1st period

Got here at 645 - loaded with Ranger fans… Ugh!

MacDonald in net - Hilbert Thompson and Sim up front - Pock and Streit on D.

20 seconds before Potvin chant started…. 56 seconds in - Rangers get a lucky goal that bounced off MacDonald as he was getting back to the net. It is going to be a looooooong night!

1:45 - Isles showing a little pressure - get a PP - this is crucial! Great start — 2 shots by Neilsen and Streit. Nice vision by Weight to see Hunter in front - for a one time in the slot. Nice save by Lundqvist.

4:40 - Kyle got a golden opportunity up front and missed high. Zherdev with some bad mistakes so far (although he got an assist on the Drury goal).

5:31 - another PP = keep the pressure on… Not as much - 1 shot through 90 seconds.

So far - not so bad…. If we can get rid of those 1st minute period goals (I think that is 4 for the season so far).

8: 37 - Gervais - holding - lets see how the PK does…. Joey - nice 2 point blank saves on Naslund… Great job. Cleaing up the garbage in front of the net….

11:54 - Ises getting sloppy and slow. Need to pick up the tempo.

Can not blog and watch game. Will give a little more analysis during 2nd frame.

And sure enough, as I walk away from the blog, to visit my wife, Okie scores, at 19:52.

Note: my buddy, Chris Pepe told me that DP’s situation is a lower body injury, not related to the knee, and will need further evaluation…. Makes you go hmmmmm..

2nd Period

4:25 - Drury hit in the shield with the puck… Nothing much going on at this point.

4:41 - Hillen - bad penalty — taking down Prucha. Rangers to PP

6:54 - Park inadvertently clipped Zherdev - 2 man PP for 1:12 - time for Isles to get real focused… Ranger take time out - Bruno - Campi and Thompson. 1 penalty down - only 1 shot for the Rangers. Nice job by Campy and Bruno. Great job by Streit. His d lately is NOT a liability.

Hearing the Let’s go Islanders chants now. Crowd getting into it, and Dee is bopping next to me.

The ice tonight is as choppy as it was on Saturday. Actually, it is worse.

Voros - Thompson fight - nice job by Nate - and Voros actually pnched himself (credit to Doug - my fellow blog boxer)

Point blank save by MacDonald on Dubinsky.

16:16 - Callahan scores off of a deflection in front of the net. First fight in the stands… Section 330. That is when you know that you ARE at a Ranger-Islander game…. 5 minutes later - still some movement by the security guards.

2 periods in the books - and only down 2-1 - I will take that. Just need to keep the sustained pressure going, and get some good chances. Joey Mac is keeping these guys in the game.

Assessment by the blog boxers… They are happy with Joey right now.

So far after 2 - 10 of 25 shots by Isles on man advantage. Okposo with 5 shots, Sim with 4. Park, Okposo and Comrie +1, Pock -2, Streit with 18:12 TOI leads both teams. Skinner with only 4:44 low on the Isles - Orr with 1:56 - low for the Rangers.

3rd period

What do we need…. Pucks and bodies on net, that is paramount. Will we get it? 20 minutes to find out…

2:17 - penalty on Zherdev - PP meeds to score now! And Guerin screwed that up, tugging on Sjostrom’s stick while in the o-zone. Back to the corner of the room for that infraction.

Joey Mac playing a strong game, trying to keep it as simple as possible. So is “AMAZING” Andy Hilbert. Good PK - nice job.

Bergenheim - doing his Walt “Clyde” Frazier impersanation with the puck, and grabbed Zherdev as the first penalty was called, and then got one himself… Whoops.

6:42 - MacDonald took a shot off the side of his melon, but looks to be ok. It hurt just watching it.

6:52 - the crucial 2 goal lead just happened on a 4 on 4. The shot by Gomez just snuck over the shoulder of MacDonald. Now the Rangers fans wont keep quiet. Right now - the Isles need to get some chances to the net, and make some traffic like they did in the 2nd and 3rd the other night.

Another skirmish in section 337.

Bergenheim clipped Voros - Weight got 2 for hi sticks. 5 on 3 - god - we have to kill this. And Drury scores again - 4-1. That does it. Now the obnoxiousness begins. Another fight in 339.

Now the building is 3/4 Ranger fans. At least we can say that our team woke up Drury. Park with a breakway - deflected away.

Security going up to 314 now. The yellow shirts are having a busy night tonight!

Voros laid out a nasty hit on Hillen. Guerin stood up for his teammate. The fights are all over the stands. It is a war in Uniondale.

Three Islander Stars of the Game.

3. Okposo - 1st goal of the year
2. Guerin - stood up to big bad Voros - I like that.
1. MacDonald - Kept the team in the game.
1.

Game 1 of 6 in this great rivalry is renewed tonight.

The Rangers, as we all know, are flying high right now - even with a woozy coach. Zherdev is playing like the guy that Columbus THOUGHT would be. Right now, Jagr is the last thing that they are missing at this point.

Ricky is seeing an unknown doctor about an unknown ailment. Danis was called up as an emergency. If there was ever a time for Joey Mac to stand up — it’s tonight!

The looks of things, it should be a Ranger walkover tonight. However, you never know with this rivalry. Hopefully the boys will take the 60 shot barrage from Saturday night, and take the positives from it and put it to tonight.

We can only hope.

Will blog from the game tonight - should be a cracking night! Will also see if the Phils win it all tonight - yuck!

Season preview tonight!

Special time - 9:30 PM.

Derek, Joe and I will be talking about the start of the season for all three teams. The Rangers open at home with Chicago, and our Isles head to Newark to take on the Devils. We will look at the plusses and minuses for all three locals, and make our predictions for the season.

We have not all been on together in quite a while, so it should be some interesting banter. Try to make a listen, won’t ya?

To get to the New York Hockey Report Page on BLOGTALK RADIO, go to this link:

NY Hockey Report Show

Also - I will be on Hockey Night on Long Island’s Blog talk show on Saturday afternoon. That show starts at 3:30. I should be on around 3:45 or so. The link to that show is:

HOCKEY NIGHT ON LONG ISLAND

Hope to see you then!

Gary

Yes - the Gordon’s Fisherman… Yea - I get it…. Shut up Rangers fans, already… Worry about your OWN team….

Scott Gordon is now the newest head coach of the Isles. I was not totally sold on him at first, but the resume does speak volumes… AHL coach of the Year - 70 games over 500 for his career in Providence.

Yes - we got another New Englanduh in the mix. That is no problem. Communicate and motivate the players, and you can have whataver accent you desire.

I was still leaning toward having a face that would be NHL recognizable, but again, I will move forward on it. I see a lot of similarities of Gordon to one Peter Laviolette. That is not bad comparisons. All we now have to do, is KEEP this one….

I think he will work well with the young crop, and he deserves the shot to say the least. It is nice to see that a good number of young guns are now getting shots to take a team at the top level. John Anderson, who won a Calder in Chicago, now takes over the Thrash. New coaches in Florida, and San Jose, are showing that ‘ol boys club is not the norm anymore. Well - Mullet Melrose screwed up that equation for all of us.

Anyhow, I am confident that Garth is putting all his eggs on Scott to lead this team. With 35 days to go, until camp begins, get the homework going now… Islander fans have been beaten more times, that a “B” actor in a spaghetti western. It is time, to make us the aggressors.

Good luck, Scottie!