Islanders vs. Rangers: Islanders Show Pulse, Left Heartbroken

The New York Islanders had a golden opportunity to come away with a resounding victory against the New York Rangers last night, but instead fell short against their geographic rivals, 4-2 at Nassau Coliseum. 

Make no mistake, the Isles came out to play in this one. They were buzzing early and often. 

Unfortunately, they ran into Henrik Lundquist, who was simply phenomenal in this one, snuffing out most of the Islanders' scoring chances. 

After 20 minutes of regulation, the Rangers held a significant advantage in shots-on-goal, taking 14 and holding the Islanders to just five. 

Despite this, the Islanders were able to outshoot the blue shirts in the next two periods by a 26 to 18 margin. They finished with 33 shots to the Rangers' 30. 

Just more than two minutes after Sean Avery put the Rangers ahead 1-0, Frans Nielsen answered for the Isles with his fourth goal of the season, hitting a wrist shot high to the glove side and past Lundquist. P.A. Parenteau continues to prove he's an effective player at this level, recording his 11th helper (13 points through 15 games) on Nielsen's tally. Travis Hamonic was also credited with an assist on the play, just his second of the campaign.  

Six minutes into the middle stanza, Steve Eminger was able to put the Rangers back in front 2-1. The Islanders would not respond until the third period, when the Isles scored a timely power play goal. 

With the man-advantage, Matt Moulson put the finishing touches on yet another John Tavares masterpiece—a perfectly-threaded pass into the slot. Lundquist had no chance whatsoever; the play was simply too precise.

Tavares and Nielsen were credited with the assists on Moulson's goal, his fifth of the season. 

The Islanders continued to play up-tempo hockey, but lapses on defense, which had luckily not backfired to that point, would ultimately come back to bite them with just under four minutes to go in regulation.

Josh Bailey fired an errant pass into the slot and the Rangers made him pay for it, as Brandon Dubinsky found a wide-open Brad Richards, who fired an absolute cannon past Evgeni Nabokov for the go-ahead goal. 

Ryan McDonagh sealed the deal with an empty-netter. 

On defense, the Islanders were better than they've been recently, but there were still a handful of miscues. For the most part, I can't complain about what I saw from Mark Streit, Travis Hamonic or Steve Staios. 

I'd like to publicly apologize to Mike Mottau, who played his heart out last night. I questioned his value, but he sure showed it in this game. If Mottau can keep that going, it'll be a huge boost for the Islanders. 

Evgeni Nabokov was certainly on his game, too, regardless of what his motives may be. He made several big stops and kept the Islanders alive to the very end. 

Making his 2011-12 debut, Nino Niederreiter received 11:17 of ice time and recorded one shot on goal. He played a solid game and used his body, but there was a little bit of a rust, which is perfectly normal. Whatever expectations you have for Nino this year, make sure they're realistic. Have patience. The chances and points will come. 

It was nice to see Matt Martin making his presence felt in this game. He had some big hits, particularly the one on Steve Eminger, and a fight against Brandon Prust. Martin gave the Islanders momentum and energy nearly every time he stepped onto the ice. 

The Islanders need build upon the positives (and there were plenty) from this game. Let's see if the wheels have in fact started to turn, because if last night was any indication, they have. 

Comments are welcome.