It was fun, I enjoyed it, and the outcome was meaningless. The Islanders basically played their opening day roster Sans Sillinger, Hunter, Witt and Sim, while the Rangers basically had their opening day roster Sans Jagr, Gomez, Prucha, Straka, Lundqvist, Vally, Tyutin, Girardi, and Mara…..ok so maybe not really their opening day roster.
Still, nothing much to say other than it was a powerplay fest which ended up being decided in overtime. If youre the Isles, you cant be happy that the Rangers carried most of the play at Even Strength, and just barely lost to your fulltime team. If youre the Rangers, you have to be very happy with some of the performances you saw, and the level of passion you saw all game long.
So, let’s talk about the individual performances, player by player, since this is the time to evaluate some of the players out there…
Dawes:Very poor showing for Nigel. A guy I desperately wanted to make this team is basically forcing me to write him off for this preseason. Hes getting every chance guys, he really is. First he plays with Jagr and Gomez, and they do nothing. Then he plays with Drury and Shanny, and he does nothing. The clock is ticking on Nigel, my guess is he doesnt make it through the next game. Expect him to be on his way to Hartford within a few hours.
Dubinsky:A decent game for Brandon after a solid outing in his first game. He dropped the gloves, which earns him brownie points from me, and he did a few nice things, but all in all he and Korpikoski really did little to nothing out there all night. He is probably tied with Anisimov in terms of 2-game effectiveness, but gets the nod because of experience.
Korpikoski:Dang it Korpedo! I stick my neck out for ya, and youre letting me down! Lauri was invisible, literally. I had to double check that he was actually suited up for this game. I think he may have touched the puck once all night. Though all the penalties probably played a role in him being invisible. I would send him down before tomorrows game.
Hossa:Very good early on, but faded a bit towards the end. As the game started, he and Anisimov showed some definite chemistry, controlling the puck along the boards, and playing well in the neutral zone to break up plays. I really like what I saw from him. Hes making progress.
Drury:Probably the best player on the ice. Scores a goal, and was all over the place. Probably could have had 2 more goals, but was robbed by Dubliwhatever several times. He and Shanny had some big time chemistry, they would look GREAT with Avery.
Shanahan:Though he is responsible for the loss by taking a penalty in OT, I thought he was great out there, and I loved the penalty he took. Yes, taking a penalty to protect Chris Drury sends a message, and its a message that needed sending. That even if Hollweg, Orr, Avery, etc are not on the ice, we as a team will stand up for each other, even a 40 year old hall of famer. LOVE IT.
Byers:A weak game for Byers. He was more or less invisible. He didn’t stand out negatively, but he didn’t make any kind of a positive impact that I noticed. I would keep him around for another game though, he has earned that much.
Anisimov:Much like Hossa, strong at the outset, and faded down the stretch. Again, my guess is all the specialty play was a big part of that, as I seem to notice him more 5 on 5, and didn’t see him at all on the PK or PP, so he may have not even been out there for all that stuff. I would play him all the way through the preseason schedule before sending him down. He has looked good, this is a good experience for him. Don’t be surprised if you see him later this year.
Callahan:The guys on the HFBoards tell me he played the whole game, but I didn’t see him after he scored his goal. At all. I’ll take their word for it, but I wonder how much of his disappearance was taking an elbow to the face a minute into the game. Give him credit though, he definitely hung in there.
Hollweg:Ryan played a very strong game. Scoring a goal, and mucking things up with Simon. He once again threw Simon off his game, and made him take yet another major penalty and yet again made him get thrown out of a game. Simon probably should get at least some consideration of a suspension for what he did in inciting a riot. Hollweg threw the body, and was a physical force out there. He played his game to a T.
Betts:Everyone says Blair played a great game, but for a penalty killer, when the other team scores 4 or 5 goals on you on the PP, you didn’t have a good game, not matter how many 5 on 3’s they had.
Orr:Orr was great, he dropped the gloves 3 times and got ejected for it, and he stood up for his teammates. He has to play every game, make no mistake, we need him.
Malik:Directly responsible for the loss with a terrible Malik like play. For the most part though he was even. Not horrible, not great, just even. Somehow though he always seems to make that 1 insanely terrible play to make himself the scapegoat and make you forget all his great plays.
Rozsival:See above, but without the 1 insanely terrible play. An even, mediocre game. Again, probably owing to not having his typical forward group on the ice, and to all the power play time. Its hard to stand out as a defenseman when youre killing a dozen penalties.
Pock:Pock had a very strong game. With the exception of one terrible turnover (which thankfully didn’t turn into a goal) he was forceful with the body, excellent with his stick, and joined the play well. I really liked what I saw. I think hes cemented a spot as the 7th defenseman.
Strudwick:Strudwick played his typical leadership game, without much in the way of standout defense. He might have even been thrown out, I’m honestly not sure. I usually don’t notice Strudwick when he is out there because he really doesn’t do much. Though he did step up for Hollweg and jump in when Simon started throwing punches at Hollweg. He probably cemented himself as the 8th defenseman, OR the captain for Hartford. Honestly, I would rather see him in Hartford if it were up to me.
Hutchinson:Absolutely flat out horrendous. And that is being nice. Hutchinson was beat on 2 of the goals, where he once again showed absolutely no strength whatsoever, and he pinched on every single shift out there leaving his defensive partner, Staal, hanging out to dry regularly. I’m sure he’s gone after this. Trade him or release him. I do not want him in Hartford showing those kids how not to play defense.
Staal:Brilliant. Some will say he made some mistakes, but I didn’t see them. He played an exceptionally strong game and was put under some exceptionally strong fire by the opposition because his partner just wouldn’t stay back. If Staal wasn’t paired with Hutchinson, the Isles would have won this one by double digits. Hes made the team in my eyes, no questions whatsoever.
Montoya:Good game, bad fight, but I liked what he did. Someone on the HFBoards said Montoya shouldn’t have fought because he knew that his team needed him. I say, if he didn’t fight, his team would have given up on him. When you see the other goalie rush into a fight and start crap up, you need to get in there and show your team you are with them, no matter what. Yes, he got his ass royally kicked, but thats not the point, he saw what was happening there, and he made a statement. He’s a Ranger (for now) and I can bet you his teammates appreciate what he did. He stays till the last pre-season game, when we will have a tough choice to make. Honestly, for once I am glad I’m not the coach, because I would have a tough time sending this kid down after the preseason he is having. Stupid salary cap.
Wiikman:A very below average performance for a goalie not really expected to do much of anything in this organization. We would have won this easily if Vally, Henrik, Monty, heck even possibly Holt was in there. As it stood, Wiikman was very tentative with his play, and left some pretty juicy rebounds. Hard to blame him for all the PP goals, but still, you gotta keep your team in it, he didn’t. Send him down after this one.
-Inferno