Stan Fischler, Butch Goring and I take a good hard look at the Rangers three-game deficit and what they need to do to turn things around. Game 4 is a must-win for the Blueshirts and they have a chance to make history.
Watch postgame reactions from Henrik Lundqvist, Jaromir Jagr, Tom Renney and the Penguins' Sidney Crosby by CLICKING HERE.
Before Game 3 between the Rangers-Penguins on MSG, we will be responding to your questions on Hockey Night Live! Ron Duguay and Butch Goring will be joining Stan and I in-studio for this segment.
So, send in your questions or comments and we'll get to as many as we can. Or if you have a "Short Shift" idea for the show, definitely fire it over as well.
Just submit your inquiries in the comments section below and check back here to see if yours was featured.
Hey hockey fans, it's playoff time and we want to hear from you! Before each Rangers and Devils game on MSG and MSG Plus, the Hockey Night Live crew will be responding to your questions on Hockey Night Live!
So, send in your questions or comments and we'll get to as many as we can. Or if you have a "Short Shift" idea for the show, definitely fire them over as well.
Just submit your inquiries in the comments section below and check back here to see if yours was featured.
With their 5-3 victory over the Devils in The Garden, the Rangers take a 3-1 lead in the playoffs. Stan Fischler, Butch Goring and I are psyched, because it looks like the Rangers are on a roll.
When Rick DiPietro had hip surgery in Colorado last summer, I didn't realize the procedure was only on one side. There have been a couple of retired football players who have had to have double hip replacement, so I guess I should have surmised that if you have a left hip and a right hip the potential exists for both of them to be damaged.
But, alas, Islander fans are all too familiar with the fact that DiPietro needed surgery on the 'other' hip, and so he had it yesterday. We got word late Wednesday night that the procedure was successful, performed by the same doctor at the same clinic in Vail who fixed his other hip a year ago.
The most difficult part for the goaltender, though, lies ahead. As part of the recovery, he'll have to wear a restrictive hip brace for at least a month, and for a young man who can't sit still, it's like torture for him.
A STELLAR DEBUT:
Kyle Okposo's first game was easily the most anticipated NHL debut for an Islander since Rick made his, also at 19 years old. Okposo's postgame comments were telling. He said he "psyched himself out, convinced himself before the opening faceoff that the game was going to be so much faster."
He would need to be ready to pass and shoot and make decisions at lightning speed. Then the game started, and he had way more time to do everything than he thought. And he finally said to himself halfway through, "Hey, this isn't so bad. I can do this. It's the game I've been playing all my life, I have more time than I thought."
Translation: Okposo belongs. And he senses it, too.
Nothing is definite at this hour, but it looks like Rick DiPietro has not yet come back from Boston and he will not be in goal tonight for the Islanders' critical game against the Rangers.
Rick's grandmother passed away Thursday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease and he left Long Island Saturday night to be with his family in Massachusetts, and attend her funeral which was yesterday.
Although it was expected that he would be back in time for today's game, it looks like Wade Dubielewicz will instead start his 2nd straight. Dubielewicz allowed one goal in a 1-0 loss to Florida on Sunday afternoon.
The only true must-win in hockey is in an elimination game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or a regular season game in which you can be mathematically eliminated from the postseason.
But what if you're the New York Islanders and you've lost six straight, lost Mike Sillinger for three weeks, lost your confidence to score and are set to face the Sidney Crosby-less Penguins?
They have lost seven straight at home, so the road is not a bad place to start. And after getting shutout against an Anaheim team that hadn't scored in a week and had lost six straight games themselves, the time is now for the Isles.
Other than the first game back after the All-Star Break, Rick DiPietro has been terrific and will no doubt have them in position again Thursday night to finally win one. But the forwards have to start scoring. That's a must.
The Islanders have hit their first real skid of the season and now they're shorthanded.
Not because of any minor penalties, but the virus that's making it's way through the Eastern Conference has hit the Islanders dressing room.
Andy Sutton has been one of the Islanders most reliable defensemen this season and against L.A., he missed his second straight game.
Rick DiPietro's locker is right next to Sutton's, so there's no surprise he has also been hit. Backup Wade Dubielewicz played against the Kings in net.
Call me clairvoyant, but I can actually see the Islanders skating out onto the ice in a brand new arena before I might read a positive story in the national press about them, or at least about anything other than how wrong their preseason prognostications about the Islanders were.
And this year, the newspapers, Internet, and broadcast outlets are beginning the backtrack early. But those professional observers aren't alone in their offseason take of the Isles. I can't tell you how many folks whose initial comments to me after July 1st were "Oh, no," or a less generous, "Uh-oh."
I think I ended up saying the same thing to everyone. Last year the Islanders went into the season with a top line of Alexei Yashin, Jason Blake and fill in the blank. This year it's Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie and Ruslan Fedotenko. If they didn't like their chances with one group over another, they're not paying attention, or they've been reading too many national previews.
The way Rick DiPietro played last year, did they think he was going to be touched by a magic wand this summer and come back less talented? Did they think Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais were going to be the first young defensemen in the history of the National Hockey League to get valuable playoff experience, get a year older, wiser, and stronger and come back to be worse players than they were the season before?
The Islanders didn't just add two, new assistant coaches, but they met in July to start working on the Power Play and Penalty Kill, ranked second and fourth in the league one month into the season.
Did they think Brendan Witt would lose his will to win and stop blocking shots once he got paired with a healthy Radek Martinek, who was now going to be back?
Jon Sim was such a good pickup, such a good fit on the third line, that it only took two games for the Islanders to realize how much they'll really miss him now that he's done for the season.
There are a lot of reasons for the perception. Some I totally understand, and some I don't. There is no mystery involved there. But I'm not one who believes that perception is reality. Wins and losses are reality. And so far, the Islanders have shown themselves to be a talented group that's winning more than they're losing.
Al Trautwig said this during the first few days after September 11th, "You don't meet a firefighter or a police officer in New York who's not a sports fan."
And he was right.
They're either Jets or Giants fans. They may root for the Rangers or Islanders. They may cheer for the Devils or Nets, Knicks, Yankees or Mets. But they all have a team and, more likely, a few of them.
The Islanders realize this too, and so in the next few weeks, they will honor the men and women who serve the greater New York area, beginning with Firefighter Appreciation Night this Saturday when the Islanders come home to face Brent Sutter and the Devils for the first time this season.
Firefighters get a chance to buy great seats at a great price (it sounds like tix will come as cheap as $16). There will be firetrucks all over the parking lot in the afternoon for the kids who can't get enough of the shiny, red trucks, and two firehouses face each other in a good old-fashioned chili cook-off. All to honor the bravest of New York and Long Island.
They're giving away Islander hats to the first 10,000 fans-- although as we joked on the broadcast the other night, there may only be 9,999 left because Butch Goring wore one on the air to remind Islander fans about the special night.
Still, the Caps are feeling good about finally being a playoff contender. There were five teams who started last year 3-0, and all five of them made the playoffs.
We're on FSN 2 Thursday night. Pregame at 6:30. Then we'll see you at the Coliseum on Oct 20.
The Islanders had a spirited practice at the Spectrum this afternoon in anticipation of their Saturday night matchup against the Flyers.
In anticipation of his return to the lineup, Chris Simon treated the entire team and equipment staff to a late lunch of traditional Philly cheesesteaks after the skate. Chris spent so much time - probably a full 25 games - if you include the playoffs against Buffalo and subtract the initial games he missed after the suspension - pacing in the dressing room and the equipment room, sometimes too nervous to even watch.
The Islanders took a "flyer" and started Wade Dubielewicz in goal last night against Toronto, but Rick DiPietro will definitely be back in goal against the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow night.
It was a preemptive strike as they didn't see another game on the horizon which made sense to rest Ricky and they wanted to get Wade a game.
The defense played terribly in front of him so that's the other change that will be made. The Isles will go back to six 'D' and someone will sit.
That means that Darryl Bootland not only stays, but he will play-probably on the fourth line with Bootland and Richard Park.
Sean Bergenheim moves up into a more offensive role - this is his first big chance of the young season. Suffice it to say, Jeff Tambellini did not fit the way the Isles wanted him to in the last couple of games.
Nothing is definite at this hour, but it looks like Rick DiPietro has not yet come back from Boston and he 
The 
Firefighters get a chance to buy great seats at a great price (it sounds like tix will come as cheap as $16). There will be firetrucks all over the parking lot in the afternoon for the kids who can't get enough of the shiny, red trucks, and two firehouses face each other in a good old-fashioned chili cook-off. All to honor the bravest of New York and Long Island. 
The Islanders took a "flyer" and started
Latest Fan Comments