when Leetch took the time out of his own night to announce that Adam Graves Night would be held the following season.

They played great together on the ice, and it was a great touch for Leetch to do this. He was never completely comfortable with the spotlight on him, and even on his special night, he shone the light on someone else. That’s a good teammate.

13) Jagr Scores :29 Into Season
MSG - October 5, 2006
Five months ago, Jaromir Jagr couldn’t even lift his shoulder after hurting it throwing a weak, awkward punch at then-Devil Scott Gomez. He had surgery to repair it, but there were doubts surrounding the team coming into the start of the 2006-07 season. The three main questions concerning the team were about Jagr’s shoulder, how Henrik Lundqvist would be after his problems in the ’06 playoffs after the Olympics (he played awful, if you remember, after coming back from Italy grinding his teeth while he slept and with migraines), and if Brendan Shanahan was a good signing.

Well, 29 seconds into the season, newly-introducted Captain Jagr stormed up the ice, cut across center, and fired one past notorious Ranger-killer Olaf Kolzig on the first shot of the season. The crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!” to Jagr, as he should have been crowned it the season before, but Joe Thornton won it when he overtook him in the points race at the end of the season.

Shanahan wound up scoring 2 goals in his Ranger debut, goals 599 and 600, Lundqvist stood tall, and for a night, all was perfect in Rangerland.

Who knew that the deciding factor of the season wouldn’t be Jagr’s shoulder, Shanahan’s ability, or Lundqvist’s migraines, but a last-minute icing in May in Buffalo.

12) Lundqvist Robs Savard
Boston - October 20, 2007
The Rangers and Boston have played some very close games since the Lockout, but none of them could top the 1-0 shootout won by Boston in October of 2007. Lundqvist had 19 saves, Manny Fernandez had 26, and the game was won in a shootout by Phil Kessel after the first 5 shooters didn’t score.

It almost didn’t get to that shootout, however, if not for an excellent save by Lundqvist on Marc Savard.

If you remember, this was also the game where Marty Straka blocked TWO Zdeno Chara slappers from the point and broke the same finger in two separate spots on both shots. If we had this website during this game, I would have called Straka a Warrior.

On the same power play, a rebound came to Savard and he absolutely rocketed a shot to an open net, except Lundqvist whipped out his left arm and caught the puck. A shocked Savard fell to the ice (partly due to the force he took the shot with) and looked to the heavens.

Between Straka being immortal and Lundqvist making one of the Saves of the Decade, the winner of the game didn’t even matter.



11) Nylander’s Playoff Hat Trick
MSG - April 17, 2007
The last time the Rangers had won a playoff game at MSG, well, I don’t know, but I assume it was in 1997, a full 10 years before they beat the Thrashers 7-0.

The previous year, against New Jersey, they got outscored 7-2 in their two home playoff games, and even though they got a standing ovation after being eliminated, it stung.

This was the complete opposite.

Kari Lehtonen was reinstated as starting goaltender after being replaced by Johan Hedberg for Game 2. The Rangers made quick work of him, though he was never pulled in the game. Michael Nylander scored his first goal 32 seconds into the game and his second 9 minutes later. His 3rd goal was the team’s 7th, completing what he started.

Ryan Callahan also scored twice on this night, 11 minutes apart in the 2nd period, and even Marek Malik scored on a great shot from the left circle. Shanahan scored the other goal for the Rangers, and Jagr had 4 assists.

It was a great night to be a fan from start to finish, and the sweep of Atlanta the next night made for a flawless first round victory.

Veterans Day

If you saw last night's Canadiens-Bruins game, odds are good that you're still in awe. I know I am. Imagine being in the crowd during the pre-game ceremonies and watching the greats in Canadiens history taking warm-ups. Imagine seeing three generations of hockey legends taking the ice together. Canadiens fans must have felt such pride seeing the likes of Guy Lafleur taking shots on Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden. It's a far cry from the contrived practice of current players wearing the jersey of a retired player during warm-ups, no?

It's no surprise that the Canadiens were the ones to bring this memorable moment to us; they have never been anything less than spectacular when it comes to honoring their storied tradition. The Islanders? Well... not so much. It's been a pretty all-or-nothing deal with the Islanders over the years, and for a team that probably would have folded or moved many years ago if not for their tradition, that's not acceptable.

Since Bryan Trottier's #19 was retired in 2001, the Islanders have not raised a number to the rafters. Yes, they had Al Arbour Night in 2007 to commemorate the coach's 1500th game with the team, but they never bothered to update his banner to reflect his 740 wins. Instead, we see 1500 under Arbour's name - a sad reminder that the Islanders organization had very little faith that Arbour would actually win his 1500th game.

Perhaps the most obvious example of the Islanders' mismanagement of their alumni can be found in the Islanders Hall of Fame, which was established in 2006. The Islanders made a big deal out of their Hall of Fame, drawing a large crowd to that night's game, and named Bob Bourne as the Hall of Fame's first member. Since then? Nothing. At the time, I saw the Islanders Hall of Fame as a blatant way to play on Islanders fans' affection for the glory years, and apparently I was right. Not that Bourne doesn't deserve the honor - he clearly does - but it seemed like a very convenient way to draw a sellout crowd. The prior year, the Islanders held a 25th anniversary celebration for their first Stanley Cup win; the year after, they had the Core of the Four ceremony. And history shows that the only significance the Islanders Hall of Fame has is that it fulfilled the Islanders' unwritten requirement to bring the alumni back for one night to appease the fans.

When the Rangers announced plans to retire Adam Graves' number, I criticized the team for acting like Rangers history began in 1994. The Islanders, quite frankly, have behaved in much the same way. The way it looks to me, if you weren't part of the Cup winning teams, you're pretty much irrelevant to the organization. There's no legitimate reason why Pat LaFontaine's #16 isn't hanging from the rafters right now. There's no reason why guys like John Tonelli, Ed Westfall, Pierre Turgeon and Ziggy Palffy aren't in the Islanders Hall of Fame. (Note: Turgeon was on the ice last night with the other Canadiens legends, despite not even playing in half as many games for the Habs as he did with the Islanders.) It's insulting to these players, as well as the teammates who helped make them great, that their contributions aren't recognized by the Islanders organization. Especially guys like Palffy and LaFontaine, who essentially sold tickets by themselves while they were part of some horrible Islanders teams.

I understand that some of the alumni feels like the Islanders have exploited them over the years. They absolutely have every right to feel that way, because they were. But the Islanders have a tremendous opportunity to honor some players who haven't had their asses constantly kissed by the Islanders. This is especially important to younger fans who were reared on the 1993 Islanders. While it might sound blasphemous, to us, Turgeon and his teammates were just as important as the legends who now reside in the Hall of Fame. It never hurts to throw a bone to your younger generation of fans, as these are the fans who are deciding now how much they want to incorporate the Islanders in their now-grownup lives - as in, whether or not they're willing to invest serious money in season tickets.

Lastly, and most obviously - the Islanders would do well to honor their former players now. Because with all the uncertainty about where the team's future resides, if the Islanders don't honor these guys today, there might not be a tomorrow.

Ceremonies...

October 14, 1979 - Rod Gilbert Night - Rangers 6, Minnesota North Stars 4

"You have given me a home, friendship, respect, and love, and that's more important than fame. For these things, I will always be grateful."

March 15, 1989 - Eddie Giacomin Night - Winnipeg Jets 6, Rangers 3

"You have been my motivation, my inspiration. It's the most thrilling moment of my life."

The bottom-feeding Jets scored 4 power play goals and 1 short-handed goal to beat the Rangers. The Blueshirts lost their 6th game in 7 tries yet were still in 2nd place in the Patrick Division, trailing Washington by 2 points.

Brian Leetch got hurt after scoring his 22nd goal of the season.

Giacomin became the 2nd Ranger to have their jersey retired and the 4th in NHL history (first 3 were Bernie Parent, Rogatien Vachon, and Tony Esposito).

February 4, 2004 - Mike Richter Night - Minnesota Wild 4, Rangers 3

"I'm wondering whose idea it was to get a guy who retired because of head injuries to memorize a speech to give to 18,000 people."

Adam Graves got the loudest cheers of the night.

Rangers were leading 3-2 on two Jaromir Jagr goals (and an assist), then Mike Dunham gave up two goals and the crowd chanted "We want Richter!"

January 12, 2006 - Mark Messier Night - Rangers 5, Edmonton Oilers 4 (OT)

"I was ready for the challenge of winning the Stanley Cup. I was ready for this city. I wasn't intimidated about coming to New York."

Leetch wasn't in attendance because Boston was playing (and losing 6-0 to Los Angeles) that night, but his video tribute gathered the loudest applause.

Rangers leading 1-0, Oilers go up 3-1, Rangers go up 4-3, Mike Peca scores in the 3rd to tie it at 4. Jagr scores a beautiful goal 14 seconds into overtime to end the game. A great game capped off an emotional and incredible night.

January 24, 2008 - Brian Leetch Night - Rangers 2, Atlanta Thrashers 1 (SO)

"I've always been privileged to play for the Rangers. We'll always share that championship banner that hangs from the rafters."

Thrashers had a 1-0 from early in the second period. The crowd was getting restless until Michal Rozsival finally tied it up midway through the third. Brendan Shanahan scored the only goal in the shootout to end a night that will be remembered more for the ceremony than for the boring game.

February 3, 2009 - Adam Graves Night - Rangers vs. Thrashers

As I sit here watching a replay of Game 7 of the Rangers/Canucks series in 1994, I'm reminded of how great a player Adam Graves really was. This team is missing someone like him, although Brandon Dubinsky reminds me of him in spurts. Graves went to the net, got smacked around, hit by sticks, cross-checked from behind, and still stood and scored. The 2 points tonight are needed, but tonight won't be remembered for the game, that's for sure.

Remembering Former Greats

As you may have heard, Shea Stadium closed its vaunted doors for good today. Never again will professional baseball be played in the Mets' now-former home. Fittingly, the Mets summed up 45 years of mediocre baseball by getting four hits in a game that, had they won, would have forced a one-game playoff for the Wild Card. Collapsing in September? Surely, you jest.

Anyway, watching the Mets pay tribute to their former legends - and isn't it interesting how important people in Shea Stadium history like the Jets and the Beatles were barely mentioned - I couldn't help but think about my Islanders. As we all know, no local team honors tradition like the Islanders. The Yankees do a good job as well but it's different with the Islanders. So often the Islanders have had to rely on their past to sell the present. Obviously, the Yankees don't have that problem. Neither do the Mets. So theoretically, today should have been a nice day to remember the good times at a ballpark that, quite frankly, didn't have very many.

As a devoted Islander fan who has seen more than his fair share of celebrations, I have to say the Mets nailed this one, even down to the questionable decision to do the ceremony after the game ended. This ended up being a good thing; by the time it was all over, I'd almost forgotten that the Mets performed an egregious chokejob for the second straight year. And even though it only amounted to Howie Rose reading out a bunch of names and then those players walking out onto the field, it was nice to see.

It's always interesting to see who gets the biggest reactions. It tends to be some combination of the biggest stars and those people who don't come around very often. I barely remember Al Arbour Night - it was my birthday and I was extremely hammered - but the biggest pops came for the guys we don't see very often, like Pat LaFontaine and Benoit Hogue. The Dynasty guys are here all the time; hell, half of them work for the team. It doesn't diminish anything they've done or their value to the team today, but it's worth noting that when fans get one shot to show their appreciation, they make the most of it.

That's what happened today at Shea Stadium. If I had to venture a guess, the loudest cheers were for Dwight Gooden and Mike Piazza. Not coincidentally, neither of them had been back at Shea since they retired. Piazza was so beloved by Mets fans that he received a curtain call when he hit a home run at Shea in 2006... while playing for the Padres. And while the surprising retiring of #31 never happened, it was nice seeing him as part of one of these things. The same can be said for when LaFontaine showed up at Arbour Night. As great as it is to see our heroes, sometimes it's even better when they keep themselves a bit more scarce.

What's my point?

Maybe it'd be wise to keep these ceremonies to a minimum. I love seeing the Islanders honor their past, but sometimes they go a bit overboard with it. They said after Core Of The Four that they weren't going to be doing any more elaborate ceremonies, but only time will tell. Meanwhile, the Mets never do this sort of thing, and I think that's why today was so important. At the same time, though, you don't want to end up like the Rangers and have a forty-year gap of time where nobody has any idea who even played for the team or how they did. I'd rather try too hard like the Islanders do, and that's not because I'm an Islander fan.

Let Me Get This Straight...

So the Rangers are going to retire Adam Graves' #9 on February 3rd, 2009. Good for them. But did you know that they're going to retire that same number again just three weeks later?

That's right. On the 22nd of February, the Rangers are going to retire Andy Bathgate's number. Of course, that's the same #9 that they're retiring for Graves.

My head hurts just thinking about this.

The obvious question is this - why not just retire both on the same night? It's fine to honor two players who wore the same number, though it does beg the question of why the Rangers are suddenly honoring someone who played for them fifty years ago. In any event, the Montreal Canadiens retired #12 for Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer on the same night in 2005. Obviously, the Rangers could do something similar.

However, the Rangers are opting to pair Bathgate's ceremony with the retiring of another number - Harry Howell's #3. It's understandable that they'd do this at the same time, as the two played together for many years, but it's confusing. My only guess is that they don't think people are going to remember either Bathgate or Howell individually, whereas Graves is fresh in everyone's minds because he played so recently. Of course, both Bathgate and Howell are in the Hockey Hall Of Fame; the only way Graves gets in is if he buys a ticket. Take that as you will.

For a team that does a pretty awful job of honoring its lineage - all eighty-plus years of it - the Rangers would do well to take advantage of this opportunity to link its past to its present. Instead, the Rangers would rather pretend that 1994 was the only important year in franchise history and that the rest of it was just killing time. Yeah, every Hall Of Famer will have their retired by March, but a lot of Ranger fans don't know a lot about the history of their team; worse, the team won't give them any reason to even care. That's unfortunate.

One last rhetorical question - if the Rangers are so insistent upon doing these ceremonies on separate nights, why are they being done just three weeks apart? Since they're both in February, seems like they're trying to capitalize on a period of time when nothing else is going on in the sports world. Then again, the Rangers should know better than to think they'd make the back page of a newspaper in New York.

What To Expect At The Coliseum This Year

We here at The Rivalry have been fortunate enough to receive a tour of the Nassau Coliseum in advance of the start of the 2008-09 NHL season. While we only received this tour because we attended the WWE Great American Bash tonight, it still called to mind the many trips we made to the Coliseum last season. It was nice to see the old barn in a different setting. And, as is always the case after a long layoff, it was interesting to see what's changed since last season.

- More Ads: One thing they did a lot of this off-season was sell ad space. There are more ads in the hallways of each gate than ever before; in fact, the sheer amount of advertisement one is greeted with on their way back to the concourse is a bit smothering. In addition, there are more of the 200-level ads we saw last year. There was also a banner in front of the 300-level section directly in line with the goals called "Northville". Since the stage took up the opposite goal area, it's unclear if there's a "Southville". On the subject of "Villes", we were unable to verify if Loudville will be back, as our seats were in Section 307. Either way, be prepared to be inundated with more ads than ever before.

- More Menu Selections: I think. I could have sworn I saw someone carrying around an iced coffee, but I can't say for certain. In any event, there are non-souvenir cups. The rest of the goodies remained pretty much the same. The exotic beers are still located in the "Beers Of The World" stand and in the outside area. We were unable to verify if they jacked up the price of the 24-ounce Labatt Blue can; we can only hope they didn't. Also, everyone's favorite Coliseum snack, the pretzel twist, is still as juicy and succulent as ever. Tonight's twists might have been even better than last year's. The twists are still only $4.50 - the best bargain anywhere. One last thing - we didn't see the guy selling pretzels outside of the Coliseum, but maybe that's on game days only.

- The Dragons Stuff: It's still there... for now. Since Charles Wang has just sold the team, it's unclear what will happen to the Dragons after the current AFL campaign ends. We don't even know if they'll be playing at the Coliseum. Either way, it's almost a given that we'll see a decrease in the promotion of the Dragons now that Wang isn't liable to shove both teams down our throats. Could this mean the end of Sparky The Dragon?

- Soda Guys: They had a guy roaming around selling sodas in the 300 levels, something we never saw before. In the past, this was strictly a delicacy for the lower levels. We pity the poor guy who has to climb the extremely steep Coliseum steps to deliver a Pepsi to someone up in Row T. However, the guy in our section dropped a bunch of his soda bottles, so it's possible that this experiment could be ended before the season starts. It's also something that could be started at games with lower attendance figures and phased in over the season. Who knows? It's worth a shot.

- Parking: As of tonight, it's still $7 to park. Still an extremely spacious lot (something to appreciate if you've been to either Shea or Yankee Stadium this year), and it's still a good idea to park right by the fence alongside Charles Lindbergh Boulevard. If you ever see some people playing hockey and drinking heavily along that fence, you'll know you saw The Rivalry.

- Bootleg Merchandise: If the Coliseum hired extra security to thwart the bootleggers, they called in sick tonight. We were able to not only score bootleg WWE merchandise, but also managed to take our time in negotiating a better rate, verifying that nothing was spelled wrong, and getting change without fear of getting busted. There were people all over; there was even a guy weaving in and out of traffic on Hempstead Turnpike selling stuff. His rates were even better than the guy we talked to. Oops.

- Arbour Banner: It still says "1500". We thought they were putting an updated one up there at Core Of The Four. Maybe they forgot. Or maybe they're waiting for this year's alumni reunion to do it. Or maybe, just maybe, they're talking to Arbour about coaching again. (Note: They aren't.) Either way, it'd be nice if they did something about it. It'd also be nice if they'd get around to taking #16 out of circulation and putting it where it belongs - with the numbers of the other Islander greats.

So that's what we discovered tonight - the Coliseum is pretty much as we remember it, with all of the good things intact and a few surprises. We're sure they have more in store for us this season. However, let's hope the first surprise is a quality coach.

As for the Bash itself? Good card with lots of quality, no-frills wrestling, though a lot of guys we wanted to see weren't there. The highlight of the night, however, was seeing Mets GM Omar Minaya walking in with his kids and then exiting the arena as we were pulling out. We can only hope his evening was enhanced by enjoying a delicious pretzel twist.

Retired Numbers, Part 2

In this blog by former Isles PR man Chris Botta, it's revealed that the Islanders' unofficial policy is to only retire the numbers of Hall Of Famers. The Islanders Hall Of Fame, unveiled two years ago and never touched again, is for everyone else. As of now, the only player in the Isles Hall without a retired number is Bob Bourne; surely, players such as John Tonelli and Ed Westfall will eventually be inducted as well.

Still, my question about Pat LaFontaine remains unanswered. He's a Hall Of Famer who not only is remembered by most as an Islander, but had his best years as an Islander. Why does he continually get passed over? It's almost as though the only history the Islanders want their fans to remember is the dynasty. Nothing else seems to matter. As a fan who missed the dynasty years but has never wavered as fan, that sort of hurts. It's nice to know that my entire life of rooting for the Islanders is essentially considered worthless.