Rangers-Islanders: Villain Returns to Vanilla Rangers for Game With Islanders

Sean Avery is expected in the lineup when the New York Rangers take on the New York Islanders on Thursday night. But will he be a Ranger or an Islander? And will Islanders captain Bill Guerin be a Ranger?

John Tortorella collected his first win as Rangers coach, thanks to a rare scoring outburst from the worst offense in the NHL. The Rangers now have four days off before they face the New York Islanders.

The Islanders recently surprised the Buffalo Sabres by shutting them out 2-0 but they remain in the basement of the NHL. Their victory over Buffalo came without the help of their team captain and top scorer, Bill Guerin.

It has been widely reported that Avery will join the Rangers but it is possible a team below them in the standings, such as the Islanders, could claim him.

Several Islanders players say the Islanders are a team divided by rookie coach Scott Gordon and his focus on developing young players while showing a lack of respect for established veterans, especially Guerin, according to Greg Logan, writing in Newsday.

The Islanders recently called up defenseman Andrew Macdonald from The Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. McDonald is the second player from the Utah team to be recalled to the NHL this season joining Trevor Smith.

The Grizzlies are the ECHL affiliate of the Islanders of the NHL and Bridgeport of the AHL.

Trevor Macdonald, a defenceman, is 6'0" and had one goal plus 39 PIMs for the Grizzlies this year. Trevor Smith is 6'!', plays left wing, and in 22 games with the Grizzlies this year, he had 22 goals and 28 PIMs.

The Islanders are not in the playoff race. The only race they are in involves junior star John Tavares, who figures to be the top pick in June's draft. New York is the front-runner in that. In other words, the Islanders are the worst team in the league, according to the Buffalo News.

They entered their game against Buffalo just 18-36-7. They had won only two of their previous 11 games. Their 43 points were seven back of 29th-place Atlanta.

Guerin recently agreed to waive his no-trade clause for a deal sending him to an Eastern Conference playoff contender. A source with ties to Guerin indicated only that the team is not Boston or the Devils, according to Newsday.

But it could be the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, or the Buffalo Sabres.

Sean Avery is rumoured to have said he only wants to play with the Rangers. He is still considered the No. 1 villain in the NHL, despite missing two months of hockey after a six-game suspension. He is currently leading the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL in a six-game winning streak.

The New York Rangers celebrated their first win with John Tortorella since took over as head coach of the Rangers on Monday. Torts lost his first two games.
Scott Gomez notched a goal and two assists as the Rangers recorded their highest scoring output of the season.

The Rangers looked like a new team on the ice; skating hard, playing aggressively.

The Rangers erupted with four goals in the first period. In the opening 1:08 of the game, the Rangers netted two goals, shocking everyone.

Then in the second half of that same period, New York scored another pair of goals in the span of 1:38. Scoring in the first period were Ryan Callahan, Nikolai Zherdev, Petr Prucha, and Scott Gomez.

In the second period, they got a power play goal from Captain Chris Drury, ending a career high 17 game goal drought.

Before things turned ugly in the third period, Markus Naslund topped off the night, becoming the first 20 goal scorer for the Rangers this season. The six goals for the Rangers is a season high so far.